Palo Alto Community Fund’s 2024 Annual Grants portfolio includes 42 new annual grants, 29 new multi-year grants in year 1, and 26 multi-year grants in year 2 awarded to organizations that support families, uplift the vulnerable, enhance community life, and encourage educational equity in our community. For over 40 years, PACF’s Annual Grant making process has channeled the giving of local donors to focus on supporting the organizations that provide the network of support for our neighbors in Palo Alto, East Palo, and Menlo Park.
The Dave Mitchell Impact Grants, first awarded in 2020, are considered separately from PACF’s annual grants and are specifically designed to help local nonprofit programs significantly move the needle towards addressing long term systemic issues. For 2024, PACF awarded 3 grants to nonprofit organizations addressing the prominent and pressing needs of youth mental health, housing security, and developmental disabilities.
Lisa Van Dusen, PACF’s Executive Director, awards Cammie Vail Executive Director Grants throughout the year to organizations in recognition of strong leadership, significant collaboration, and those facing emergencies.
- Sort by:
- Impact Category
- Alphabetical
Empowers people with special needs to achieve their full potential through innovative, inclusive programs and community partnerships. With educational, therapeutic, vocational, and family support services, AbilityPath is distinctive in providing support to an individual throughout their lifetime. (Formerly GatePath affiliated with Abilities United.)
AchieveKids schools provide individualized and multi-disciplinary programs that deliver special education, mental health, and family support services for students ages 5 to 22 that have complex and often severe developmental, emotional, and behavioral challenges.
Ada’s Cafe is dedicated to hiring, training and empowering our employees with disabilities. Ada’s Cafe is Where Good Food and Community Meet. We strive to create delicious food and drinks in an environment that is warm and friendly to let our customers know we care about them. Ada’s also conducts collaborative research on improving workplaces for people with disabilities.
Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) empowers youth in our community to find their way through social-emotional support and by building safe, accepting communities.
Empower all families to choose a high quality early childhood education for their children. The underlying premise is that every child, regardless of family background, is a whole and unique person, with vast inner resources for understanding the self and the desire to contribute to the world. All Five is committed to active learning of kindness and leadership as well as critical thinking.
Avenidas’ mission is to help older adults in the local community be as active, engaged, and healthy as possible throughout their lives by providing relevant services and programs.
Mission: To provide the low-income youth of our community with the opportunities they need to achieve school success.
Camp Kesem at Stanford provides a weeklong camp and year-round community for children who have a parent who is currently in treatment for cancer, is in remission from cancer, or who has died from cancer.
Canopy’s mission is to grow urban tree canopy in Midpneinsula communities for the benefit of all. Canopy plants and cares for trees where people need them the most.
The mission of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of San Mateo County is to ensure that all abused and neglected children under the protection of the court have a consistent, caring adult who speaks on their behalf and helps them reach their full potential.
Our mission is to de-stigmatize mental health services and make supporting students’ social and emotional well-being the norm in our local schools. We want to provide all students with the continuity of support they need, from the first day of kindergarten until they graduate from high school, to be successful in school and life.
To better serve the growing immigrant population on the peninsula, Catholic Charities CYO established The Center for
Immigration Legal & Support Services (CILSS) in 2012. In 2022, we provided consultations and legal representation
to immigrants living in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. CILSS Social Services Case Management (SSCM) program has been essential in supporting immigrant clients by stabilizing their households through healthcare and housing applications and providing referrals for basic needs.
Our mission is to improve the long-term sustainability of nonprofit leaders and organizations by offering the highest quality programs, consultation, training and community-building networks.
To transform young lives by providing culturally-responsive best-in-class learning and mental health services to families from diverse backgrounds regardless of language, location or ability to pay.
The Christmas Bureau of Palo Alto celebrates over 65 years of channeling donations from those who wish to give to those less fortunate in the Palo Alto, California community. The Bureau accepts confidential referrals of individuals and families in need from social service agencies, schools, and other community agencies. The all volunteer staff eliminates duplications by serving as a central clearing house. The Bureau mails a holiday greeting with a check to referred families and individuals whose children attend Palo Alto Unified School District or are residents of the City of Palo Alto.
Since 2016 Climate Resilient Communities has been on the ground learning the specific needs of residents in diverse, under-resourced communities in East Palo Alto and Belle Haven (Menlo Park). Our outreach cultivates environmental awareness while giving local residents a voice in proactive resilience planning and adaptation. By building stronger alliances between residents, schools, local government programs and community-based organizations, this work creates resilience against climate-related stresses such as sea-level rise and economic instability.
Founded in East Palo Alto, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto is a nonprofit offering legal services that improve the lives of low-income families throughout the region. We specialize in immigration, housing, workers’ rights, records clearance, and consumer protection.
