Launched in 2006, the Power of Partnership Initiative (POPI) has been a collaborative effort to create and manage community-driven plans, programs, and outcomes to improve the lives of our children, seniors, and families in Santa Barbara County.

Utilizing existing resources through the creation of new partnerships in our community, POPI has focused on answering "How do we as a community make substative, long-term improvements in the condition of our children, seniors, and families?"

Through the creation of a Master Action Plan (MAP) for children, seniors, and their families, POPI brought together the various sectors of our community to build the goals and resources we need in order to create long-term, sustainable social improvements

POPI has now become the largest community engagement activity in the history of the Tri-Counties.

Explore the website and FAQs to learn more about POPI and what it has accomplished to date.

In the region spanning Goleta to Carpinteria, there were no comprehensive, community-wide plans for Children, Families, or Seniors that had general acceptance and adherence.

As our society becomes more complex, the issues which affect children, families, and seniors have also grown more complicated. To address these issues, the community needed to create a focused plan so that we can work together to build a better future.

The inital two year community engagement process involved over 5,300 community participants, 200 community organizations, and 150 community leaders and experts.

Participating groups have included:
 Vision Council - a group of thirty community leaders from every sector
 Steering Committee - a group of twelve to eighteen experts from different sectors
 Expert Forum - a community-wide forum for people working in the field
 Community Vision Forum - forums open to all community members, especially focusing on those receiving services
 Organizational Funders - a group of individuals representing public and private funding organizations
 Philanthropists - a group of community benefactors
 Various Stakeholder Groups - Community members, City Government (Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria), County Government, Media, faith-based groups, neighborhood associations, arts organizations, foundations, college community, medical and mental health professionals, non-profit organizations, service organizations, and many more!

1. RESULTS - deliver better results by coordinating efforts to reach community goals
2. COOPERATION - increase cooperation among community, state, regional, and national funding institutions
3. COLLABORATION - increase collaboration and partnering among local health and human service organizations
4. EFFICIENCY - increase the efficiency of efforts to improve people's lives and the underlying conditions giving rise to health and human service challenges in the community
5. IMPROVEMENT - improve services for everyone through a more effective health and human service system
6. IMPACT! - increase the overall well-being of Children, Families, and Seniors in our community!

 Creation of a Master Action Plan (MAP) for the community
 Better results for community goals
 Greater efficiency and less duplication
 Face community challenges constructively
 Greater focus and alignment of all service efforts and funding
 Increased partnership between all sectors
 Increased mobilization and awareness of goals, resources, and strategies
 Increased well-being of children, families, seniors, & you!

January 2006-December 2007: Community commits to a process that will develop long-term future goals

April 2008-July 2009: Power of Partnership Initiative brings together people from all sectors to create Master Action Plans

July 2009: Power of Partnership Initiative 10-year Master Action Plans delivered to community

2009-2019: Power of Partnership Initiative Master Action Plans- Implementation Phase

The south Santa Barbara Community has come to an agreement on a short list of critical goals and outcomes. Over 5,000 Santa Barbarans came together to create two main 10-year goals:
1) ALL children enter kindergarten ready to learn, graduate from high school, and succeed
2) ALL seniors can continue their lifestyles, stay independent, and live in their own homes as long as possible.

In addition, the POPI process uncovered that the neighborhood-based approach is the best method of service delivery to increase the well-being of local children, seniors and families.

United Way of Santa Barbara County (UWSBC) is now collaborating with Carpinteria Unified School District (CUC) and local senior service delivery organizations to begin the implementation of these goals.

In order to accomplish the goals set out during the community engagement process, United Way of Santa Barbara County (UWSBC) has combined efforts with various community organizations to create two pilot programs utilizing the neighborhood-based approach:

1) Seniors Neighborhood Project (SNP)
A one-stop neighborhood shop for seniors
Coordinate existing services to increase access to:
*Transportation
*Meals
*Health and Wellness (including life-long learning activities)
Members of the targeted neighborhood will be directly involved in implementing and
driving the success of the neighborhood model project
Improve likelihood that seniors stay independant and live safely in their homes as
long as possible


2) Carpinteria United for Children (CUC)
Selected school and neighborhood sites will maximize the impact of services for
disadvantaged children and their families through a 5-10 year pipeline of intensive
and comprehensive social and educational program services
All children in the pilot project will:
Enter kindergarten ready to learn and succeed
Receive regular, preventive health care
Acquire positive values and self-idenitiy thoughout their 18 years
Feel safe in their neighborhood

Visit the "Get Involved" section of this site to see how you can participate and help make a positive change in the future of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria!

Contact United Way of Santa Barbara County:
Phone: 805-965-8591
Address: 320 E. Gutierrez Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Email: popi@unitedwaysb.org