The Foundation Roundtable was established in September 1991 by representatives of several local foundations to advance and support philanthropy in Santa Barbara County in the following ways:

Sharing information of mutual interest
Informing members regarding the needs of the community and emerging issues
Improving grantmaker-grantseeker cooperation and communication
Encouraging collaboration and new approaches to solving community problems
Helping to focus and coordinate community-wide interest in projects dealing with a specific area of need