Cooline Team is devoted to helping our youth succeed and create change that will make a huge positive impact in our world. We lead events and projects that help grow and strengthen our community. Though we never lose sight of the fact that kids are kids, that is why all of our programs are built around safe play and fun.
CORA is the only agency in San Mateo County solely dedicated to helping those affected by intimate partner abuse. From counseling, to emergency housing, to legal assistance, our services are designed to provide safety, support, and healing.
Our mission is to close the opportunity gap faced by low-income middle school students in the Palo Alto Unified School District.
The mission of EPAAF is to advocate for, advance, and raise funds to benefit the students and college-attending graduates of East Palo Alto Academy.
We are a community-led initiative that collects, shares, promotes, celebrates, and preserves the unique history of East Palo Alto for generations.
In support of the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, we work to:
- assist individual residents with housing problems (habitability, harassment, eviction)
- advise and advocate on behalf of residents living in multifamily building complexes
- address the need for community-wide tenant organizing, education, and coalition building
- educate tenants about their rights through flyers, brochures, workshops, and periodic meetings
- change public policy to guarantee fair and equal housing to all East Palo Alto residents
- support the development of new low to moderate income housing
The East Palo Alto Kids Foundation (EPAK) is focused on narrowing the equality gap in eastern Menlo Park and East Palo Alto schools by providing microgrants directly to teachers.
EPA Razorhawks is a comprehensive K–12 rugby program proudly representing East Palo Alto and nearby communities. The club is dedicated to bringing the excitement, fun, and teamwork of rugby to kids aged 5–18 in a safe, friendly, and nurturing environment. Tutoring is provided by EPATT next to the Rich May Field in EPA.
A multipurpose Senior Center, it offers a variety of activities and assistance to Seniors including lunches, transportation, information about housing, employment, household help, recreation, financial assistance, health services and in-home help and health education and screenings.
To change the life trajectory of local youth and their families through academic support, parent empowerment and tennis instruction.
The mission of the Lewis and Joan Platt East Palo Alto Family YMCA is to strengthen our community by improving the quality of life and inspiring individuals and families to develop their fullest potential in spirit, mind and body.
At Eastside College Preparatory School, we are committed to opening new doors for students historically underrepresented in higher education.
EHP’s mission is to provide compassionate, dignified and practical assistance to families and individuals experiencing economic and personal hardship. We offer material help, support services, and advocacy for our neighbors in need, in a challenging and rapidly changing environment.
EHP serves working families, seniors, people with limited incomes and those who have both emergency and on-going needs in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and surrounding communities.
At Elevate Community Center, we believe that all members of a community need to thrive in order for the community at large to thrive. In 2021, we launched our financial literacy program that offers free one-on-one finance counseling as well as free information workshops available in multiple languages.
Environmental Volunteers’ mission is to promote the understanding of and responsibility for the environment through hands-on science education.
The mission of EPACENTER is to increase opportunities for youth to discover and amplify their talents, realize their potential, and impact the world through art and design.
Family Connections’ mission is to create the highest quality family learning community so underserved children and
parents together become the drivers of their own success. Our vision is thriving kids through thriving families.
Fit To The Core provides health, wellness and fitness resources for under resourced communities with a special focus on our aging adults. We do this by providing quality, professional, and affordable fitness resources that are tailored specifically to the communities’ needs. Our vision is to bridge the gap for under resourced communities and create a world where everyone can age well regardless of their age, underlying health conditions, ethnicity, background, or economic status.
FLY’s mission is to prevent juvenile crime and incarceration through legal education, leadership training, and one-on-one mentoring. In our work, we are accountable, dedicated, respectful, equitable and just, loving, innovative, hopeful, and youth-centered.
The vision of FCE is to create a community where higher education is attainable. By engaging both students and parents in our work, we aim to create a community of learners who are armed with the right tools and information. Together, they play a pivotal role in sharing this information with other families about how best to take advantage of school resources and navigate the college admissions process, thus catalyzing change in the larger community.
Fresh Approach works towards making healthy living more accessible throughout the Bay Area, by connecting
California communities with healthy food from California farmers and expanding knowledge about food and
nutrition.
Friends for Youth safely and expertly matches adult volunteers with youth who need support through our two mentoring programs. By simply doing fun and interesting activities together, mentors can help mentees improve academics, improve their behavioral and emotional health, and positively change the course of a youth’s life.
Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco builds homes and sustains affordable homeownership opportunities for families in Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties. Our values focus on building partnerships, equity, stability, and legacy.
Health Connected equips young people with information, skills, and support to make thoughtful choices about their relationships and sexual health throughout their lives.
Heart and Home Collaborative (H+H) aims to serve unhoused women with respect, compassion, and dignity
through investment in personal relationships and creating a loving and supportive community. We work to bring
together housed and unhoused residents to create dialogue, leverage resources, and develop services with the
understanding that the people who use our services are the experts.
