What is the Central Coast Social Justice Academy?

The Social Justice Academy is a ten-month program that empowers staff from social justice organizations in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. The focus is to enhance movement-building skills, leadership capacity, and local networks. This program aims to cultivate effective community organizers for social justice in our region.

The program is fiscally sponsored by the Fund for Santa Barbara with funding support from McCune Foundation, Weingart Foundation, James S. Bower Foundation, Ventura County Community Foundation, and Sara Miller McCune.

The program launched in 2024 with a pilot program and is now in the middle of its second cohort which will conclude in June of 2026.

Vision Statement:

We envision a thriving collective community of leaders driving just and equitable change in the south Central Coast.

Purpose Statement:

Our purpose is to create a program where social justice movement builders can grow, collaborate, and drive meaningful change in our communities. Where we center social justice values and healing justice principles as we teach community organizing skills, provide tools to help heal, center and ground movement builders to become better resourced individuals and a strong collective ecosystem.

United in Our Vision for Success

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