GENERAL QUESTIONS:
What is the One Community Campaign (OCC)?
The One Community Campaign is the critical annual fundraiser for our schools, supporting staff and programs that provide Menlo Park City School District students with exceptional award-winning schools. The OCC combines the annual fall fundraising efforts of the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation (MPAEF) and all of the four school Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs) across our district into one donation to make it simple for each family to support their children’s education.
What do the funds raised by the OCC support?
PTO Enrichment & Events: The PTO portion of your OCC donation enriches the educational experience for each child by funding science fairs, maker spaces, assembly programs, classroom supplies, community building events, and more. For details on all the amazing enrichment and events that your child’s specific PTO funds, please see their websites (all hyperlinked at the bottom of the page).
School District Programming & Staff: The MPAEF portion of your donation goes towards an unrestricted grant to the district to support the teachers and staff essential to providing excellence in education for each and every student. For more details on the school district budget, please see their MPCSD annual reports.
How does my OCC donation reach my child’s school?
The OCC enables each family to make a single donation to support their child’s school. Specifically, the first $300 per student of your donation goes to each of your children’s school PTO and the remainder is allocated to the MPAEF for a grant to the district to help fund vital staff at our schools. Here are some examples of how that works depending on the size of your OCC donation:
Why do we need the One Community Campaign (OCC)?
Funds raised by the OCC ensure your children can continue to receive an exceptional, well-rounded, and award-winning education. Public school districts in California either receive per-student funding from the state (for districts whose property taxes do not meet the state-guaranteed per-student funding) or fund their schools primarily through local property taxes (for community-funded districts, such as MPCSD). The funding designation of a district is determined by the state. As a community-funded district, only 11% of our revenue comes from state and federal funding. A further 84% is generated by property, parcel, and other local taxes, but even with those sources, we still have a funding gap between what we bring in and what it costs to deliver the exceptional education we expect from MPCSD.
Much of the school-funding challenge stems from Proposition 13, a California law passed in 1978 that caps the property tax rate and limits increases. Following Prop 13's passage school budgets were slashed by almost 60%. Parcel taxes and education foundations became sources districts rely on to generate additional revenue. As of 2021, California ranked 21st in expenditures per student. (1)
In response to Prop 13, parents in our community created the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation (MPAEF) to restore the quality in our local schools. In 2019, the MPAEF and PTOs combined their fall fundraising efforts into the One Community Campaign, giving parents the opportunity to make one single donation to support their child’s education and enrichment programming at their school.
Why is the suggested OCC donation $3,000 per child?
The suggested donation reflects rising staffing costs, the impact of inflation, and the level of support needed to sustain the programs and people that benefit every student. It also keeps us in line with our neighboring school districts.
The 2026-27 school year marks the first increase in the suggested donation since the launch of the OCC in 2019, and we hope this adjustment helps us catch up with compounded inflation while also providing greater stability, reducing the need for increases in the near future.
Please know that our goal remains 100% participation at every level, because gifts of every size truly make a difference. We hope each family will contribute in a way that is meaningful for them.
Why is increasing the suggested donation important for our district right now?
As a community-funded district, a significant portion of our schools’ funding comes directly from local contributions. In recent years, district expenses have increased due to factors such as competitive staff compensation, inflation, and unfunded, state mandated programs like Transitional Kindergarten. At the same time, the portion of the district’s budget supported by the education foundation has declined.
MPCSD is committed to a budget process that is transparent, and increasing the suggested donation for the OCC is one of the most direct ways our community can support the level of education and enrichment our students benefit from today.
OCC LOGISTICS QUESTIONS:
What is the OCC’s goal and when does the campaign end?
Our goal is to raise $4.1 million. We want 100% of families to participate at whatever level feels comfortable for your family. The suggested donation is $3,000 per student, but every dollar counts. If $30 works for your family this year, please give that; and if you can give at a level higher than $3,000 per student, we also welcome that! The last day to donate to the One Community Campaign is September 25, 2026 and we really appreciate early donations. The earlier you donate, the faster your PTO can put your donation to work!
What if I want to give a larger amount to my school's PTO, or to give exclusively to one organization or the other?
The OCC donation process was created to ensure that all of the PTOs and the MPAEF are provided with the funds they need to support critical school initiatives. We strongly encourage you to donate directly to the One Community Campaign. If you would like to individually support your PTO or the MPAEF, you can make a separate donation after the OCC ends on September 25th. Donations specifically for one organization are not accepted during the OCC.
Are my contributions tax-deductible?
Yes! Your donations to the One Community Campaign are tax-deductible because it is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The tax ID is Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation: #94-2871701. Receipts for funds accepted by the OCC will be the MPAEF tax ID # since MPAEF is the organization that is receiving and distributing the money to the PTOs.
Will my employer match my donation?
Corporate matches are a critical source of funding for the One Community Campaign. Many employers will match your contributions, doubling your impact. Once you have donated to the OCC, find out how to submit your corporate match. When you apply for your corporate match, please direct your donation request to the MPAEF, which will distribute those funds to each PTO and MPAEF based on what you personally donated. Please let us know your corporate match is coming by submitting a pledge for the dollar amount of the match on the SupportMPCSD website. Since it generally takes several months to receive corporate match dollars, it helps with our planning to know you’ve requested it.
How do pledges work?
Pledging is a great way for you to participate in the OCC and contribute towards our fundraising goal while allowing you to defer payments until a more convenient time, such as during the next tax year, when you’ve vested stock, or when your payment will be issued some time later such as with a donor advised fund. Once we’ve received your pledge commitment, we’ll remove you from the parent ambassador weekly email list, saving both your and our parent volunteers’ time. Basically, if your donation will take longer than one (1) business day to reach our accounts please pledge to streamline the process!
Your child(ren)’s PTO will be paid upon fulfillment of your pledge, as long as the pledge is fulfilled by June 1, 2027. Any donations that are fulfilled after June 1 will revert fully to the MPAEF. For example, if you pledge $3,000 and pay after June 1, 2027, the full $3,000 is paid to the MPAEF. If you pay it before June 1, 2027, then your PTO receives $300 and the MPAEF receives the remaining $2,700. Pledges can be fulfilled by ANY type of future donation - check/eCheck, Donor Advised Fund, donation/match via company, credit card, PayPal, Venmo, or stock.
Who do I make my check out to?
Please make checks to “One Community Campaign.” You can send them to PO Box 584, Menlo Park, CA 94026.
Where can I direct further questions?
Please contact us at: occ@mpcsd.org or via phone at (650) 325-0100.
ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED WITH THE OCC:
MPCSD: Menlo Park City School District
The MPCSD comprises four exemplary California public schools: three elementary schools (Encinal, Laurel, and Oak Knoll) and Hillview Middle School. Read more about our exceptional district.
PTO: Parent Teacher Organization
Each school in our district has its own PTO. PTOs are non-profit volunteer organizations that provide services and materials that enrich our students’ education and support our vibrant community of parents, children, teachers and staff. Parents and teachers at a school come together to work on programs that benefit the educational experience of the children at that particular school, including community events, assemblies, classroom supplies, and STEM curriculum enrichment. More information on each PTO can be found on their dedicated pages:
MPAEF: Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation
The MPAEF is a parent-led non-profit organization that, for the past 43 years, has raised critical funds to support quality education across the four schools of the MPCSD. For the 2025/2026 school year, the MPAEF granted $4 million to MPCSD to allow the district to fund critical staff. Since 2009, the MPAEF has provided more than $60 million to MPCSD from parent donations. Learn more through MPAEF’s annual reports.