Human Investment Project (HIP) Housing’s mission is to invest in human potential by improving the housing and lives of people in our community.
JobTrain is committed to helping those who are most in need to succeed. Our purpose is to improve the lives of people in our community through assessment, attitude and job skills training, and high potential career placement.
Kara’s mission is to provide grief support for children, teens, families and adults. We serve individuals who are grieving a death as well as those managing a terminal illness (their own or another’s).
Learning Home Volunteers is a non-profit organization working to address the kindergarten-readiness gap by providing weekly in-home tutoring to preschool-age children.
The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County’s mission is to fight social injustice through civil legal advocacy for people living in poverty.
Live In Peace’s mission is to empower our youth and young adults to reclaim the vision for their future. We accomplish this through a highly relational model that connects young people to their talents, educational pathways, jobs, and a bright future.
Our mission is simple. We aim to provide hot and nutritious prepared meals, delivered and served to feed hungry families, children, seniors, veterans, students, and disabled individuals in our Bay Area community.
Loved Twice provides quality used baby clothing for the first year of life to families in need. Clothing is distributed through social workers in hospitals, shelters, and clinics.
Menlo Together envisions a city that is integrated and diverse, multi-generational, and environmentally sustainable. We
envision a city with accessible and inviting downtown, with housing at all affordability levels in high opportunity areas
around the city, much less solo driving and with pedestrian and bike-friendly spaces, on a path to produce zero net carbon
emissions.
The Museum of American Heritage (MOAH) shows the evolution, influence, and relevance of historic innovations to the
technologies and society of the past and present. We collect, preserve, and display historic objects and inventions that
illustrate the effects and influence of innovation from 1750 to 1950.
Music in the Schools Foundation, through music literacy and achievement, promotes the intellectual, social, and cultural development of underserved students of the Ravenswood City School District.
My Digital TAT2’s mission is to facilitate conversations that inspire thoughtful and ethical online behavior to help people
think critically about their power and responsibility in a connected world.
Nuestra Casa exists to uplift Latino families in East Palo Alto and the mid-peninsula though community education, leadership development, and advocacy.
Onyxx Village Connection (OVC) restores the dignity of underserved individuals and families in East Palo Alto and
surrounding communities, building consistent personal connections with love. OVC helps the whole person nurture their
mind, body and soul by delivering meals, resources and compassion through mobile outreach and partnerships.
The Palo Alto Art Center Foundation expands the reach and impact of the Palo Alto Art Center through fundraising and advocacy.
New journey to multi-faceted child care and enrichment beyond the school day.
The Friends support the JMZ by funding science classes in low-income communities, improvements to the museum and zoo, fair access to the new Junior Museum for underserved families and groups, and more.
The Palo Alto Transportation Management Association reduces single-occupancy vehicle trips, traffic congestion and
demand for parking by delivering targeted transportation solutions to Palo Alto’s diverse range of employers, employees,
visitors, and residents.
PARCA’s mission is to enrich the lives of people with developmental disabilities and those of their families.
We believe all of our students, if given equal access and opportunity, can reach their full potential and graduate from high school and four-year colleges. We provide motivated, low-income students with academic and personal support during middle school years through college graduation. We are helping to break the cycle of poverty and greatly increase each student’s chance for success in school, life and career.
Peninsula HealthCare Connection (PHC) promotes integrated primary and mental healthcare and intensive case management for homeless individuals or those at risk of becoming homeless in Santa Clara County, regardless of their ability to pay. They collaborate with local hospitals, healthcare providers, social service agencies, and similarly committed partner agencies to this end.
Peninsula Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower (‘Kidpower’)––serving PACF communities since 2002––builds the voice and power of vulnerable/at-risk people of all ages, abilities and walks of life––especially youth and families impacted by racial, gender, and economic inequities, health disparities and disabilities––by teaching, coaching and PRACTICING (until integrated) effective prevention/restorative intervention tools and skills to stay safe, act wisely and believe in themselves; take charge of, safeguard, and act more effectively in the interest of their physical/mental health, safety & well-being; build resilience and (self-)advocacy; and develop individual/school/community leadership for its successful implementation.
Quinteto Latino’s mission is to disrupt racial and economic disparities within the traditionally White classical music field. Founded in 2004, as Latino Music Education Network, Quinteto Latino champions its mission through the three core pillars of our work – Activism, Performance and Education.
Inspired by the belief that every child deserves an equal opportunity to learn, nearly 200 All Students Matter volunteers work with teachers to support the success of students in the Ravenswood City School District serving communities in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park.
To improve the health of the community by providing culturally sensitive, integrated primary and preventative health care to all, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status, and collaborating with community partners to address the social determinants of health.
