Community Dividends buffer deep budget cuts
Montecito Bank & Trust honored the legacy of its late founder and provided major grants to blunt the impact of budget cuts on the most needy at its 23rd annual Community Dividends awards luncheon.
Held on the Monday before Thanksgiving since 2003, the 2025 awards marked the 50th anniversary of the region’s largest bank. As Mike Towbes, the bank’s co-founder and longtime chairman, said at the time, the awards were “an example for others to follow” when it came to corporate philanthropy. “We do this because it is the right thing to do,” he often said.
Montecito Bank Trust Chair and CEO Janet Garufis said the 2025 grants were designed to help nonprofits navigate an unpredictable environment for government funding and challenges facing families who are most in need.
“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,” she said in a statement about the Nov. 24 event.
Monica White, CEO of FoodShare, the large food bank based in Ventura County, said that while times have been difficult, FoodShare has been able to sustain its operations thanks to generous donations. “The private sector has stepped up,” said White, a grant recipient,
The bulk of the awards, totaling $1 million, went to 188 nonprofits, with 85% of the grants going to social services, youth, health and education programs. Fifteen percent went to arts and culture nonprofits.
A pair of $100,000, Michael Towbes Community Impact Dividend grants, went to The Santa Barbara Foundation for its Critical Needs Response Fund and to the Ventura County Community Foundation for its Neighbors Support Fund. Both were launched this summer in response to the immigration crackdown that kept thousands of residents in their homes and unable to work, shop or get health treatments.
Prior recipients of the impact grants include Casa Pacifica, Youth and Family Services, YMCA and Noah’s Anchorage.
The luncheon was held at the Hiltson Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort and hosted by Janet Garufis, who, like Towbes, is a member of the Business Times Hall of Fame. Along with executives and the bank’s board, Garufis recognized former director Peter Jordano, also a Business Times Hall of Fame member.
The bank has granted more than $24 million to over 300 nonprofit organizations since the program’s inception.
In 2025, Montecito’s said its total investment in nonprofit giving in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties will exceed $1.7 million, with $1.2 million awarded on Nov. 24 plus additional grants in its 50th anniversary year. Representatives and leaders from 188 nonprofits from across Santa Barbara and Ventura counties attended the event along with bank officers, employees and directors.
email: [email protected]
