Tag: SBCC Foundation

SBCC PROMISE expands access to higher education for over 10,000 local students

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SANTA BARBARA — Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) and the SBCC Foundation proudly announce a landmark year for the SBCC Promise, the innovative initiative that removes financial barriers to college for local high school graduates. In Fall 2025, the SBCC Promise enrolled more than 1,800 students, which shows amazing program participation and reaffirms the community’s commitment to college access and student success.

Launched in 2016 by the SBCC Foundation, the SBCC Promise provides eligible students — recent graduates from high schools throughout the South County — the opportunity to attend Santa Barbara City College full-time and free of cost for up to two years. The program covers tuition, all required fees, textbooks, and supplies, making it one of the most comprehensive community college Promise programs in the nation. 

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Statement from SBCC Board of Trustees President Jonathan Abboud on unauthorized use of McKenzie Scott Gift

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SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) Board of Trustees is concerned by the unauthorized use of the 2021 MacKenzie Scott gift funds disclosed by the SBCC Foundation. 

While we were disappointed to learn that the MacKenzie Scott funds were used without explicit authorization by either the SBCC Foundation board or the College, SBCC is nevertheless grateful to the SBCC Foundation’s current leadership and staff for identifying the past unauthorized activity and initiating a comprehensive review of the SBCC Foundation’s past accounting practices and swiftly improving internal controls. SBCC works closely with the SBCC Foundation, which is a separate legal entity, to support student success and further the institution’s educational mission. 

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SBCC Awarded Grant from Uplift Central Coast Coalition

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“With gratitude to the Uplift Central Coast Coalition through the State’s California Jobs First program and our Ocean Collective partners, SBCC will lead the way in enhancing the Blue Economy in Santa Barbara County,” said Superintendent/President Erika Endrijonas, Ph.D. “This grant takes us one step closer to expanding our local economy and developing yet another sustainable workforce pipeline. We are excited to get to work!”  

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Santa Barbara City College and the SBCC Foundation Announce Largest Gift in 112-Year History

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Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) and the SBCC Foundation announced today that they have received a $20,000,000 gift from MacKenzie Scott. As a community college dedicated to the success of every student, SBCC will use this unrestricted gift to advance its mission in bold new ways. In her post announcing the gift (one of 276 totaling $2,739,000,000), Scott wrote. “Higher education is a proven pathway to opportunity, so we looked for 2- and 4-year institutions successfully educating students who come from communities that have been chronically underserved.”

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