The annual Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund campaign is getting underway this week with the aim of raising much-needed funds for local nonprofits that provide a safety net for families, children and adults in need on the Peninsula.
Tax deductible donations may be submitted online by credit card at PaloAltoOnline.com/holiday_fund or mailed to Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, 2345 Yale St., Palo Alto 94306.
The funds raised are distributed each spring as grants between $1,000 and $30,000 to more than 50 diverse local organizations, groups that run youth-education and tutoring programs, provide housing and food, deliver mental and medical health services to those who can’t afford care and more.
“Each year for the last 31 years, community members step forward to contribute to the health and well-being of our entire community through the Holiday Fund,” said Adam Dawes, president of the Embarcadero Media Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes the Palo Alto Weekly. “As in years past, 100% of donations received will be distributed because our foundation covers all the administrative and other expenses.”
In addition, every contribution from the community will be doubled, thanks to matching grants from the Packard and Hewlett foundations and several generous family foundations.
This year, Palo Alto Weekly’s goal is to raise $700,000. In total, the holiday funds operated by the Weekly, Mountain View Voice and Menlo Park Almanac distributed grants totaling over $1 million last year.
More than 100 nonprofits submit applications for funding every year and are carefully reviewed by a committee of current and retired Palo Alto Weekly employees led by the foundation’s chair and Palo Alto Weekly founder, Bill Johnson. A complete list of last year’s grantees and donors can be found at PaloAltoOnline.com/holiday_fund.
“Thank you in advance for joining this community campaign once again and helping to make it another record-breaking year,” Johnson said. “Giving locally means directly supporting neighbors in need in our region.”
The Holiday Fund runs through mid-January 2025. All donations are tax-deductible and may be made in one’s own name, in honor or memory of a friend, relative or organization, or anonymously. Donor-advised charitable fund donations, IRA distributions and gifts of stock are welcome and may be designated for the Holiday Fund and made to Embarcadero Media Foundation, a public charity (tax ID 85-0941500.) For more information, go to embarcaderomediafoundation.org/holiday-fund.
