Santa Monica Westside Legacy Fund for Women and Girls

• Overview

  The Santa Monica Westside Legacy Fund for Women and Girls identifies and supports innovative approaches to overcoming the barriers that prevent underserved women and girls from reaching their full potential. It focuses on projects in Santa Monica and on the Westside that promote female self-sufficiency, equality, and empowerment.

  The Legacy Fund was established from the proceeds of the sale of the YWCA property in Santa Monica. A group of Donor Advisors, composed of former board members and supporters of the organization, solicits and administers the annual grants, with assistance from California Community Foundation staff.

• Eligibility

  Legacy Fund proposals will be administered through an invitation-only process. At this time, the Fund is not accepting unsolicited proposals or letters of inquiry.

  To be eligible for funding, an applicant must:

  • Serve Santa Monica and/or the Westside of Los Angeles
  • Commit to being a catalyst for positive change in the lives of women and girls
  • Be a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code

  Priority will be given to entities with a solid track record of accomplishment, leadership, and sound financial management.  Donor Advisors will also be looking for proposals that present effective strategies to address gaps in services and meet a current and demonstrated need.

• Areas of Interest

  Legacy Fund program areas for women and girls include, but are not limited to:

  • Educational programs including those that focus on STEAM disciplines.
  • Scholarships and student support
  • Transitioning foster youth
  • Sports programs for girls
  • Housing and food assistance
  • Counseling and social services, including crisis intervention and legal services
  • Health services, including preventive services, health promotion and education
  • Mentoring programs
  • Child Development & Parent Training
  • Leadership and team building
  • Research or planning efforts to improve outcomes or expand services

  The Fund will consider providing grants for operating support, restricted programs, planning and research, capacity building, and a limited number of capital projects. Grants can be annual or multi-year contingent on measurable milestones.

• Outcomes

  The Legacy Fund works with grantee organizations to define desired grant outcomes and the strategies and criteria for measuring them. The Fund is willing to take risks on innovative solutions that have the potential to significantly benefit the community or targeted populations. Evaluating lessons learned also provides a critical understanding of how best to serve vulnerable populations of women and girls.

