Small Capacity Building Grant Program is sponsored by Santa Barbara Foundation. Provides funding to strengthen the operational effectiveness of Santa Barbara County nonprofits, including scaling tech-based learning initiatives.

Grant Opportunities - 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 Small Capacity Building Grant Program Guidelines For all Santa Barbara County Communities What is the Small Capacity Building Grant Program?

The Small Capacity Building Grant Program awards grants with a 6-to-8-week review period aimed at strengthening the organizational capacity and effectiveness of Santa Barbara County nonprofits. The Foundation believes organizations are more effective when they are equipped with thoughtful strategy, strong leadership, sound operations and compelling communication.

It is our hope that this funding helps organizations strengthen these fundamentals in support of their mission and better programmatic outcomes. The Foundation may also consider funding small capital expenditures. To provide flexibility and assist applicants in their planning, the Foundation offers four opportunities throughout the year to apply.

Organizations may submit one Small Capacity Building Grant application per calendar year. Small Capacity Building Grants are very competitive. The Foundation receives many more requests than it can fund.

Proposals with the best chance of being funded clearly state the need, readiness, and commitment to the project Please see the application deadlines below. 2025 Small Capacity Building Grant Deadlines: February 11 | May 13 | July 15 | September 9 Funding Amounts and Duration The maximum award for Small Capacity Building Grant is $6,000 . The grant period is up to one year from the award date.

A final report is required and due within 13 months of the grant award, preferably no later than 30 days following the project completion. Failure to submit a final report may result in ineligibility for future grant applications. The Santa Barbara Foundation has established the following guidelines for its Small Capacity Building grants in the following areas.

The focus is to support sustained or expand organizational capacity not existing program expenses. The Santa Barbara Foundation has established the following guidelines for its Small Capacity Building grants in the following areas. The focus is to support sustained or expand organizational capacity not existing program expenses.

Readiness preparation to address potential funding loss risks to organization’s sustainability. Examples include: legal guidance, emergency/business continuity planning costs, fundraising plan, contingency planning costs, cyber security assessment.

Organizational development and capacity building (i.e. campaign feasibility studies, strategic planning, succession planning, program evaluation, exploratory strategic alliances/collaborations, or merger and acquisitions) Staff, board, or volunteer training and development as well as collaborative learning opportunities Small capital items and equipment that specifically allow your staff to locally serve clients and fulfill your organization’s mission.

(i.e. installing security systems, initial purchase of software licenses) Defined projects such as program design/piloting, as well as strategic marketing, communications, or development plans. NOTE: While consulting services, project oversight and other costs related to the proposed project are welcome, these small grants are not intended to support staff time or salaries/positions.

(e.g. hiring a development director, covering staff hours to attend meetings, etc.) Please contact SBF staff if you would like further clarification.

Small Capacity Building Grants are NOT made for: Multiple projects and/or unrelated expenses within a single application General operating support (staff salaries, rent, utilities, etc.), support for existing programs Reimbursement of expenses already expended One-time events, including recurring annual events (other than collaborative learning opportunities) Single-use items such as disposable supplies, or items to be resold Tuition requests for Leading From Within programs (The foundation directly supports scholarship opportunities through its partnership with Leading From Within.)

Please visit the Eligibility Criteria & FAQs for a complete list of what the foundation does not fund. Organizations must be certified as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or use a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) tax status. Applications that do not contain a valid EIN (tax ID) number will not be considered.

Organizations using a fiscal sponsor must review the Eligibility Criteria & FAQs for additional information and instructions. The foundation accepts applications from public entities such as schools, universities, and libraries through an affiliate or supporting 501(c)(3) organization. Please see the Eligibility Criteria & FAQs for additional qualifying information and instructions.

An agency acting as the fiscal sponsor on behalf of a community collaborative may be eligible to submit proposals on behalf of its own agency needs as well as the needs of the collaborative. Please contact Maria Caudillo, Community Engagement Coordinator, at mcaudillo@SBFoundation. org for more information and to discuss your specific situation.

A fiscal sponsor may submit one application on behalf of their organization and one application acting as a fiscal sponsor per grant program in a calendar year. All applicants must be serving communities within Santa Barbara County. Nonprofits based outside Santa Barbara County should demonstrate knowledge of the local landscape in their issue area and are encouraged to engage local partners/stakeholders.

