For the 12th straight year, a Palo Alto family that wishes to remain anonymous has made a $100,000 donation to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, hoping it will inspire others to give generously.

The family, which has deep roots in the community, has now gifted $1.2 million to the Holiday Fund since 2011. The donation is a matching grant to be used along with other foundation grants to double the gift of other donors.

"We grew up in Palo Alto and have always appreciated the extraordinary services provided by the city, the schools and the many community-based nonprofit organizations. We want to support these efforts, and the Holiday Fund is a perfect way to do that," the family said in a statement accompanying the gift.

An important motivation, the family said, was the fact that because the Palo Alto Weekly and its Embarcadero Media Foundation cover all the administrative costs of the program, every dollar raised goes directly to dozens of nonprofits providing important services to residents of East Palo Alto and Palo Alto.

"The donations this Palo Alto family has made over the last dozen years should inspire every resident to make their own gift in whatever amount they can afford," Embarcadero Media Foundation President Bill Johnson said. "When we all pool our resources together, we can make a huge positive impact on the quality of life for those within our community who need assistance, whether it be food and shelter, child care, tutoring, health care or mental health services."

This year's goal is to raise more than $600,000 for programs serving kids and families in need. Over the last 29 years, the Holiday Fund has raised and distributed over $9 million. Last year, the campaign set an all-time record of $773,000 due to several large donations. In addition to the hundreds of donations from individuals, the Packard and Hewlett foundations, the Peery and Arrillaga foundations and several other family foundations have been longtime supporters of, and donors to, the fund. The annual Moonlight Run and Walk, held this year in September and sponsored by the Palo Alto Weekly and the city of Palo Alto, also raises money for the Holiday Fund.

Read more about the Holiday Fund at PaloAltoOnline.com/holiday_fund or go to embarcaderomediafoundation.org/holiday-fund/palo-alto to donate.