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All About the Santa Barbara Newcomers Club

 The Santa Barbara Newcomers Club was founded in 1955 as a non-profit organization and today has over 400 members. The purpose of the Club is to provide social gatherings and other activities for its members. 

Membership Qualifications, Term, and Cost

To become a member the applicant must have moved to, or established residency in Santa Barbara City or surrounding communities within the previous 18 months and are at least 21 years old. Membership is for two years. The total fee for the period of membership is $150 for couples and $100 for singles. Members who serve at least two terms on committees and/or as Club officers may extend for a third year for half the initial fee.

What Your Membership Fee Pays For

There are no paid positions within the Club. All fees derived from new memberships are placed in a general administration account and used for annual Club expenses. The majority of these funds are spent in the production and mailing of the monthly newsletter and for the facility costs for our monthly board and new member information meetings. 

Club Management

As a non-profit corporation, the club is managed by an Executive Board of Directors which includes its operating officers. All officers are elected for a six-month term of office. The Board positions are:
President
Treasurer
Secretary 
Bylaws		 Database
Website 
VP-Activities 
VP-Hospitality		 VP-Membership
VP-Newsletter 
VP-Publicity 
Activities at Large		 Historian
Welcoming 
House Registry 
President's Advisor
Every six months the President forms a nominating committee from the general membership. The committee then surveys the membership to determine who would be available and willing to serve. Once the nominating committee determines the new slate of Executive and Operating positions the slate is presented to the membership for ratification. The new Board members assume their responsibilities on the first day of February or August. Board members, except for the President, may succeed themselves. For a more comprehensive explanation of the structure, organization and restrictions see the Bylaws of the Santa Barbara Newcomers Club.

Activities Management

The VP-Activities has the responsibility of coordinating all Club activities. Each activity has a committee. The number of Club members on each committee depends upon the complexities of the activities they manage.  Although committee membership is encouraged, there is no requirement that everyone serve on a committee.
For their events these committees: 
  • coordinate with the VP-Activities to avoid conflict with other activities 
  • establish specific times, dates, and places 
  • determine how the events will function 
  • plan all of the details 
  • write and submit information about the activity to the VP-Newsletter 
  • take reservations from those wishing to attend 
  • collect fees if necessary 
  • submit a Financial Activity Report along with checks and expense receipts to the Treasurer after the activity has taken place, and 
  • receive reimbursement for their expenses from the Treasurer.
The activities of the Club depend on the interests and desires of the members. As such they are dynamic.  New activities are regularly formed and existing activities sometimes abandoned.  Present and past activities include:
  • Bicycling 
  • Breakfast Club
  • Cheers 
  • Community Service 
  • Dining Out
  • Dining at Home
  • Games 
  • Gardening
  • Golf
  • Gourmet Cooking
  • Hiking 
  • Kayaking 
  • Lifestyles
  • Local Heritage 
  • Money Management 
  • Movies 
  • Performing Arts
  • Photography 
  • Surfing 
  • Socials 
  • Tennis 
  • TLC
  • Visual Arts
  • Walking 
  • Wine Appreciation 
  • Yoga 
  • And More...
Any member may start a new activity by contacting the VP-Activities and volunteering to be part of a new committee. For a closer look at Club activities go to our Activities link above or Click Here.

Attending an Activity

Many activities do not require reservations and have no limitation on the number of members that can attend. One must just show up at a given time and place. Others, by their nature, require reservations and must limit the number of participants. Newsletter announcements include such limits. For these activities a member wishing to attend must call for reservations after a specified date and time. To obtain a better feel for the restrictions on attendance read some typical activity announcements, in the sample copy of the Club's Newsletter .

Activity Costs

There are costs associated with most activities, which are shared among the participants. Newsletter announcements list the cost per person, if any, and members mail checks (payable to SB Newcomers) to the organizer prior to the event to hold a reservation. Some activities, such as Socials and Lifestyles, have a nominal cost, while others, such as Dining Out and Gourmet Cooking may be considerably more expensive. However, many activities (hiking, bicycling, book discussion) are free, some (Cheers, Music Around Town) are “pay for what you consume,” and others ask participants to bring food to share. All activities are planned to break even.