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Dear SBCC Foundation Community,
As we approach the end of 2020, I'd like to thank you for your support of our community’s college and its students throughout this most turbulent year.
The SBCC Foundation has stood strong for 45 years. Our job – year in and year out – is to ensure that our community’s college can meet all students where they are and provide every possible opportunity for them to succeed. Though this can be difficult for many students, even under the best of circumstances, this year introduced previously unimagined obstacles.
Over the course of just a few days in mid-March we experienced the loss of thousands of jobs, the complete closure of childcare facilities, and the sudden transition to remote at-home schooling for students of all ages.
The good news is that the SBCC Foundation entered 2020 in its strongest position ever thanks to our community’s long-standing generosity. This allowed us to adapt quickly, provide leadership, and find new and creative ways to support students while keeping our college and community connected.
SBCC is more than a renowned institution of higher learning – it is a source of inspiration, a symbol of our community’s strength, and a driver of economic development in our region. You support provides the “margin of excellence” that makes this possible.
If you have already made a gift, thank you! If you have not yet done so, please consider supporting our community's college and its students with a year-end gift today.
Gratefully,
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First-Ever Virtual Spring Forward! Gala Raised Over $300,000
Thank you to all of the generous sponsors, donors, and attendees who helped to make our reinvented Spring Forward! Gala on October 1 a success. The outpouring of support demonstrated how vital Santa Barbara City College is to our community.
Over 250 people attended the virtual event, and helped to raise more than $300,000 to support our community's college and its students through the SBCC Promise, scholarships, emergency grants, and more. Attendees heard moving stories from current students and alumni, and learned about the struggles facing college students across our nation during a live chat between Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab and Foundation CEO Geoff Green.
The gala concluded with a special performance from SBCC Music with Michael McDonald, previously seen only by those who attended last year's sold-out benefit concert at the historic Lobero Theatre.
Those who missed the live event (or just want to experience it again), may watch a recording of the Gala on our website.
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$100 Million Donation Committed to Foundation for California Community Colleges to Help Students Finish College
On October 20, the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, in partnership with the Foundation for California Community Colleges (FoundationCCC), announced the largest philanthropic gift to community colleges in the nation to date.
Over 20 years, the $100 million pledge will provide emergency financial aid and scholarships to California community college students who need it most, helping to eliminate regional educational gaps. The first distribution in 2020-21 will be exclusively for emergency funds in recognition of the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This support is being made possible by a donation from the Jay Pritzker Foundation to the FoundationCCC, which serves as the official nonprofit auxiliary to the California Community Colleges. For the first five years, FoundationCCC will partner with 34 community colleges in the three regions of California with the lowest percentage of adults who have college degrees – the Far North, the Central Valley, and the Inland Empire
"This historic gift changes the landscape for community college philanthropy," said Geoff Green, CEO of the SBCC Foundation and President of the Network for California Community Colleges Foundations. "It is not only an act of incredible generosity, but also a clear statement that our community colleges are worthy of this level of investment. It will serve as a signal to donors across the country that community colleges are perhaps the best tools we have for increasing social and economic mobility, addressing economic barriers to higher education, and tackling equity issues in our communities."
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Campus Conversations Connect SBCC to the Community
In the early days of the pandemic, the Foundation launched a series of virtual gatherings called COVID Conversations: How SBCC is Meeting the Moment. These 45-minute online get-togethers featured interviews with campus leaders to discover how they were adapting to the pandemic. The response was overwhelmingly positive. This fall, the series was reimagined as Campus Conversations, and continues to highlight excellence at SBCC, bringing the campus closer to our community at large. All of the conversations to date were recorded and may be viewed on our website.
Campus Conversations will resume after the holiday season. We look forward to having you join us next year as we explore more of the hidden gems at SBCC!
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SBCC Foundation Featured in the Montecito Journal's Giving List
The Montecito Journal has published its inaugural edition of The Giving List – a sleek, high-end book that tells the story of philanthropy in Santa Barbara. It features the stories of 52 nonprofit organizations doing vital work in Santa Barbara County. The SBCC Foundation is among the organizations, highlighted in a two-page spread titled "The Promise of Higher Education," (pages 88-89).
The story centers on the SBCC Promise, but notes that it "is but one example of how the SBCC Foundation stands up for its students. When COVID-19 hit, the Foundation distributed more than $2 million in emergency grants to 2,335 students in a mere three weeks to help them stay enrolled and moving forward even as stay-at-home orders were creating a wave of unemployment."
In addition to the print version of the book, a digital online edition of The Giving List gives participating organizations the opportunity to regularly update their pages in order to keep the information current. Starting next year, you can easily view the online version regularly to see what's new at the Foundation and keep in touch.
View the digital edition of the The Giving List.
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More Ways to Support the SBCC Foundation at Year End
Contributions made to the SBCC Foundation are a wonderful way to show your support for our community’s college and its students and are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
As always, you may make a gift by sending a check to us at: SBCC Foundation, 721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93109. Easier still is a trip to our website, sbccfoundation.org. Click on the DONATE button on the home page and complete the personal contact and credit card information requested. The site is a secure one!
2020 offers a few additional options for giving:
$300 tax deduction for non-itemizers
We know that not everyone can or does itemize deductions on their taxes. For 2020, however, there is a one-time exception to this rule. Even if you do not itemize deductions, you can still deduct up to $300 on your federal taxes.
Gifts of appreciated stock
In the current market environment, many stocks have increased in value remarkably. You can make a significant contribution and avoid capital gains taxes by transferring appreciated stock from your portfolio to the SBCC Foundation. We are pleased to provide you and your account executive with simple instructions to accomplish the transfer. Please contact CEO Geoff Green at (805) 730-4411 for more information or to make the necessary arrangements.
Gifts from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
There is no Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) in 2020, but if you are age 71½ or older, you can still transfer funds from your IRA or IRA Rollover directly to the SBCC Foundation through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). Such a distribution avoids any adverse implications for your taxable income, and you can make gifts of any size up to $100,000. You will need to complete paperwork that your IRA’s fiduciary provides—not onerous—and the fiduciary does the rest.
Speaking of IRAs. You can make a significant legacy gift by naming the SBCC Foundation as a beneficiary for all or some portion of your IRA. Of all assets, IRAs are the most heavily taxed (unless inherited by a spouse). SBCC Foundation is a tax-qualified organization and can receive IRA proceeds without losing a penny of your life savings to taxes. Accomplish this by completing a beneficiary designation provided by your IRA’s fiduciary. Your legacy will be fully realized.
We recognize that your decision to contribute to SBCC Foundation requires thoughtful consideration. We appreciate your support and the meaning that it has for you and for our college community. Thank you for keeping us in mind now and throughout the year.
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SBCC Alumna Spotlight: Welcome to Melissa's World
Artist and SBCC alumna Melissa Mathieson is hitting her stride and living her dream, just shortly after graduating from Concordia University in Montreal with a BFA in Studio Art. Her 3D artwork is in great demand and she has some major clients, including Deckers Brands, Atlassian, MailChimp, and Paperboy London. She has been profiled in various art publications and has a strong following on social media.
“Santa Barbara City College was life-changing for me,” Melissa says. “The art program is wonderful, and all my professors were extremely knowledgeable and encouraging. I was able to really explore by taking a broad range of courses. I fell in love with and learned so much from my art history and studio classes.” Melissa traveled to Paris with a group led by one of her favorite professors, Joy Kunz, through SBCC’s Study Abroad Program. “It was the most amazing time! The experience broadened my horizons and helped me grow as an artist.”
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Thank you for supporting
our community's college and its students!
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