The Santa Barbara Foundation’s Community Grant Program offers multi-year grants to support general and programmatic operations (otherwise known as unrestricted funding) in three program areas:
Organizations are only eligible to be awarded a grant in one program area; therefore, we highly recommend that organizations strategically apply in the program area that most closely aligns with their mission. Please see “Program Area Priorities” below for additional details on each of the three thematic areas.
The Santa Barbara Foundation’s Multi-year Community Grant Program is designed to support our nonprofit partners working in the basic needs priority areas of Behavioral Health & Health Care, Food, and Shelter & Safety.
Federal funding cuts and policy changes have impacted access to basic services across these areas, and the need is anticipated to increase over the next decade while nonprofits are asked to do more with less. Health care continues to remain inaccessible to too many, and there has been an unprecedented increase in demand for behavioral health services across demographics. Despite being a food-producing county, research suggests that more than one in four households in Santa Barbara County are food insecure. A confluence of factors – including increases in the cost of living, the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, and a regional housing crisis – has increased the number of unhoused community members, including youth.
While many of the challenges our community members face are intersecting and overlapping, addressing these needs is a precondition for healthy and thriving individuals, families, and communities. Our program areas reflect these foundational needs. Together, Santa Barbara County nonprofits weave the critical safety net that supports our community’s most vulnerable populations and therefore our county on the whole. The Santa Barbara Foundation offers our Multi-year Community Grants in recognition of the essential role that our nonprofit partners play and to help further their vital work in these three program areas.
Multi-year general and programmatic operating funding increases nonprofits’ ability to build their capacity and respond to community needs. We also recognize the need for longer-term funding in order to reduce the administrative burden on nonprofit organizations and allow for multi-year planning. Therefore, our Multi-year Community Grant Program is a two-year grant cycle that offers unrestricted funding to be used for organizational operations and programs with the intention of increasing the efficacy of your work in the program area for which you are applying.
Multi-year Community Grants are open every other year. This funding cycle is for 2026-2027; the next cycle will be for 2028-2029. Grantees will be required to participate in a mid-cycle check in towards the end of the grant’s first year of implementation, prior to the disbursement of the second year of funding. A final report is required at the close of the grant period, 25 months after the initial award.
Important Note: The Foundation aims to ensure in its grantmaking a balance of geographic spread, population served, and organization size. As such, these characteristics will also be considered at the committee level when prioritizing grant awards.
The maximum award for the Multi-year Community Grants is a total of $60,000 ($30,000 per year for two years). Please note that based on funding availability, award amounts could be less than requested.
Grants are not intended for:
Please visit the Eligibility Criteria & FAQs for a complete list of what the Foundation does not fund.
| Behavioral Health & Health Care |
Food | Shelter & Safety |
| Application Launch: January 27, 2026 |
Application Launch: March 31, 2026 |
Application Launch: July 14, 2026 |
| Application Deadline: 5:00 p.m. PT, March 3, 2026 |
Application Deadline: 5:00 p.m. PT, April 28, 2026 |
Application Deadline: 5:00 p.m. PT, August 11, 2026 |
| Grant Award: Early June 2026 |
Grant Award: Late July 2026 |
Grant Award: Mid November 2026 |
The Behavioral Health & Health Care grant implementation period is 24 months after the award date in June 2026, with a final report due one month after the implementation period ends.
The purpose of this grant program is to provide multi-year general and programmatic operating funding to organizations that are providing direct health care or mental health care services or support to clients. For the 2026-2027 cycle, applications MUST address at least one of the basic needs specified below:
Important Dates
| March 3, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PT | Behavioral Health & Health Care Grant Application Deadline |
| Early June 2026 | Behavioral Health & Health Care Grant Awards Announced |
For questions regarding the Behavioral Health & Health Care program area and funding eligibility, please contact Jamie Perez, Program Officer at jperez@sbfoundation.org or (805) 880-9395.
All eligible applications will be reviewed by an external, peer-led committee using the criteria outlined below. Click here to download a copy of the guidelines.