Applicants are asked to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest in relation to your grant application request. This may include personal or financial relationships involving project consultants, organizational staff, or members of the board. If you have any questions about what should be disclosed or how to ensure transparency in your application, please feel free to contact us for guidance before applying.

The Small Capacity Building Grant program utilizes an online application via our grants management software called SmartSimple. Please follow the instructions below to access, complete and submit your application to the foundation. To Access the SmartSimple Platform Visit the Santa Barbara Foundations online platform On the Santa Barbara Foundation SmartSimple platform landing page, on the bottom right please click on “Register.

” You will be asked to choose from 3 different entities: Fiscally Sponsored Entity After identifying which entity fits your organization you will be asked to provide some general information about yourself and your organization (If your organization is not found please use the “click here to add a new organization” link in the instruction box to add manually).

The initial staff contact is the first authorized representative to register and associate their profile account on behalf of an organization. This individual will also be responsible for providing accurate information in the organization profile and updating this information annually. They will also receive email notifications from the platform.

Additional organizational contacts can also register and access applications on behalf of an organization already in the system. These additional users will follow the same registration process as the initial organization contact. The system will conduct a duplicate check and associate the user with the existing organization.

You will receive a welcome email confirming that your registration is active. Please click the link included in the email to create a password. After creating your password, you can now access the platform to establish your Organization Profile.

On the top right-hand corner you will see the initial of your first name that you registered under. Please click there and a drop-down menu will open. Please select “Organization Profile.

” You will be directed to a page with four separate tabs, General, Organization Information, Capacity Building, and Board Information. You will need to answer all mandatory fields to access the available grant applications on the platform.

PLEASE NOTE: Once an organization profile has been created for a Nonprofit or fiscally sponsored organization, please allow up to 24 hours (one business day) for approval to access available applications in the platform. Submitting your Application Once you have completed your Organization Profile, please return to the “Home” page. There you will see “Funding Opportunities” tile.

Please locate the appropriate grant opportunity and fill in all mandatory fields. Please adhere to the following instructions to ensure a successful submittal: SCBG grant applications will be accepted only through the online platform. Paper applications will not be accepted.

To submit the completed SCBG grant application simply hit the “Submit” option at the bottom of the page. You will receive an automatic email when your grant application has been received. Please retain this receipt for your files.

Applications will be accepted only through the online process. Paper applications will not be accepted. To submit the completed and saved application, while on the “Submit” page, click the “I agree” box under Proposal Authorization.

A “Submit” button will appear at the bottom of the page for you to click. If you submit an application with any errors you will receive a “validation” box listing the errors. Once the errors have been corrected, you may resubmit the application.

Please note, some questions have character counts (indicated beneath the question). While you will be able to continue entering text beyond these character counts, you will not be able to submit your application. Please ensure you do not exceed the character count to successfully submit your application.

You will receive an automatic email when your grant application has been received. Please retain this receipt for your files. Put forward your most pressing and compelling project within the guidelines above.

If you have questions about the suitability of your proposal prior to drafting your application, we encourage you to contact Maria Caudillo, Community Engagement Coordinator, at mcaudillo@SBFoundation. org . Review your budget.

A thoughtfully prepared budget demonstrates you have considered all of the costs associated with the proposed project as well as the resources needed to ensure the project’s success. Supporting documentation. Materials that applicants provide will assist in substantiating the funding request in relation to the project budget.

Examples of Supporting Document(s): Consultant/vendor proposal, the scope of work, or estimate Draft framework, draft strategic plan, timeline, RFQ MOU, partnership agreement, needs assessment Equipment replacement plan and/or pricing documentation Other (please contact us to discuss) Important Deadline Information Organizations are invited to submit an application at any time.

Applications received after the deadline will be considered the following month, with the exception of October, which is the final deadline of the year. Grant decisions will be made within eight weeks following the deadline.

2026 Small Capacity Building Grant Deadlines: February 10 | May 12 | July 14 | September 8 For questions about the Small Capacity Building Grant program, please contact Maria Caudillo, Community Engagement Coordinator, at mcaudillo@SBFoundation. org . 1111 Chapala Street, Suite 200, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 963-1873 | info@sbfoundation.

org North County Headquarters Physical Address: 2625 South Miller Street, Suite 101, Santa Maria, CA 93455 Mailing: P. O. Box 2110 Santa Maria, CA 93455 &copy2026 Santa Barbara Foundation.