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Santa Barbara, CA – Montecito Bank & Trust kicked off the holiday season by celebrating its 23rd Annual Community Dividends awards luncheon on Monday November 24th
. The pre-Thanksgiving event is a special, heartfelt thank you to the nonprofit organizations in our community, and a hallmark of the Bank’s corporate philanthropy. The Bank has granted more than $24 million to over 300 nonprofit organizations since the program’s inception in 2003. In 2025, the Bank’s total investment in nonprofit giving, focused on supporting local organizations that serve low-to moderate-income individuals in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, will exceed $1.7 million, with $1.2 million awarded through Monday’s event.
188 nonprofit leaders from across Santa Barbara and Ventura counties gathered at The Hilton Santa Barbara Beachside Resort with 68 Bank associates, the Bank’s Executive Team, Board of Directors and Emeritus Director Pete Jordano for a networking hour, followed by a Thanksgiving-style lunch. MB&T associates have volunteered over 5,500 hours throughout 2025 with many of the nonprofits in attendance.
Janet Garufis, Chairman & CEO, welcomed everyone and expressed gratitude for the nonprofit leaders and their work to make our communities better,
“You and your teams are resourceful problem solvers; often the first to see a need and step up to meet it. You respond to crises at hand, work to find long-term solutions and to help empower individuals and families so that they have the tools they need to not just survive but thrive. You feed the hungry, house the homeless and heal the hurting. You bring joy and healing to our communities through music, dance and performance. You educate us and help us reach our highest potential. You listen to your community, engaging with them to better understand their needs, collaborate with partners to be more effective in how those needs are met and advocate for changes to enhance the quality of life for all segments of our community. THANK YOU!”
In 2019 the Bank added the Michael Towbes Community Impact Dividend (MTCID) to Community Dividends to honor the legacy of founder, Michael Towbes, whose vision inspired the Bank’s philanthropy. This annual dividend awards a share of at least $100,000 to one or more nonprofits that deliver critical and sustainable services to a large number of the most vulnerable in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. With the increasing need and an ever-changing funding landscape this year, the financial stability of many nonprofits is being challenged. Ms. Garufis shared that “identifying one pillar where the need was clearly greatest – food insecurity, mental wellness, housing and healthcare – proved to be an impossible task.” Seeing opportunity in the work of two well-respected community foundations, the Bank elected to award each of these partner’s emergency funds with $100,000, for a total of $200,000. Ms. Garufis noted that the decision “demonstrates MB&T’s unwavering commitment to our ENTIRE community. Mike always hoped that our Philanthropy would “model the way” for others in the community. We believe this is one of those moments where MB&T can make a powerful statement about the urgent need for support.”
The 2025 Impact Dividend recipients are:
• Santa Barbara Foundation received $100,000 towards its Critical Needs Response Fund. The fund supports organizations that care for and safeguard the well-being of our community by providing them with critical grant funding to help them deliver essential services and strengthen their capacity to adapt to changing conditions.
• Ventura County Community Foundation received $100,000 towards its Ventura County Neighbors Support Fund. The fund provides urgent assistance to families and small business owners through trusted community partners. A special advisory committee of respected local leaders ensures transparent distribution of resources to address critical humanitarian needs, including food, transportation, rental assistance, shelter and other essential services
Guests were also treated to a surprise performance by the Music Academy of the West’s (MAW) SING! program, a free after-school choral program that engages students primarily from Title I schools in Santa Barbara. MB&T is the presenting corporate sponsor of this program. Over 30 local school children eagerly took the stage to perform Shalom Chaverim, a Hebrew Folk Song and Kuwa Furaha (Be Joy), by Jim Papoulis. A heartwarming moment, it was also a demonstration of the work organizations like MAW are doing each day to make the arts accessible for everyone.
As the luncheon wrapped, Ms. Garufis announced that in honor of the Bank’s 50th anniversary, five golden tickets, representing the five decades of Montecito Bank & Trust, were randomly placed in the Bank’s 2025 Community Impact Report distributed to nonprofit attendees. The five nonprofits that found a golden ticket received an additional surprise $500 donation.
2025 Community Dividends® Recipients
2nd Story Associates
Access Central Coast
Adelante Charter School
AHA! (Attitude. Harmony. Achievement.)
Alano Club of Santa Barbara, Inc.
Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara
Alzheimer’s Association, California Central Coast Chapter
American Indian Health & Services
Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara
Association of Fundraising Professionals, Santa Barbara/Ventura Counties Chapter
Atterdag at Home, Inc.
Atterdag Village of Solvang
Bethania Tuesday Food Distribution
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County, Inc
Blind Fitness Inc
Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura
Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark & Simi Valley Inc.
Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara, Inc.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV)
C.A.R.E.4Paws
Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation
California Avocado Festival, Inc.
California Missions Foundation
California Nature Art Museum
California State University Channel Islands Foundation
CALM
Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara
Carpinteria Children’s ProjectCarpinteria Education Foundation, Inc.
Carpinteria Skate Foundation
Casa Del Herrero
Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families
Casa Serena, Inc.
