Last year, SBEF was excited to launch a new grant program designed specifically for SB Unified high school students. Grants of up to $500 were awarded for student-managed projects enriching their fellow students’ academic, artistic, and personal development. The goal of Students Grants is to empower high school students to identify needs on their campuses and create solutions to solve them while introducing youth to the grant writing process and working with nonprofits.
We believe the story of the impact of our Student Grants program is best told from the student’s perspective. The following article was originally featured in The King’s Page, an independent student publication with the mission of reporting the news that is important to students at San Marcos High School.
Thank you Santa Barbara Education Foundation!
Evelina Erickson, Editor-in-Chief
Between your fingertips or resting on a surface, you read this paper. The touch of its thin pages, words rich in value and printed in ink, side-by-side captivating pictures that first attract your eyes; The King’s Page is produced.
Beyond the time and effort members of The King’s Page dedicate to the paper, it also costs money. Printing alone is over one thousand dollars per issue, but it is well worth it. In order to continue producing issues of the paper, especially in print, The King’s Page organizes fundraisers, reaches out to companies for advertisements, and applies for grants.
Fortunately, special to the Santa Barbara Unified School District and community, Santa Barbara Education Foundation provides grants through their various programs. These grant applications are accessible to any student or teacher who seeks funds for their initiative.
“We’ve given out $200,000 to teachers this year [2023] so we really want to grow our student grant program,” said Santa Barbara Education Foundation (SBEF) Development Associate, Elle Chaves.
On January 25, 2024, SBEF hosted a teacher grant program event where they awarded grants to “83 educators across 21 schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District to fund various projects promoting innovative teaching,” according to Noozhawk.
Less than a week later, on January 31, SBEF held a second event for their student grant program.
“We want to keep growing and having events like this is a great way to show people what students are able to accomplish and that can help us fundraise more and then we can give out more money,” said SBEF Development Associate Elle Chaves.
This past spring was SBEF’s first year running the student grant program, and they have already successfully given out five thousand dollars to student initiatives. For this upcoming grant cycle, their goal is to do the same.
These funds are purely for educational purposes. Many clubs and projects which receive a grant put the money towards field trips, supplies such as cameras and books, mural painting, newspaper printing, and more. Out of the thirteen grants they gave out, all three local high school newspapers were awarded, as well as a Computer Science club, some art clubs, and philanthropic clubs.
Editor-in-Chief of The King’s Page, Noelle Cabrera, received a $400 grant from SBEF to assist in printing the physical copies of the newspaper; the pages in your fingertips at this very moment.
“I am so incredibly grateful for the grant we received from the Santa Barbara Education Foundation. Producing physical copies of our newspaper is one of my favorite parts of being on The King’s Page, but it can be so expensive,” said Editor-in-Chief senior Noelle Cabrera. “We have so much to do between writing articles, editing them, and doing layouts, that taking time to raise money can be hard. This grant makes printing so much easier for us.”
(Left to right) A&E Editor senior Roman Trovato and Editors-in-Chief seniors Noelle Cabrera and Evelina Erickson at the SBEF grant ceremony.
Three editors from The King’s Page attended SBEF’s student grant event, an intimate ceremony held on lower State Street hosted in the Community Environmental Council Atrium building. All of the SBUSD recipients were invited to celebrate their projects. The evening, just as sweet as the refreshments provided, began with a time to mingle with fellow grant recipients. After attendees were seated, SBEF team members took turns making speeches, then awarding students their grants.
San Marcos senior Kayva Suresh also presented during the evening about the merit of receiving a grant for the club she is president of, RFAST (Resource Family Assistance Student Team). She prepared a slidedeck with this information and provided insight into how SBEF impacted her project.
“RFAST received $500 for club supplies and it’s going to be really instrumental to continue our programs and include as many people as possible. Hopefully we get to even expand our impact in other parts of the county,” said Suresh.
San Marcos teacher, Maria Lorenzano, also received a $400 teacher grant from SBEF.
“I truly appreciate the SBEF support. It is through their generosity that my class was able to create this project that we are able to share with other students,” said Ethnic Studies teacher Maria Lorenzano.
Ms. Lorenzano used the money to purchase materials for a college project students in the AVID 9 classes completed. Made possible by the money awarded by SBEF, these classes hosted a college fair for other AVID students to learn from.
All of the thirteen student recipients and their initiatives are an example of how these grants are not just money. They are not just a channel through which money is received. Instead, through these grants awarded to students and teachers, SBEF provides a segway to education and community engagement in Santa Barbara and SBUSD.
Student recipients of the SBEF grant holding their certificates. One of the recipients is senior Kavya Suresh, who received a grant for RFAST.
SBEF Executive Director, Pedro Paz, said, “It’s not about the money, it’s about making a community better, and that’s what this program is about. One of the things that we see is this is an opportunity for students in our district to get a taste of nonprofits and what they are doing, but also get a taste of philanthropy, like giving to your own school and then ultimately helping others and not being extrinsically motivated.”
While the teachers grant application opens in the fall, the next Santa Barbara Education Foundation student grant opportunity has a deadline of March 1-31, 2024. SBEF is also accepting donations and is holding upcoming fundraisers. According to their Programs Manager, Katie Szopa, their annual fundraiser, the HOPE Awards, will take place on April 25 at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. They will also be raising funds for the Teacher Grants program that evening.
“Our goal for the upcoming year is to surpass this amount [$200,000] since there were many deserving grant projects that were still left unfunded,” said Szopa. “Our community can donate to this program by visiting our website and donating online or please email our Major Gifts officer, Nina Dunbar, at [email protected].