Teacher’s Fund was created to help Santa Barbara County teachers get the tools and materials they need for their classrooms and their students. Teacher’s Fund has granted more than $1.6 million dollars to Santa Barbara County public and private kindergarten, Elementary, Middle and High School teachers.
In 2002, Renee Grubb the owner of Village Properties established The Village Properties Teacher’s Fund (Teacher’s Fund). The non-profit organization was established to assist local teachers with the purchase of supplies, materials and equipment needed for classrooms. Village Properties and several Village Properties real estate agents supported Teacher’s Fund, and were the sole donors for several years until the non-profit’s mission and reputation were established.
Recognizing that the desire to support teachers was a shared mission in the community, Village Properties began encouraging others to join in supporting the nonprofit organization. They removed the Village Properties name from the nonprofit organization and today, Teacher’s Fund continues to be a strong and vibrant 501(c)(3), with major funding from Village Properties, their real estate agents, in addition to several businesses, individuals and foundations.
On average, the Teacher’s Fund was receiving more than $25,000 a month in requests for grades K – 12. In April of 2009, due to the magnitude of budget cuts to schools, Teacher’s Fund once again expanded support to include grades 9-12 for most Santa Barbara County public and private schools.
While Teacher’s Fund may not be able to solve the budget restraints on the Federal, State and school district levels, Teacher’s Fund support can make a difference one classroom at a time.