Channel Islands YMCA
Children’s Creative Project
Children’s Resource & Referral
City Impact, Inc.
CommUnify
Community Counseling and Education Center
Community Environmental Council
Congregation B’nai B’rith
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Ventura County
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County
Crane Country Day School
Dignity Moves
Direct Relief
Easy Lift Transportation
Economic Development Collaborative Ventura County
Elings Park Foundation
Ensemble Theatre Company
Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara County
Fielding Graduate University
Food From The Heart
Food Share of Ventura County
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
Friends of Fieldworkers, Inc.
Friendship Adult Day Care Center, Inc.
Friendship Manor Inc.
Ganna Walska Lotusland
Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara
Girls Incorporated of Carpinteria
Goleta Education Foundation
Good Samaritan Shelter
Grace Fisher Foundation
Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County
Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County
Hearts Aligned Inc.
Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center
HELP of Carpinteria
Hillside
Hospice of Santa Barbara, Inc.
House Farm Workers
Housing Opportunities Made Easier
Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County, Inc.
Housing Trust Fund Ventura County
Immigrant Hope of Santa Barbara, CA Inc
James Storehouse
Jewish Federation of Greater Santa BarbaraLaguna Blanca School
LEAP: Learn. Engage. Advocate. Partner
Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County
Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association
Lobero Theatre Foundation
Magoo’s Shoes
Many Mansions
Meals on Wheels Santa Barbara
Mental Wellness Center
Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project
Momentum WORK, Inc.
Moorpark College Foundation
Mothers’ Helpers
MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation
Museum of Ventura County
Music Academy of the West
Mystic Ocean Adventures
National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
New Beginnings Counseling Center
Old Mission Santa Barbara
Old Mission Santa Ines
Opera Santa Barbara
Organic Soup Kitchen
Outreach Alliance of Ventura County
Pacific Pride Foundation
Parks and Recreation Community Foundation
Partners In Housing Solutions, Inc
PathPoint
Peoples’ Self-Help Housing Corporation
Pilgrim Terrace Cooperative Homes
Planned Parenthood California Central Coast
Safety Town of Santa Barbara County
Sansum Clinic
Santa Barbara Birth Center
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Inc.
Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation
Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Santa Barbara Community Housing Corporation
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation
Santa Barbara County Education Office
Santa Barbara Culinary Experience
Santa Barbara Education Foundation
Santa Barbara Foundation
Santa Barbara Hillel
Santa Barbara Historical Museum
Santa Barbara Humane
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum
Santa Barbara Middle School
Santa Barbara Mission Archive-LibrarySanta Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Santa Barbara Police Activities League
Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation
Santa Barbara Rescue Mission
Santa Barbara Symphony
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
Santa Barbara Waldorf Association
Santa Barbara Zoological Foundation
Santa Cruz Island Foundation
Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation
Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People, Inc.
Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara
Showers of Blessing Santa Barbara
Solvang Friendship House
Solvang Senior Center
Solvang Theaterfest, Inc.
St. Vincent’s
Standing Together to End Sexual Assault
State Street Ballet
Storyteller
Stuart C Gildred Family YMCA
Students for Eco-Education & Agriculture, Inc.
Studio Channel Islands Art Center
Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) International
Teacher’s Fund
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation
The Arc Foundation of Ventura County
The Cecilia Fund
The Foundation for Girsh Park
The Foundation For Santa Barbara City College
The Marjorie Luke Theatre
The Salvation Army of Santa Barbara
Tina Hansen McEnroe & Paul V. McEnroe Reading and Language Arts Clinic at UCSB
Transition House
Turning Point Foundation
TV Santa Barbara
UCSB Arts & Lectures
UCSB Economic Forecast Project
United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County
United Way of Santa Barbara County, Inc.
United Way of Ventura County, Inc.
Unity Shoppe, Inc.
Veggie Rescue
Ventura College Foundation
Ventura County Community Development Corporation
Ventura County Community Foundation
Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation
Ventura Housing
Ventura Land Trust
VNA Health FoundationWestmont College
White Buffalo Land Trust
Wilderness Youth Project
Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV)
Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara
Youth and Family Services YMCA: Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Center
Montecito Bank & Trust is the oldest and largest locally owned community bank in the Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Founded in 1975, the bank celebrated its 50th anniversary on March 17, 2025, and operates 13 branch offices in Santa Maria, Solvang, Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo and Westlake Village. Montecito Bank & Trust has a history of unwavering corporate philanthropy in the local communities it serves. The Bank offers a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and consumers, including business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate finance; SBA loans; mortgage loans, consumer loans; credit cards; merchant services; and online services, including mobile banking and cash management. Its Wealth Management Division provides comprehensive trust services and full investment management for all branch office markets. The Bank has earned 32 Best Bank awards in the last 13 years, in addition to numerous accolades for Best Mortgage and Best Financial Services Company in Santa Barbara, Best Investment Company in Santa Ynez Valley and the fourth Best Bank to Work For in the United States (American Banker Magazine).