Scale: 5 (Highest) to 1 (Lowest) | Maximum Score: 25 Points
| Criteria | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response to Essential Community Need in BHHC | Clearly demonstrates well-documented services with compelling data/evidence that effectively respond to a critical community need in behavioral health or health care. Services strongly align with at least one of the three priority areas (sustained/increased demand for behavioral health services, sustained/increased demand for health care services, or youth mental health needs). Shows strong organizational capacity to address the need. | Demonstrates solid services with adequate supporting data/evidence responding to a significant community need. Services align well with program priorities and show good organizational capacity. | Describes services responding to a community need with some supporting data/evidence, but documentation is limited or response is less comprehensive. Partial alignment with program priorities or moderate organizational capacity. | Vaguely describes services with minimal evidence of effectiveness in responding to community need. Weak connection to program priorities or limited organizational capacity to address the need. | Does not clearly demonstrate how services respond to a community need or services are not aligned with Behavioral Health & Health Care program area. |
| Strategic Vision and Goals | Presents a clear, comprehensive strategic vision with specific, measurable goals and actionable strategies to address the identified need over the two-year grant period. Demonstrates proactive, forward-thinking approach rather than reactive response. | Provides a solid strategic vision with defined goals and strategies, though some elements may lack specificity or long-term perspective. | Describes general goals and approaches but lacks strategic depth or appears more reactive than proactive. Limited evidence of multi-year planning. | Goals are vague or lack strategic framework. Organization appears primarily reactive to immediate demands without longer-term vision. | No clear strategic vision or goals provided. Approach is entirely reactive without defined direction. |
| Scale of Impact in the Community | Demonstrates substantial reach and impact serving a significant number of community members or addressing a critical gap (in service access, population reached, or specialization required). Clear evidence of meaningful outcomes and potential for broader community-level change. | Shows notable impact serving a considerable population or addressing important needs. Evidence of positive outcomes at individual or group level. | Demonstrates moderate impact with limited reach or depth. Serves a smaller population or addresses needs with less community-wide significance. | Impact is minimal or unclear. Limited reach and/or uncertain outcomes. Services touch few community members or have shallow effect. | Negligible or no demonstrated impact. Unclear how services benefit the community. |
| Collaboration and Community Partnerships | Actively engages in robust, meaningful collaborations with other organizations, agencies, or community groups. Clearly articulates how partnerships enhance service delivery, reduce duplication, and amplify impact. Demonstrates leadership in community-wide collaborative approaches. | Participates in solid collaborative relationships that enhance programming. Shows how partnerships contribute to organizational effectiveness. | Engages in some collaboration but partnerships are limited in scope or impact. Collaboration is mentioned but connection to improved outcomes is unclear. | Minimal collaboration or partnerships appear superficial. Little evidence of how collaboration benefits the work or community. | No evidence of collaboration or operates in isolation. Does not engage with community partners. |
| Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning | Provides a detailed, feasible plan with specific data collection methods and tools clearly identified (e.g., databases, surveys, tracking systems). Describes clear, realistic processes for analyzing data and demonstrates understanding of how findings will inform decisions and program improvements during the grant period. | Presents a solid plan with defined data collection methods, tools, and analysis approaches. Includes how findings will be used to inform decisions, though some elements may lack specificity. | Provides a basic plan with some identified data collection methods and general analysis approaches. Limited detail on how findings will inform programmatic decisions or improvements. | Plan is vague, lacking specifics on data collection tools, analysis methods, or how findings will be used. Feasibility is questionable or connection between evaluation and learning is unclear. | No plan provided or plan is entirely inadequate with no clear methods, tools, or process for using findings to inform decisions. |
The Food grant implementation period is 24 months after the award date in late July 2026, with a final report due one month after the implementation period ends.
The purpose of this grant program is to provide multi-year general operating support to organizations that are directly addressing food insecurity and/or are working on food systems change and resiliency in Santa Barbara County.
Priority will be given to organizations that:
Important Dates
| April 28, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PT | Food Grant Application Deadline |
| Late July 2026 | Food Grant Awards Announced |
For questions regarding the Food program area and funding eligibility please contact Bridgette Bugay, Senior Program Officer at bbugay@sbfoundation.org or (805) 880-9354, or Tatyana Venegas Swanson, Director of Grantmaking at tswanson@sbfoundation.org or (805) 880-9363.
The Shelter & Safety grant implementation period is 24 months after the award date in November 2026, with a final report due one month after the implementation period ends.
The purpose of this grant program is to provide multi-year general operating support to organizations that:
(1 – Shelter) are providing access to shelter for unhoused clients and/or preventing homelessness
and/or
(2 – Safety) are providing safe shelter or structural support for survivors of gender-based violence, abuse, or other risks to safety and/or working to prevent exploitation and abuse.*
*please note, for programs that are primarily mental health-focused, as opposed to material/structural/systems-building support, please apply under our Behavioral Health & Health Care program.
Priority will be given to organizations that:
Important Dates
| August 11, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PT | Shelter & Safety Grant Application Deadline |
| November 2026 | Shelter & Safety Grant Awards Announced |
For questions regarding the Shelter & Safety program areas and funding eligibility please contact Bridgette Bugay, Senior Program Officer at bbugay@sbfoundation.org or (805) 880-9354, or Tatyana Venegas Swanson, Director of Grantmaking at tswanson@sbfoundation.org or (805) 880-9363.
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