The mission of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is to empower and increase the entrepreneurial capacities of socially and economically diverse women and men, and thereby strengthen our communities through the creation of sustainable new businesses, new jobs, and the promotion of financial self-sufficiency.
Rich May Foundation joined with Ravenswood City School District and the Archdiocese of San Francisco to build a quality, regulation soccer and rugby size athletic field in East Palo Alto.
The Rich May Foundation’s purpose is to foster a sense of community and reduce crime within East Palo Alto,
CA and its surroundings by (i) providing underprivileged youth and adults with positive role models and skills
training, (ii) offering safe venues and activities that promote character development, and (iii) carrying on any other
charitable activities associated with this goal as allowed by law.
RISE is a not-for-profit organization that works closely with families and educators to provide children in East Palo Alto
with a strong academic foundation and the self-confidence necessary to excel in life. RISE is committed to offering
ongoing and collaborative support starting from infancy with the goal that children begin school at grade level and
continue to succeed as we support them through their educational journey. It is our desire that students will leave us
eager to inspire future generations to make a lasting impact on the community.
Rise Together Education (RTE) is dedicated to improving college graduation rates by providing support and financial resources to low-income Palo Alto High School students who have been accepted to 4-year colleges or 2-year community colleges with a direct transfer agreement.
The mission of the Rosalie Rendu Center is to combat poverty by educating, mentoring and raising the self-esteem of the entire family.
San Mateo County Health Foundation’s (SMCHF) mission is to promote and champion the health and well-being of
all residents of our community, regardless of ability to pay – primarily through supporting excellence and innovation
in the County’s only public hospital and clinic system.
Through the rigor and thrill of the academic sport of debate, the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League (SVUDL) helps youth from low-income backgrounds tap the power of their voices to compete, excel, and change the world.
St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room provides hot, nutritious meals fifty-two weeks a year.
St. Elizabeth Seton School, sponsored by the Daughters of Charity, is a nurturing community in the Vincentian tradition. They provide holistic learning and a challenging curriculum to children of low-income families.
Our mission is to educate, entertain, and inspire a community of artists, students, and audience members through the
study, performance, and appreciation of jazz — an original American musical form.
StreetCode Academy empowers communities of color to achieve their full potential by introducing the skills,
mindsets, and networks needed to embrace tech and innovation. We seek to realize a world where the digital divide
is closed, catalyzing a diverse tech sector that is better able to solve global problems.
Through skilled volunteers, Tax-Aid provides year-round free tax services to strengthen our San Francisco Bay Area community.
Circuit EPA connects kids to the world of technology and with it, the opportunity to become the next generation of
thinkers, explorers and innovators.
The Grateful Garment Project’s (TGGP) mission and purpose is to restore dignity to victims of sexual violence
(sexual assault, human sexual trafficking and commercially sexually exploited children/minors). We accomplish this
by providing new tangible emergency resources for individuals to wear home after undergoing a Sexual Assault
Response Team forensic examination (rape kit), or through our other programs along the road to recovery from
sexual violence.
TheatreWorks is one of America’s outstanding professional theatres. Our work celebrates the human spirit through innovative productions, new works, and education programs inspired by and engaging our diverse Silicon Valley community.
The Institute for Families and Nannies builds the supply of childcare by educating, training, and mentoring family, friend,
neighbor, and nanny caregivers (FFN+N ) to earn a livable wage and provide quality childcare.
To provide adult immigrants the boost they need to move up the economic ladder through education and vocational support.
Vista Center’s mission is to empower individuals who are blind and visually impaired to embrace life to the fullest through evaluation, counseling, education and training.
WANDA is dedicated to advancing socioeconomic mobility for low income single mother families. Since 2007 WANDA has helped moms saved/ invested in $1.5 million in value appreciating assets. The money goes to invest in home ownership, college education, and retirement savings.
The mission of WeHOPE is to help people become healthy, employed and housed using innovative solutions.
Founded in 1990 as a collaboration between the cities of Palo Alto and East Palo Alto, Youth Community Service actively works with youth and community leaders to engage in a wide range of public service projects throughout the Mid-Peninsula.
The kitchen in the WeHOPE East Palo Alto shelter was damaged in the 2023 floods and required additional work to come up to code.
