SANTA YNEZ, CA – The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation is currently accepting grant applications for its Technology in Schools Program, which supports Santa Barbara County schools that are seeking funds to help meet the classroom technology needs of their students.
The program allows Santa Barbara County school administrators and faculty to apply for technology grant dollars to fund specific projects. The grants allow schools to purchase hardware, upgrade infrastructure, add high-tech resources and boost their curriculum.
“The goal of this program is to equip our local schools with the latest classroom technology so that students are in the best possible position for success,” said Kenneth Kahn, Tribal Chairman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “We are proud to be able to make this commitment for the ninth consecutive year of the Technology in Schools Program, and we encourage every school in Santa Barbara County, K-12, to apply for these funds.”
Since its inception in 2015, the tribe’s Technology in Schools Program has issued more than $360,000 in grants to area schools.
The program’s most recent 2022-2023 school year grant recipients were Delta High School in Santa Maria, which received over $9,000 to purchase robotics equipment and software for its robotics program; College School District in Santa Ynez, which received over $7,000 to purchase a library software system and safety radio equipment; Cuyama Elementary School, which received $15,000 to purchase 24 computers; Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, which received $15,000 to modernize its computer lab; and Ballard Elementary School in the Santa Ynez Valley, which received $15,000 to upgrade its cable infrastructure to improve internet access for students.
In 2015, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians donated the proceeds from its annual charity golf tournament to four local schools in the form of technology grants. Inspired by the success of those grants, the tribe’s leadership created the Technology in Schools Program through its foundation to help fulfill the high-tech needs of classrooms in Santa Barbara County.
The deadline to apply for the 2023-2024 school year is April 30, 2023, and all applications must be submitted online at www.santaynezchumash.org/foundation.