  DATE	AMOUNT	ORGANIZATION	PURPOSE
  2/5/2021	$50,000	Regents of the University of California Los Angeles	Support for Iris Cantor UCLA Women’s Health Center’s ‘Women’s Health & Money @ Work’
  12/1/2020	$7,500	Venice Family Clinic	Improving the health of women and girls on the westside
  12/22/2020	$21,000	Mar Vista Family Center	Preschool Nutrition Program
  11/25/2020	$7,500	Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services	To support mentoring and life skills assistance for residents in the Therapeutic Residential Program.
  11/25/2020	$7,500	Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra	To support the Meet the Music program, including new partnership with SAMO High.
  11/25/2020	$20,000	Community Partners fbo Write Girl	To support wraparound creative writing and mentoring services for the girls enrolled in WriteGirl who reside on the Westside of Los Angeles during our 2020-21 season.
  11/20/2020	$7,500	Jewish Free Loan Association	To support as many women as possible weather the economic difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  11/20/2020	$7,500	American Red Cross Los Angeles Region	To support disaster relief services and provide communities with the resources needed to prepare for and recover from emergencies of all sizes and scopes.
  11/13/2020	$20,000	Schools on Wheels	To enhance the K-12 educational opportunities for children experiencing homelessness during COVID.
  11/13/2020	$7,500	Mount Saint Mary’s University	To support 2021 report on the status of women and girls.
  11/13/2020	$7,500	Disability Community Resource Center	To expand the peer-to-peer programming and launch an Interpersonal Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors Support Group for current and prospective DCRC members.
  10/9/2020	$25,000	American Red Cross Los Angeles Region	For the Women Veterans Transitional Housing Program.
  10/9/2020	$22,000	Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra	In support of the LUNA Lab West Project promoting female composers.
  10/9/2020	$23,000	Planned Parenthood Los Angeles	In support of the Wellbeing Center at University High School.
  10/9/2020	$35,000	Public Counsel	To support the Audrey Irmas Center for women and girls rights for workplace justice outreach to women’s organizations on the Westside, especially serving black and minority populations.
  10/9/2020	$40,000	Community Partners fbo Safe Place for Youth	General operating support with an emphasis on serving young women in the Pregnant and Parenting Program and the Nest Housing Program for single parents.
  8/4/2020	$10,000	Connecting Cultures Mobile Museum	In-Schools program at Westside schools
  8/11/2020	$25,000	Mount Saint Mary’s University	Student Residential Scholarships for two former foster youth for two years.
  7/31/2020	$15,000	Westside Food Bank	To support increased food purchases for COVID crisis response
  7/31/2020	$5,000	Connecting Cultures Mobile Museum	To revamp exhibit to digital format during the COVID crisis.
  6/30/2020	$25,000	Upward Bound House	The purpose of the grant is to provide Economic Advisor salary support to assist families supported by UBH on the Westside. A second year of funding will be contingent on reported results from the first year.
  6/26/2020	$15,000	Mount Saint Mary’s University	To support the Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount Saint Mary’s University’s Report on the Status of Women in California.
  6/23/2020	$40,000	Jewish Free Loan Association	To establish a loan fund in the name of the Santa Monica Westside Legacy Fund that will be replenished when loans are repaid and continue in perpetuity. Up to $18,000 may be used for small business loans to women on the Westside of LA, the balance to be used for other loans for the benefit of women and children on the Westside of LA.
  6/23/2020	$25,000	Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History Foundation	Rise Up LA: A History of Women’s Voting. To fund the virtual component of the exhibit.
  5/22/2020	$50,000	Westside Family Health Center	To develop a Women’s Health Program “”pod”” to provide comprehensive women’s health care in the new facility and improved continuity of care.
  5/15/2020	$5,000	Planned Parenthood Los Angeles	Immediate needs for the Santa Monica Health Center re: COVID-19 Crisis.
  4/2/2020	$50,000	Santa Monica College Foundation	EveryTable program: Food Security Program benefiting students in the Guardian Scholars, CARE and STEAM programs.
  4/7/2020	$5,000	Community Partners fbo Safe Place for Youth	Immediate needs re: COVID-19 Crisis
  4/7/2020	$5,000	Mar Vista Family Center	Immediate needs re: COVID-19 Crisis
  4/7/2020	$15,000	Westside Food Bank	Immediate needs re: COVID-19 Crisis
  4/7/2020	$5,000	American National Red Cross	Immediate needs of Women Veterans Program re: COVID-19 Crisis
  1/17/2020	$50,000	Regents of the University of California Los Angeles	Support for Iris Cantor UCLA Women’s Health Center’s ‘Women’s Health & Money @ Work’
  11/19/2019	$15,000	American Red Cross of Santa Monica	Women Veteran Cohort at the West LA VA.
  11/19/2019	$25,000	American Red Cross of Santa Monica	Nurse Assistant Training program scholarships.
  11/19/2019	$10,000	Connecting Cultures Mobile Museum	In-Schools program at Westside schools
  11/19/2019	$25,000	Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra	LunaLab West for West Los Angeles Schools.
  11/19/2019	$21,000	Mar Vista Family Center	Preschool Nutrition Program
  11/19/2019	$56,000	Planned Parenthood Los Angeles	Medical Assistant salary for the Santa Monica Health Center.
  11/19/2019	$51,000	Rape Foundation	Digital Recording System for the Rape Treatment Center.
  11/19/2019	$5,000	Westside Food Bank	General Operating Support.
  11/19/2019	$50,000	Westside Family Health Center	Women’s Health Program Pod.
  11/19/2019	$39,000	Community Partners fbo Safe Place for Youth	Youth Family Housing Program.
  11/26/2019	$50,000	Santa Monica College Foundation	EveryTable program: Food Security Program benefiting students in the Guardian Scholars, CARE and STEAM programs
  11/26/2019	$7,500	Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra	“Meet the Music” concerts at UCLA in January 2020 for elementary-age students in the West Los Angeles area.
  11/26/2019	$7,500	Community Partners fbo Write Girl	To support a workshop at Otis College on the Westside of Los Angeles on December 9th increasing the number of girls that may attend and, therefore, be impacted by the program.
  11/26/2019	$7,500	Santa Monica Arts Parents Association	To support the Santa Monica High School Orchestra Program in its pursuit of musical excellence for all Santa Monica High School Orchestra students.
  12/11/2018	$7,500	Connecting Cultures Mobile Museum	CCMM-in-Schools program visit to three middle schools on the Westside of Los Angeles.
  12/11/2018	$7,500	Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra	“Meet the Music” program for elementary-age students in the Los Angeles area.
  12/11/2018	$7,500	Community Partners	Establish a weekly Women’s Empowerment Group within SPY’s Pregnant and Parenting Program.
  12/11/2018	$7,500	Mar Vista Family Center	Pre-Teen Girls program, including tutoring, arts, and music, support groups, sports training and a summer day camp.
  12/11/2018	$7,500	Planned Parenthood Los Angeles	Expanded partnership with Cedars-Sinai’s OB/GYN training program at PPLA’s Santa Monica Third Street facility.
  12/11/2018	$7,500	Regents of the University of California Los Angeles	Women’s Health and Money @ Work Series.