Empowering People with Developmental Disabilities
- Supports small, vulnerable, underserved population with a fully integrated approach throughout PACF service area
- Prioritizes collaboration and creative solutions
- Provides agency, lifts up talent and fosters healing through art
- Building out community space for client use at Mitchell Park Place
- Completing commercial kitchen on Middlefield
Producing and Preserving Sustainable Housing
- Stems the tide of gentrification in Menlo Park/Belle Haven and East Palo Alto through new construction
- Actively engaged in larger home repairs that keep families in their homes and facilitate intergenerational wealth transfer
- Collaborates widely with numerous PACF grantees and other organizations in housing ecosystem
- Provides access to affordable financing and sustainability measures
Fostering Youth Mental Health
- Leads unique, youth-centered, data-driven approach to the digital world
- Empowers Teens
- Informed by the voices of young people, the experts of the online world
Partners with Schools - Educates young people to be empathetic, ethical, and responsible consumers and producers of online content
- Informed by the voices of young people, the experts of the online world
- Partners with Healthcare Providers
- Provides professional training to better understand the effects of the digital world on young people
Empowers people with special needs to achieve their full potential through innovative, inclusive programs and community partnerships. With educational, therapeutic, vocational, and family support services, AbilityPath is distinctive in providing support to an individual throughout their lifetime. (Formerly GatePath affiliated with Abilities United.)
Empowering People with Developmental Disabilities
- Supports small, vulnerable, underserved population with a fully integrated approach throughout PACF service area
- Prioritizes collaboration and creative solutions
- Provides agency, lifts up talent and fosters healing through art
- Building out community space for client use at Mitchell Park Place
- Completing commercial kitchen on Middlefield
AchieveKids schools provide individualized and multi-disciplinary programs that deliver special education, mental health, and family support services for students ages 5 to 22 that have complex and often severe developmental, emotional, and behavioral challenges.
Ada’s Cafe is dedicated to hiring, training and empowering our employees with disabilities. Ada’s Cafe is Where Good Food and Community Meet. We strive to create delicious food and drinks in an environment that is warm and friendly to let our customers know we care about them. Ada’s also conducts collaborative research on improving workplaces for people with disabilities.
Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) empowers youth in our community to find their way through social-emotional support and by building safe, accepting communities.
Empower all families to choose a high quality early childhood education for their children. The underlying premise is that every child, regardless of family background, is a whole and unique person, with vast inner resources for understanding the self and the desire to contribute to the world. All Five is committed to active learning of kindness and leadership as well as critical thinking.
Avenidas’ mission is to help older adults in the local community be as active, engaged, and healthy as possible throughout their lives by providing relevant services and programs.
Mission: To provide the low-income youth of our community with the opportunities they need to achieve school success.
Camp Kesem at Stanford provides a weeklong camp and year-round community for children who have a parent who is currently in treatment for cancer, is in remission from cancer, or who has died from cancer.
Canopy’s mission is to grow urban tree canopy in Midpneinsula communities for the benefit of all. Canopy plants and cares for trees where people need them the most.
The mission of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of San Mateo County is to ensure that all abused and neglected children under the protection of the court have a consistent, caring adult who speaks on their behalf and helps them reach their full potential.
Our mission is to de-stigmatize mental health services and make supporting students’ social and emotional well-being the norm in our local schools. We want to provide all students with the continuity of support they need, from the first day of kindergarten until they graduate from high school, to be successful in school and life.
To better serve the growing immigrant population on the peninsula, Catholic Charities CYO established The Center for
Immigration Legal & Support Services (CILSS) in 2012. In 2022, we provided consultations and legal representation
to immigrants living in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. CILSS Social Services Case Management (SSCM) program has been essential in supporting immigrant clients by stabilizing their households through healthcare and housing applications and providing referrals for basic needs.
Our mission is to improve the long-term sustainability of nonprofit leaders and organizations by offering the highest quality programs, consultation, training and community-building networks.
To transform young lives by providing culturally-responsive best-in-class learning and mental health services to families from diverse backgrounds regardless of language, location or ability to pay.
The Christmas Bureau of Palo Alto celebrates over 65 years of channeling donations from those who wish to give to those less fortunate in the Palo Alto, California community. The Bureau accepts confidential referrals of individuals and families in need from social service agencies, schools, and other community agencies. The all volunteer staff eliminates duplications by serving as a central clearing house. The Bureau mails a holiday greeting with a check to referred families and individuals whose children attend Palo Alto Unified School District or are residents of the City of Palo Alto.
Since 2016 Climate Resilient Communities has been on the ground learning the specific needs of residents in diverse, under-resourced communities in East Palo Alto and Belle Haven (Menlo Park). Our outreach cultivates environmental awareness while giving local residents a voice in proactive resilience planning and adaptation. By building stronger alliances between residents, schools, local government programs and community-based organizations, this work creates resilience against climate-related stresses such as sea-level rise and economic instability.
Founded in East Palo Alto, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto is a nonprofit offering legal services that improve the lives of low-income families throughout the region. We specialize in immigration, housing, workers’ rights, records clearance, and consumer protection.
Cooline Team is devoted to helping our youth succeed and create change that will make a huge positive impact in our world. We lead events and projects that help grow and strengthen our community. Though we never lose sight of the fact that kids are kids, that is why all of our programs are built around safe play and fun.
