Anonymous donor gives $250K to Holiday Fund

The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund has received a $250,000 gift from an anonymous donor, setting a new record for the annual grant program that benefits needy families, children and individuals on the Midpeninsula.

“This gift, along with hundreds of other donations large and small, reflects the community’s desire to help the people among us in the greatest need during an extraordinary time,” Palo Alto Weekly Publisher Bill Johnson said this week.

The Holiday Fund is a 28-year-old tradition dedicated to aiding local nonprofits in serving the community. Since its inception, the program has raised and distributed more than $7.6 million.

This year, as the COVID-19 pandemic ravages through family incomes, businesses’ and nonprofit’s budgets, the Weekly set a fundraising goal of $400,000 for the campaign. The program is a partnership with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which manages and distributes the grants. Every dollar donated is given to local nonprofits without the deduction of overhead costs and other expenses.

Following another recent $100,000 anonymous donation from a Palo Alto family that has contributed to the fund each year since 2011, this second large donation will push the Weekly’s Holiday Fund past its 2020 goal, according to Johnson.

“This gift will help us set an all-time record and bring the total amount raised this year by the Holiday Fund to over $600,000 in Palo Alto,” he said.

The anonymous donor also contributed $100,000 to the Holiday Fund of the Almanac, the Weekly’s sister publication.

To donate to the Weekly’s Holiday Fund, go to siliconvalleycf.org/paw-holiday-fund.

Read about the work of the dozens of nonprofit organizations supported by the Holiday Fund here.