NORTHERN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY UNITED WAY INC

Since 1959, the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way has been working FOR IMPACT in the communities of Santa Barbara County. The name has changed over the years. We started as United Community Services Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County (a true mouthful!) in 1959. We became the United Way of the Central Coast in 1977, and Northern Santa Barbara County United Way in 2006. Our organization initially served its health and human services mission by fundraising and re-granting to local agencies. However, in 2000 the United Way of America, the National Federation of local United Ways, adopted an expanded definition of philanthropy as evidenced by its Mission Statement: Improving people’s lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities. As a result, the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way transitioned to a FOR IMPACT organizational focus and moved beyond fundraising. Today we organize community collaborations and respond to local needs by becoming a "partner in change". We are now working with a broad range of individuals and organizations in order to identify and resolve pressing community issues. We serve a community of approximately 450,000 people. These people have different needs, but we fight for every member of every community to improve health, education, and financial stability.