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California · Nonprofit

UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC

UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC (California) receives grants from 92 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,488,670 to it, the largest being SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION ($2,016,926). 51 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$4.4M
Funders on record
92
Grants received
$10M
Net assets
$16M
51/92 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 53%
01What it does

What United Way of Santa Barbara County Inc does

Mission

To enrich the lives of children and families and build resilient communities by leading local programs and partnerships that improve school readiness and academic achievement, financial empowerment, and crisis response and recovery.

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. United for literacy: since 1923, uwsbc has worked in close partnership with local schools, districts, and educators in our community to support students in creating a stronger foundation for academic success. Through direct services and programs, uwsbc works in tandem with local districts to narrow the achievement gap for students in low-resource communities. Uwsbc provides three programs to support students k-12, including the fun in the sun summer learning program, the united learning center tutoring support program, and the bridge the break program. Within each program is a focus on data-driven academic curriculum, social-emotional learning, and access to the ongoing tools and support that students need to build a brighter future. As the needs of our local community evolve, uwsbc adapts its programmatic infrastructure to best support the students and families we serve.

    $495,626 spent$60,347 earned by the program
    16% of program spending
  2. Fun in the sun: the fun in the sun summer learning program is united way's largest academic program, with over 28 years of providing hundreds of local students in low-resource communities with a comprehensive network of support throughout the summer. The summer program provides a full spectrum of services, including individualized academic instruction and literacy remediation, field trips and enrichment activities, community engagement and volunteering opportunities, and a robust social-emotional learning curriculum. Fun in the sun serves over 500 students from transitional kindergarten to 12th grade and their families at six campuses throughout santa barbara county, with sites at local schools in carpinteria, goleta, guadalupe, santa barbara, and solvang.

    $1,330,813 spent$565,671 earned by the program
    43% of program spending
  3. Financial security: uwsbc's mission is focused on creating a more resilient community. At the core of this approach is helping local individuals and families build a strong financial foundation to increase their capacity to meet basic needs and achieve long-term financial stability. Uwsbc's financial security initiative includes programs like the volunteer income tax assistance program, which address the obstacles that face those in low-resource communities countywide. With robust partnerships with local school districts, financial institutions, government agencies, corporations, and community organizations, uwsbc connects individuals and families with a network of tools and resources to increase income, build savings, and gain and sustain assets.

    $206,799 spentof which $1,000 as grants
    7% of program spending
  4. Resiliency grants program: community work in building up and sustaining the local childcare sector, which address the obstacles that face those in low-resource communities countywide. With robust partnerships with local school districts, financial institutions, government agencies, corporations, and community organizations, uwsbc connects individuals and families with a robust network of tools and resources to increase income, build savings, and gain and sustain assets.

    $503,748 spentof which $133,857 as grants
    16% of program spending
  5. Community resiliency: as a result of united way's expanded focus in the field of crisis response, the organization has magnified its role as a community leader in recovery efforts in response to recent disasters. From the expansion of established educational programming to the development of new programs in areas of basic needs assistance, rent relief, and childcare, united way leverages a diverse network of partners and resources to quickly adapt to the changing needs of residents in the immediate aftermath and recovery from a disaster. United way operates in collaboration with local organizations, disaster response officials, and the county of santa barbara. United way remains committed to identifying emerging challenges, establishing dedicated networks of resources and leaders, and investing in new collaborative strategies that directly support families, organizations, and school districts in need.

    $548,624 spentof which $336,176 as grants
    18% of program spending

The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,085,610.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($3.1M) Expenses 100 ($2.7M) Net assets 100 ($11M)2018 Revenue 134 ($4.2M) Expenses 144 ($3.9M) Net assets 107 ($12M)2019 Revenue 85 ($2.6M) Expenses 101 ($2.7M) Net assets 110 ($12M)2020 Revenue 183 ($5.7M) Expenses 165 ($4.4M) Net assets 124 ($14M)2021 Revenue 503 ($16M) Expenses 560 ($15M) Net assets 146 ($16M)2022 Revenue 701 ($22M) Expenses 752 ($20M) Net assets 130 ($14M)2023 Revenue 546 ($17M) Expenses 630 ($17M) Net assets 139 ($15M)2024 Revenue 119 ($3.7M) Expenses 146 ($3.9M) Net assets 144 ($16M)2025 Revenue 140 ($4.4M) Expenses 142 ($3.8M) Net assets 148 ($16M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Revenue (140)Expenses (142)Net assets (148)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $15M to $17M (+14%).

$12M
$13M
$13M
$15M
$17M
$16M
$16M
$17M
$17M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2020 3% · 2021 63% · 2022 80% · 2023 83% · 2024 16% · 2025 22%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

67% of UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (82% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 3,053 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.

$446k
’17
$320k
’18
−$58k
’19
$1.3M
’20
$720k
’21
$1.8M
’22
$182k
’23
−$186k
’24
$564k
’25
11
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

Chief executive

Steve Ortiz

President & CEO/board secr

Board chair

Cliff Lundberg

Chair

As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.

The chief executive listed changed between the FY2017 and FY2018 filings.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Listed222019201920201722
Joined·+1+0+4+2+1+3+1+5
No longer listed·31330340
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 19 funders to 33 funders, grant income rose $299k → $625k.

18 of 92 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 41% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

From the IRS filings of UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 92 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 19% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left

58% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC.

19%
largest funder
40%
top three
~13
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 23% · 2018 58% · 2019 52% · 2020 38% · 2021 27% · 2022 19% · 2023 20% — diversifying over time.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How long its funders stay

34% of UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 55% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

74% of UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC's grant income comes from California funders.

MN
IL
WI
NY
MA
WY
OH
CA
CO
MO
DE
NC
TX
FL

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
California out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $4.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 1,645 philanthropy nonprofits its size.

Operating margin13% · above the median
Months of reserve10.8mo · above the median
Revenue growth (annualized)4% · below the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,645 philanthropy nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025

Organizations like UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In California

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

81% of spending goes to programs.

Program 81%Management 9%Fundraising 10%

Governance

18
board members
94%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

97%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

CA

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

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Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC?
UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC (California) receives grants from 92 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,488,670 to it, the largest being SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION ($2,016,926). 51 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC have?
IRS filings report 92 organizations giving $10,488,670 in grants to UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC, 51 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC?
SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $2,016,926 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 92 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing