Selected Impact

Explore Work Across Issue Areas

EVALUATION

Evaluation of the Climate Equity Program: A Builders Vision Initiative

Estrat Solutions, in partnership with Prism Partners Group, evaluated Builders Vision’s Climate Equity Program, a $78 million initiative supporting environmental justice work throughout the Midwest. The evaluation examined 140 grants and documented how flexible funding, trusted partnerships, and network-building strengthened community power, advanced more equitable policies, expanded access to clean energy, and reinforced the environmental justice field. The findings also offered recommendations to help funders build more equitable partnerships and sustain long-term impact responsibly.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT & WORKSHOP FACILITATION

CDC Foundation Climate Change & Health Community Grant Program

Estrat Solutions, In partnership with Empowering a Green Environment & Economy (EGE2), led two 90-minute virtual workshops supporting grantees working at the intersection of climate change, community health, and equity.

Grant Program Review & Evaluation

Food Justice Microgrants 2024 Review

Estrat Solutions reviewed and implemented the 2024 Food Justice Microgrants program to assess its implementation, outcomes, and support for community-led efforts advancing food access and equity.

FUNDRAISING

Organizational Strategy for Grants and Reporting

Strategic donor communications for Filha do Sol, advancing climate justice and community resilience in northeastern Brazil while supporting women’s leadership and traditional, Indigenous, and marginalized communities.

Program & Grantmaking Leadership

COVID-19 Rapid Response — Santa Barbara Foundation

As Vice President of Programs at the Santa Barbara Foundation, Rubayi designed and executed 64 rapid-response COVID-19 grant cycles, contributing to efforts that led to $32 million in philanthropic giving.

Evaluation, Learning & Strategy

Health Care Without Harm Evaluation & Learning Framework

Estrat Solutions supported Health Care Without Harm in developing a site-specific and cross-site evaluation and learning framework. The process clarified target audiences, identified key evaluation questions, and established a foundation for stakeholder engagement.

Cross-Sector Facilitation

County Health Department and Community-Based Organization Health Access Working Group

 In 2026, Estrat Solutions convened the Santa Barbara County Health Leadership, community-based organizations, managed care plans, and safety-net partners to strengthen coordination and expand community health access amid civil unrest and community mistrust.

International Project Management

Oral Cancer Global Network

Estrat Solutions supported international collaboration to strengthen learning capacity for oral cancer detection across four continents, including coordination with World Health Organization partners and cross-continental research networks.

Partnership Development & Cross-Sector Collaboration

Central Coast Community Health Worker Collaborative

As the Vice President of Programs at the Santa Barbara Foundation, Rubayi shaped  the Central Coast community health worker collaborative connecting clinics, hospitals, managed care plans, community organizations, and government partners, across a three-county region.

FUNDRAISING

Development Strategy for New Nonprofit

Survivorship Collective is a nonprofit supporting people navigating serious illness, trauma, and grief through education, community, and programs focused on emotional and existential well-being.

Program Evaluation & Learning

Social Justice Academy Evaluation and Pedagogy

Estrat Solutions evaluated the Social Justice Academy, an initiative designed to strengthen community organizing in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. The evaluation and storytelling components examined the Academy’s learning model, participant experiences, and its potential to inform similar programs in other communities.

Formative Evaluation

Readers Are Leaders Partnership Year 1 Evaluation

 Commissioned by the Santa Barbara Education Foundation, Estrat Solutions conducted a Year 1 formative evaluation of the Readers Are Leaders Partnership, examining implementation across three elementary schools and incorporating feedback from educators, volunteers, organizational partners, students, and families.

Feasibility Study & Program Design

Women’s Economic Ventures EmpowerPath Feasibility Study

Estrat Solutions contributed to a five-month, mixed-methods feasibility study commissioned by Women’s Economic Ventures to assess the design, funding, and launch of EmpowerPath, an economic mobility program for single parents in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. The report recommends an actionable model for a Year 1 pilot.

Evaluation & Learning

Movement Strategy Center 2024 Fundraising Support Initiative Evaluation

Estrat Solutions partnered with Movement Strategy Center to conduct a summative evaluation of the first year of its Fundraising Support Initiative, a pilot program designed to strengthen the fundraising capacity of fiscally sponsored social justice organizations.

View the Full Evaluation

Partnership Strategy & Resource Development

State of California Collective Action Playbook

Working with Root Change, developed a Collective Action Playbook to support State of California partnerships and strengthen cross-sector collaboration with grassroots nonprofit organizations, increasing each initiative’s reach to priority populations.

NONPROFIT INCORPORATION

Orchid Skatepark Nonprofit Formation

Estrat Solutions guided founders in shaping their mission, governance structure, and bylaws, then managed incorporation and IRS 501(c)(3) filing so the organization launched on a sound legal and financial footing.

Evaluation Tool Development

Oxfam International Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy Assessment

Working with RootChange, developed an evaluation tool to assess Oxfam International’s new monitoring and evaluation strategy.

International Strategy & Facilitation

World Bank South Asia Regional Collaboration

Designed South Asia regional collaboration dialogues and platforms with the World Ban’s South Asia Economic Development division focused on HIV, information technology, and social-sector innovation.

Research & Publication

Save the Children — State of the World’s Mothers Report

Contributed to Save the Children’s 2009 State of the World’s Mothers Report.

View Report

RESEARCH, FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Integrating Ethics into Geospatial Impact Evaluation: The GESAT Framework

Co-authored by Rubayi Estes and Lovely Dhillon, this chapter introduces the Geospatial Ethics and Social Accountability Tool (GESAT), a framework for integrating informed consent, data sovereignty, privacy, equitable representation, and accountability throughout the geospatial impact-evaluation process.

Learn About the GeoField Initiative

Recent Projects

Current Work & Emerging Impact

Specialty Care Network Analysis — Santa Barbara County

2026 | RESEARCH & EVALUATION

Conducted an assessment of speciality care capacity across Santa Barbara County in response to potential changes in speciality services provided by the County Health Department.

Intended Impact: Support coordinated efforts to strengthen access to specialty care for Medi-Cal recipients and other patients across Santa Barbara County.

Two women with facemasks over their noses and mouths standing amidst a pile of smoking rubble/garbage

Social Justice Academy — A Descriptive Evaluation and Pedagogy

2024–2025 | EVALUATION

Evaluated the Social Justice Academy, an initiative launched by the McCune Foundation in partnership with the Fund for Santa Barbara and the Weingart Foundation to support activists and social justice organizations through training, connection, coaching, and mentorship.

Impact: Recommendations from the evaluation were incorporated into the second cohort, which reached key implementation milestones earlier in the program.

Disaster Relief team with face masks holding medical consultations for migrants

2024 Fundraising Support Initiative Evaluation

2025 | EVALUATION & LEARNING

Partnered with Movement Strategy Center to conduct a summative evaluation of the first year of its Fundraising Support Initiative, a pilot program designed to strengthen the fundraising capacity of fiscally sponsored social justice organizations.

Impact: Provided findings to support learning and future program development.

View the Published Evaluation

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