CORA is the only agency in San Mateo County solely dedicated to helping those affected by intimate partner abuse. From counseling, to emergency housing, to legal assistance, our services are designed to provide safety, support, and healing.
Our mission is to close the opportunity gap faced by low-income middle school students in the Palo Alto Unified School District.
The mission of EPAAF is to advocate for, advance, and raise funds to benefit the students and college-attending graduates of East Palo Alto Academy.
We are a community-led initiative that collects, shares, promotes, celebrates, and preserves the unique history of East Palo Alto for generations.
In support of the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, we work to:
- assist individual residents with housing problems (habitability, harassment, eviction)
- advise and advocate on behalf of residents living in multifamily building complexes
- address the need for community-wide tenant organizing, education, and coalition building
- educate tenants about their rights through flyers, brochures, workshops, and periodic meetings
- change public policy to guarantee fair and equal housing to all East Palo Alto residents
- support the development of new low to moderate income housing
The East Palo Alto Kids Foundation (EPAK) is focused on narrowing the equality gap in eastern Menlo Park and East Palo Alto schools by providing microgrants directly to teachers.
EPA Razorhawks is a comprehensive K–12 rugby program proudly representing East Palo Alto and nearby communities. The club is dedicated to bringing the excitement, fun, and teamwork of rugby to kids aged 5–18 in a safe, friendly, and nurturing environment. Tutoring is provided by EPATT next to the Rich May Field in EPA.
A multipurpose Senior Center, it offers a variety of activities and assistance to Seniors including lunches, transportation, information about housing, employment, household help, recreation, financial assistance, health services and in-home help and health education and screenings.
To change the life trajectory of local youth and their families through academic support, parent empowerment and tennis instruction.
The mission of the Lewis and Joan Platt East Palo Alto Family YMCA is to strengthen our community by improving the quality of life and inspiring individuals and families to develop their fullest potential in spirit, mind and body.
At Eastside College Preparatory School, we are committed to opening new doors for students historically underrepresented in higher education.
EHP’s mission is to provide compassionate, dignified and practical assistance to families and individuals experiencing economic and personal hardship. We offer material help, support services, and advocacy for our neighbors in need, in a challenging and rapidly changing environment.
EHP serves working families, seniors, people with limited incomes and those who have both emergency and on-going needs in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and surrounding communities.
At Elevate Community Center, we believe that all members of a community need to thrive in order for the community at large to thrive. In 2021, we launched our financial literacy program that offers free one-on-one finance counseling as well as free information workshops available in multiple languages.
Environmental Volunteers’ mission is to promote the understanding of and responsibility for the environment through hands-on science education.
The mission of EPACENTER is to increase opportunities for youth to discover and amplify their talents, realize their potential, and impact the world through art and design.
Family Connections’ mission is to create the highest quality family learning community so underserved children and
parents together become the drivers of their own success. Our vision is thriving kids through thriving families.
Fit To The Core provides health, wellness and fitness resources for under resourced communities with a special focus on our aging adults. We do this by providing quality, professional, and affordable fitness resources that are tailored specifically to the communities’ needs. Our vision is to bridge the gap for under resourced communities and create a world where everyone can age well regardless of their age, underlying health conditions, ethnicity, background, or economic status.
FLY’s mission is to prevent juvenile crime and incarceration through legal education, leadership training, and one-on-one mentoring. In our work, we are accountable, dedicated, respectful, equitable and just, loving, innovative, hopeful, and youth-centered.
The vision of FCE is to create a community where higher education is attainable. By engaging both students and parents in our work, we aim to create a community of learners who are armed with the right tools and information. Together, they play a pivotal role in sharing this information with other families about how best to take advantage of school resources and navigate the college admissions process, thus catalyzing change in the larger community.
Fresh Approach works towards making healthy living more accessible throughout the Bay Area, by connecting
California communities with healthy food from California farmers and expanding knowledge about food and
nutrition.
Friends for Youth safely and expertly matches adult volunteers with youth who need support through our two mentoring programs. By simply doing fun and interesting activities together, mentors can help mentees improve academics, improve their behavioral and emotional health, and positively change the course of a youth’s life.
Producing and Preserving Sustainable Housing
- Stems the tide of gentrification in Menlo Park/Belle Haven and East Palo Alto through new construction
- Actively engaged in larger home repairs that keep families in their homes and facilitate intergenerational wealth transfer
- Collaborates widely with numerous PACF grantees and other organizations in housing ecosystem
- Provides access to affordable financing and sustainability measures
Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco builds homes and sustains affordable homeownership opportunities for families in Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties. Our values focus on building partnerships, equity, stability, and legacy.
Health Connected equips young people with information, skills, and support to make thoughtful choices about their relationships and sexual health throughout their lives.
