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SANTA YNEZ, CA – March 18, 2025 – The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation is still accepting grant applications for its Technology in Schools Program, which supports Santa Barbara County schools that are seeking funds to bolster classroom technology for their students.
The deadline to apply for the 2025-2026 school year is April 30, 2025, and all applications must be submitted online at www.chumash.gov/foundation.
The program allows Santa Barbara County school administrators and faculty to apply for technology grant dollars to fund specific projects. These grants allow schools to purchase hardware, upgrade infrastructure, add high-tech resources and boost their curriculum.
Since its inception in 2015, the tribe’s Technology in Schools Program has issued more than $550,000 in grants to area schools.
The program’s most recent 2024-2025 school year grant recipients were Vista Del Mar Union School District in Gaviota, which received $8,255 to upgrade its Chromebooks and uninterruptible power supply (UPS); College School District in Santa Ynez which received $9,173.96 to purchase a 3D printer and an interactive whiteboard; Los Olivos Elementary School in the Santa Ynez Valley, which received $10,136 to purchase MacBooks and AppleCare; Santa Barbara Unified School District, which received $10,000 to purchase three digital projectors; La Colina Junior High School in Santa Barbara, which received $8,500 to purchase and install Promethean interactive display boards; Orcutt Academy High School in Santa Maria, which received $3,000 for library equipment, including a Paragon Chargebar Table, adjustable stools and portable charging stations; Saint Louis de Montfort Catholic School in Santa Maria, which received $9,500 to purchase new laptops and TI-84 graphing calculators; San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara, which received $5,500 to purchase two Cannon EOS R6 digital cameras, 15 SD cards and an iPad Pro; Lakeview Junior High School in Santa Maria, which received $8,598.60 to purchase Lego Education Spike Prime Set robotics kits; and Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, which received $7,000 to fund new hardware, software, accessories and travel expenses to support the launch of its new Esports league.
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.
For more information and to access applications, please visit www.chumash.gov/foundation or call 805-688-7997.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $30 million to hundreds of groups, organizations and schools in the community and across the nation as part of the tribe’s long-standing tradition of giving.