SANTA BARBARA — On Dec. 2, 2023, The Fund for Santa Barbara (The FUND) awarded the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) $10,000 to support its labor justice, wage theft prevention, and leadership institute programs in Santa Barbara County as part of a $100,000 from their Fall General Grant Cycle. The amount awarded will benefit the indigenous community we serve in our Santa Maria, CA, location. MICOP is very grateful to have been awarded $10,000 from The FUND.
The FUND has played a crucial role in advancing MICOP’s mission to support, organize, and empower Indigenous migrant communities in California’s Central Coast. The FUND has been a long-standing partner of MICOP, providing multi-year and one-year grants in the past that have significantly contributed to MICOP’s Northern Santa Barbara County programs, fostering solid partnerships in Santa Maria.
MICOP’s Indigenous Language Services program has previously benefited from The FUND’s support, with increased collaborations between Santa Maria’s schools and hospitals and MICOP, thus enabling institutions to better comprehend and serve the community. The Tequio Youth Program has also benefited from The FUND’s generosity, which has created safe spaces for Indigenous youth to learn about their culture and inspire them to become leaders in their community.
MICOP is committed to advocating for fair wages for the farmworking community in Santa Barbara County and empowering the next generation of indigenous leaders. The FUND’s grant will help MICOP continue its mission and ensure that the Indigenous migrant community in Santa Maria and surrounding areas will continue to be heard.
About The FUND:
Established in 1980, The FUND is a non-traditional community foundation that supports organizations and groups working for progressive social change in Santa Barbara County. The FUND works to advance progressive change by strengthening economic, environmental, political, racial, and social justice movements.
About MICOP:
The Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) aims to support, organize, and empower the indigenous migrant communities in California’s Central Coast. We operate over 20 programs across Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties, offering a range of social service and community organizing programs, Indigenous Language Interpretation Services (ILIS), and Radio Indigena 94.1 FM. For more information, please visit mixteco.org