Heart and Home Collaborative (H+H) aims to serve unhoused women with respect, compassion, and dignity
through investment in personal relationships and creating a loving and supportive community. We work to bring
together housed and unhoused residents to create dialogue, leverage resources, and develop services with the
understanding that the people who use our services are the experts.
Human Investment Project (HIP) Housing’s mission is to invest in human potential by improving the housing and lives of people in our community.
JobTrain is committed to helping those who are most in need to succeed. Our purpose is to improve the lives of people in our community through assessment, attitude and job skills training, and high potential career placement.
Kara’s mission is to provide grief support for children, teens, families and adults. We serve individuals who are grieving a death as well as those managing a terminal illness (their own or another’s).
Learning Home Volunteers is a non-profit organization working to address the kindergarten-readiness gap by providing weekly in-home tutoring to preschool-age children.
The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County’s mission is to fight social injustice through civil legal advocacy for people living in poverty.
Live In Peace’s mission is to empower our youth and young adults to reclaim the vision for their future. We accomplish this through a highly relational model that connects young people to their talents, educational pathways, jobs, and a bright future.
Our mission is simple. We aim to provide hot and nutritious prepared meals, delivered and served to feed hungry families, children, seniors, veterans, students, and disabled individuals in our Bay Area community.
Loved Twice provides quality used baby clothing for the first year of life to families in need. Clothing is distributed through social workers in hospitals, shelters, and clinics.
Menlo Together envisions a city that is integrated and diverse, multi-generational, and environmentally sustainable. We
envision a city with accessible and inviting downtown, with housing at all affordability levels in high opportunity areas
around the city, much less solo driving and with pedestrian and bike-friendly spaces, on a path to produce zero net carbon
emissions.
The Museum of American Heritage (MOAH) shows the evolution, influence, and relevance of historic innovations to the
technologies and society of the past and present. We collect, preserve, and display historic objects and inventions that
illustrate the effects and influence of innovation from 1750 to 1950.
Music in the Schools Foundation, through music literacy and achievement, promotes the intellectual, social, and cultural development of underserved students of the Ravenswood City School District.
My Digital TAT2’s mission is to facilitate conversations that inspire thoughtful and ethical online behavior to help people
think critically about their power and responsibility in a connected world.
Fostering Youth Mental Health
- Leads unique, youth-centered, data-driven approach to the digital world
- Empowers Teens
- Informed by the voices of young people, the experts of the online world
Partners with Schools - Educates young people to be empathetic, ethical, and responsible consumers and producers of online content
- Informed by the voices of young people, the experts of the online world
- Partners with Healthcare Providers
- Provides professional training to better understand the effects of the digital world on young people
Nuestra Casa exists to uplift Latino families in East Palo Alto and the mid-peninsula though community education, leadership development, and advocacy.
Onyxx Village Connection (OVC) restores the dignity of underserved individuals and families in East Palo Alto and
surrounding communities, building consistent personal connections with love. OVC helps the whole person nurture their
mind, body and soul by delivering meals, resources and compassion through mobile outreach and partnerships.
The Palo Alto Art Center Foundation expands the reach and impact of the Palo Alto Art Center through fundraising and advocacy.
New journey to multi-faceted child care and enrichment beyond the school day.
The Friends support the JMZ by funding science classes in low-income communities, improvements to the museum and zoo, fair access to the new Junior Museum for underserved families and groups, and more.
The Palo Alto Transportation Management Association reduces single-occupancy vehicle trips, traffic congestion and
demand for parking by delivering targeted transportation solutions to Palo Alto’s diverse range of employers, employees,
visitors, and residents.
PARCA’s mission is to enrich the lives of people with developmental disabilities and those of their families.
We believe all of our students, if given equal access and opportunity, can reach their full potential and graduate from high school and four-year colleges. We provide motivated, low-income students with academic and personal support during middle school years through college graduation. We are helping to break the cycle of poverty and greatly increase each student’s chance for success in school, life and career.
Peninsula HealthCare Connection (PHC) promotes integrated primary and mental healthcare and intensive case management for homeless individuals or those at risk of becoming homeless in Santa Clara County, regardless of their ability to pay. They collaborate with local hospitals, healthcare providers, social service agencies, and similarly committed partner agencies to this end.
Peninsula Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower (‘Kidpower’)––serving PACF communities since 2002––builds the voice and power of vulnerable/at-risk people of all ages, abilities and walks of life––especially youth and families impacted by racial, gender, and economic inequities, health disparities and disabilities––by teaching, coaching and PRACTICING (until integrated) effective prevention/restorative intervention tools and skills to stay safe, act wisely and believe in themselves; take charge of, safeguard, and act more effectively in the interest of their physical/mental health, safety & well-being; build resilience and (self-)advocacy; and develop individual/school/community leadership for its successful implementation.
