Spreading Goodwill to All – The Holiday Fund

Let the season of “peace on earth and good will to all people” officially begin in Menlo this day before Thanksgiving. Donating to the Almanac’s Holiday Fund is an opportunity to both spread cheer and give thanks.

When this contributor moved back to Menlo Park in 1990 – pleased to be returning to the place of her child and teenage years – she lucked into a plumb job – helping the Peninsula Times Tribune launch a Holiday Fund, supported by matching dollars from the McCormick Foundation, the then charitable arm of the Tribune Co., which owned the Times Tribune. The drive was an instant hit with the community, funneling grants to numerous local non-profit organizations.

Thanks to the Embarcadero Publishing Company, the Holiday Fund stayed alive after the Times Tribune folded in 1993, with separate campaigns in the Palo Alto Weekly and Menlo’s local newspaper, the Almanac. With matching funds from foundations and donors, it’s a great way to stretch your charitable giving and do good locally.