Collaboration for Social Impact (CSI)

Collaboration for Social Impact (CSI) is sponsored by Santa Barbara Foundation. Brings together nonprofit leaders for workshops, seminars, coaching and mentoring, along with public and social sector advocacy.

Collaboration For Social Impact - Santa Barbara Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation LOGO Nonprofit Grants Portal » Board/Committee Member Portal » Become a Community Champion Critical Needs Response Fund Collaboration For Social Impact The State of Nonprofits in Santa Barbara County The State of Nonprofits in Santa Barbara County report was created by the Collaboration for Social Impact with our partners The Center for Evaluation & Assessment at UCSB.

Click the button to learn more and read the report. Strengthening Nonprofits at the Board Leadership Institute CSI has partnered with the Center for Nonprofit Leadership (CNL) at Cal Lutheran University to create a six-month Board certificate program. Nonprofit Sector Resources Utilize our Resource Center for Nonprofits as you develop your organization and your own nonprofit career.

About the Collaboration for Social Impact Santa Barbara County’s 2,000+ nonprofits range from small volunteer groups to large international organizations. They enhance community life, provide disaster relief, stimulate economic activity, and address societal issues through innovation.

To continue offering valuable services and expertise, the social sector relies on ongoing public and private support, playing a crucial role in the county’s vitality and well-being. The Santa Barbara Foundation believes the key to strengthening the social sector is to ensure its leaders and organizations have the knowledge, skills and resources to fulfill their mission. Strong nonprofits lead to a strong community.

The Collaboration for Social Impact elevates SBF’s commitment to advancing the strength and capacity of the nonprofit ecosystem in Santa Barbara County through: Capacity Building Grants: Awards to strengthen organizational capacity and programmatic effectiveness. Between 2019-2023, more than 320 Small Capacity Building Grants were awarded totaling $1,510,780. Find out more about the grant opportunities.

Professional Development: Peer learning cohorts in topics such as board governance, program evaluation, and financial literacy to develop the nonprofit workforce. Since 2020, more than 500 staff and board members from over 100 organizations participated in programs to develop board and executive leadership, program evaluation, financial resiliency, contingency planning as well as operationalizing diversity, equity, inclusion and access.

Check out our Events Calendar for upcoming workshops and trainings. Leadership Development: Investments in organizations to improve leadership and management abilities in service of their missions.

Board Leadership Institute : In partnership with Center for Nonprofit Leadership , a five-month program for leadership teams of board members and their CEO or Executive Director, focused on governance, fiduciary oversight, and strategic leadership. Application deadline: May 29, 2026.

More info NEW PROGRAM : Nonprofit Adapta bility Lab : in partnership with Center for Nonprofit Leadership , a six-month program helping teams build adaptive capacity through customized training that dives deep into understanding your organization’s financial health, strategic focus, funding stability, and change management, plus one-on-one coaching.

Participating leadership teams identify and execute on strategies to build greater organizational resilience. Space is limited to eight organizations. Application deadline: June 8, 2026.

Learn More Leading from Within offers several intensive leadership and executive coaching programs. Learn more . Nonprofit Sector Health & Advocacy: Research informed by nonprofits to help guide stakeholders to collaboratively bolster the sector.

Check out our upcoming events related to the State of Nonprofits 2025 report release. The Collaboration for Social Impact draws on the expertise of a diverse and experienced group of executive leaders who have long worked on the front lines of nonprofits throughout Santa Barbara County. Each member resides on the Collaboration’s Advisory Committee for a limited term ensuring new voices inform the evolution of the program.

The current Advisory Committee includes: Ashley Costa, Executive Director of Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization Maria Fabula, Executive Director of Mid-Central Coast Boys and Girl’s Club Ernesto Paredes, Executive Director of Easy Lift Beth Skidmore, Executive Director of Rooted Santa Barbara Jason Telander, Executive Director of VTC Santa Maria Kai Tepper, Executive Director of Children’s Creative Projects Lauren Trujillo, Executive Director of Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation Steve Windhager, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Annie Whatley is the Director for the Collaboration for Social Impact and the program is supported by Community Engagement Coordinator Maria Caudillo.

If you are interested in contributing to the Collaboration for Social Impact to help bolster the capacity of the social sector, we welcome your partnership and appreciate your support. The State of Nonprofits in Santa Barbara County This report offers a comprehensive overview of the nonprofit industry in Santa Barbara County.

Despite facing various disruptions such as recovery from the global pandemic and economic inflation, the report’s findings offer valuable guidance for stakeholders such as funders, practitioners, and government agencies to work together towards bolstering the sector. Furthermore, the data presented in this report can serve as a crucial resource for future and longitudinal studies on the nonprofit industry in Santa Barbara County.

Our hope is that this report will foster greater awareness and understanding, lead to increased investments in the nonprofit sector, help organizations improve their leadership and management abilities, and lift up key areas that require further investigation.

Santa Barbara Foundation would like to acknowledge the researchers at The Center for Evaluation & Assessment at UCSB as well as the many nonprofit professionals who took the time to provide valuable information on the state of their organizations.

Nonprofit Sector Resources The Santa Barbara Foundation believes that the key to strengthening the social sector is nonprofit leaders and organizations having the knowledge, skills and resources to fulfill their mission. A healthy social sector improves the social outcomes for our communities – strong nonprofits lead to a strong community.

To that end, we have curated a catalog of nonprofit sector resources we encourage you to consider in your effort to develop your organization and your own nonprofit career. Small Capacity Building Grant Program Small Capacity Building Grants (formerly Express Grants) are awards of up to $6,000 aimed at strengthening the organizational capacity and programmatic effectiveness of nonprofit organizations serving Santa Barbara County.

Cal Lutheran’s 2022 Board Leadership Institute The Foundation is partnering with Cal Lutheran to offer board leadership training. The six-month certificate program aims to enhance the knowledge and skills among nonprofit board members and their head of staff. Organizations are encouraged to participate in teams of up to four with one lead staff member and up to three board members.

Sessions will run from February to August. The application deadline is February 18, 2022. &150 per team of up to four (4) participants.

APPLY NOW Contact our team to help you with your specific needs. Director of the Collaboration for Social Impact AWhatley@SBFoundation. org Community Engagement Coordinator MCaudillo@SBFoundation.

org