Quinteto Latino’s mission is to disrupt racial and economic disparities within the traditionally White classical music field. Founded in 2004, as Latino Music Education Network, Quinteto Latino champions its mission through the three core pillars of our work – Activism, Performance and Education.
Inspired by the belief that every child deserves an equal opportunity to learn, nearly 200 All Students Matter volunteers work with teachers to support the success of students in the Ravenswood City School District serving communities in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park.
To improve the health of the community by providing culturally sensitive, integrated primary and preventative health care to all, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status, and collaborating with community partners to address the social determinants of health.
The mission of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is to empower and increase the entrepreneurial capacities of socially and economically diverse women and men, and thereby strengthen our communities through the creation of sustainable new businesses, new jobs, and the promotion of financial self-sufficiency.
Rich May Foundation joined with Ravenswood City School District and the Archdiocese of San Francisco to build a quality, regulation soccer and rugby size athletic field in East Palo Alto.
The Rich May Foundation’s purpose is to foster a sense of community and reduce crime within East Palo Alto,
CA and its surroundings by (i) providing underprivileged youth and adults with positive role models and skills
training, (ii) offering safe venues and activities that promote character development, and (iii) carrying on any other
charitable activities associated with this goal as allowed by law.
RISE is a not-for-profit organization that works closely with families and educators to provide children in East Palo Alto
with a strong academic foundation and the self-confidence necessary to excel in life. RISE is committed to offering
ongoing and collaborative support starting from infancy with the goal that children begin school at grade level and
continue to succeed as we support them through their educational journey. It is our desire that students will leave us
eager to inspire future generations to make a lasting impact on the community.
Rise Together Education (RTE) is dedicated to improving college graduation rates by providing support and financial resources to low-income Palo Alto High School students who have been accepted to 4-year colleges or 2-year community colleges with a direct transfer agreement.
The mission of the Rosalie Rendu Center is to combat poverty by educating, mentoring and raising the self-esteem of the entire family.
San Mateo County Health Foundation’s (SMCHF) mission is to promote and champion the health and well-being of
all residents of our community, regardless of ability to pay – primarily through supporting excellence and innovation
in the County’s only public hospital and clinic system.
Through the rigor and thrill of the academic sport of debate, the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League (SVUDL) helps youth from low-income backgrounds tap the power of their voices to compete, excel, and change the world.
St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room provides hot, nutritious meals fifty-two weeks a year.
St. Elizabeth Seton School, sponsored by the Daughters of Charity, is a nurturing community in the Vincentian tradition. They provide holistic learning and a challenging curriculum to children of low-income families.
Our mission is to educate, entertain, and inspire a community of artists, students, and audience members through the
study, performance, and appreciation of jazz — an original American musical form.
StreetCode Academy empowers communities of color to achieve their full potential by introducing the skills,
mindsets, and networks needed to embrace tech and innovation. We seek to realize a world where the digital divide
is closed, catalyzing a diverse tech sector that is better able to solve global problems.
Through skilled volunteers, Tax-Aid provides year-round free tax services to strengthen our San Francisco Bay Area community.
Circuit EPA connects kids to the world of technology and with it, the opportunity to become the next generation of
thinkers, explorers and innovators.
The Grateful Garment Project’s (TGGP) mission and purpose is to restore dignity to victims of sexual violence
(sexual assault, human sexual trafficking and commercially sexually exploited children/minors). We accomplish this
by providing new tangible emergency resources for individuals to wear home after undergoing a Sexual Assault
Response Team forensic examination (rape kit), or through our other programs along the road to recovery from
sexual violence.
TheatreWorks is one of America’s outstanding professional theatres. Our work celebrates the human spirit through innovative productions, new works, and education programs inspired by and engaging our diverse Silicon Valley community.
The Institute for Families and Nannies builds the supply of childcare by educating, training, and mentoring family, friend,
neighbor, and nanny caregivers (FFN+N ) to earn a livable wage and provide quality childcare.
To provide adult immigrants the boost they need to move up the economic ladder through education and vocational support.
Vista Center’s mission is to empower individuals who are blind and visually impaired to embrace life to the fullest through evaluation, counseling, education and training.
WANDA is dedicated to advancing socioeconomic mobility for low income single mother families. Since 2007 WANDA has helped moms saved/ invested in $1.5 million in value appreciating assets. The money goes to invest in home ownership, college education, and retirement savings.
The mission of WeHOPE is to help people become healthy, employed and housed using innovative solutions.
The kitchen in the WeHOPE East Palo Alto shelter was damaged in the 2023 floods and required additional work to come up to code.
Founded in 1990 as a collaboration between the cities of Palo Alto and East Palo Alto, Youth Community Service actively works with youth and community leaders to engage in a wide range of public service projects throughout the Mid-Peninsula.