Stories
Donate Locally

October 2021

A more equitable community
Much has been said in recent years about the growing wealth gap, and in our community we maybe see it more than most. For the last 40+ years, the Palo Alto Community Fund (PACF) has financially supported the incredible nonprofits who do the work in our local area – East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Palo Alto – to help uplift the vulnerable, bring educational opportunities to all, support families and improve the lives of everyone in our community.

Over $2 million raised in the last 2 years
Thanks to our many donors, this past Spring we invested $1.175 million in 80 local nonprofits, including larger impact grants to address housing insecurity, youth mental health and barrier-free vaccination clinics. In addition, through our 2020 COVID-19 Relief Fund, PACF raised and deployed more than $1.1M to dozens of nonprofits to help ease immediate hardship.

Please donate
We are raising money to invest another $1.2 million or more over the next year to help those in need in our area. It truly takes a village of nonprofits and donors to fill the often invisible gaps and provide services and programs for a community. Our nonprofit grantees support people who live, play and work in the Midpeninsula in many different ways, from providing after school care for lower income families, to supporting our elders, to ensuring access to swim lessons for all children, to feeding and housing families.

Why donate to PACF
PACF was started by a few families and individuals more than 40 years ago, to address a broad range of local issues in our community. We now have a growing community of over 500 donors. Our board and staff dive deep into local issues, discover and understand the full range of nonprofits, poring over financials, having scores of conversations with nonprofit and community leaders and visiting organizations in person. We have our ears to the ground to respond to emergencies (such as the pandemic) AND long term issues (such as youth mental health and housing). We distributed money raised in several ways each year: annual grants, larger impact grants, and emergency funds.

We hope you will join us by donating.

Mission Statement

About the Palo Alto Community Fund

The Palo Alto Community Fund (PACF) is a 40-year young 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on the unique needs of our community. We channel charitable giving of local donors to effective organizations that improve the quality of life for everyone in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. For more information, please contact our executive director, Lisa Van Dusen at lvandusen@paloaltocommfund.org or by phone at 650.690.0370.