Your donation goes to support PACF grant awards given to nonprofit organizations that serve the communities of Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and Menlo Park in five focus areas of impact:
- Accessible After School Programs
- Addressing Food Insecurity and Affordable Housing
- Embracing the Arts and our Environment
- Helping Children and Youth Thrive
- Strengthening Local Communities
PACF awards our traditional annual grants once a year. In early December, a grant application is posted on the PACF website (in the “Grantees” section) with the due dates for the upcoming grants cycle. A nonprofit organization seeking funds needs to complete the application and submit it by the due date according to the instructions on the grant application. We also have other grants including the Dave Mitchell Impact Grants, Emergency Grants, and the Cammie Vail Community Resilience Grants, for which we do not accept applications.
In FY 2025, PACF invested over $1.8 million in grant awards to nonprofit organizations serving Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and Menlo Park.
A gift of appreciated stock made directly from your account to PACF may have positive tax consequences, check with your tax advisor.
To make a stock gift, please follow these instructions.
There are many ways to remember the Palo Alto Community Fund in your estate plan.
- Leave a bequest in your will.
- Name the Fund as a beneficiary of assets remaining in your living trust.
- Make the Fund a beneficiary of an entire retirement plan or a percentage of assets in the plan.
- Designate the Fund as a beneficiary of any individual or group term life insurance policy.
By remembering the Palo Alto Community Fund in your estate plan, you are perpetuating our mission to improve the quality of life in our community by supporting the work of new and existing nonprofits serving Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park.
Your personal attorney or financial planner can assist you to ensure that all of the documentation is completed correctly and that your intentions are fulfilled. To learn about more ways to leave a legacy, contact our CEO Irene Wong at 650-690-0370.
You have options and can designate your donation to:
- Go into the Annual Fund, where your gift will be applied to the next grant making cycle.
- Go into the Endowment Fund, which will provide for current and future growth.
- Go into the area that PACF deems has the greatest need.
- Go into a combination of the Endowment Fund and Annual Fund.
