News
One Group’s Winning Bet
Thirty-five years ago this month, a man at a poker table wanted to leave his estate to the community he loved. There was nowhere to leave it. So his friend Roy Lave and a group of neighbors created a place, and in 1991 the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation (LAMVCF) opened its doors. His…
Read MoreThe housing crisis in our area doesn’t always need a construction permit. Sometimes it just needs an open door…
Back in May, we announced that The United Effort Organization (UEO) had won our $25,000 Live Where You Work grant. A few months later, we want to show you what that grant looks like once it leaves the check and reaches someone’s front door. UEO’s application built upon this insight: some of the best housing…
Read MoreToast to 35 years with your neighbors at Oktoberfest
Thirty-five years! That’s three and a half decades of neighbors showing up for neighbors across Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. Grab your neighbor, a cold draft beer from Laughing Monk(opens in new tab), a pretzel from Little Sky Bakery(opens in new tab), and your dancing shoes, because we’re toasting to that legacy at Oktoberfest…
Read MoreDon’t Wait for the Smoke: Top 3 Actions to Prepare for Wildfire Season
Right now, the Bay Area is enjoying an unusually cool stretch of weather. Forecasters expect temperatures to climb in the coming weeks, and with that heat comes the return of wildfire risk across our communities. The good news is that none of us have to face it alone. The best time to prepare for a…
Read MoreSave the Date: Oktoberfest Is Coming!
Here’s How to Pour Into Your Community There’s nothing quite like a fall afternoon spent shoulder to shoulder with neighbors, a stein in one hand, a pretzel in the other, and the easy hum of a community that genuinely shows up for one another. That’s what Oktoberfest at LAMVCF has always been about. So mark…
Read MoreOur Schools Are Well Funded. Our Community Still Has Work to Do.
A new report from Joint Venture Silicon Valley confirms something many of us already know: our public schools are among the best funded in California. At nearly $29,000 per student, Silicon Valley districts outpace both the state and national averages. Los Altos is one of just seven districts recognized for combining high per-pupil funding with…
Read MoreThe Local Challenge: A Human Displacement Crisis
Mountain View faces a critical loss of socioeconomic diversity driven by real estate speculation. Since 2012, developers have demolished nearly 1,000 rent-protected units, forcing working and immigrant families (many of them essential workers) to move to the outskirts. Social Impact: Displacement fractures families, triples commute times, and breaks access to schools and support networks. Extreme…
Read MoreA Community Keeps Its Promise
This year, neighbors put $800,000 behind local students. Some of them, for years to come. Every spring, something quietly happens in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Mountain View. Organizations who have been showing up for this community for decades: Rotarians, Kiwanians, MV Chamber leaders, MVLA Scholars, all pull up chairs around the same table.…
Read MoreWhat Connects a Farm to a Food Pantry to Your Giving
Earlier this month, I stood in a field at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills watching a piglet nibbling on a sweet potato. It was an unremarkable moment except that two days earlier, I had seen that very sweet potato, or at least its kin, stacked in the produce section of Community Services Agency’s (CSA)…
Read MoreA $25,000 Bet on Community: LAMVCF Awards Live Where You Work Challenge Grant to The United Effort Organization
The Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation (LAMVCF) has selected The United Effort Organization as the winner of its Live Where You Work Challenge, awarding a $25,000 grant to connect unhoused essential workers and seniors with local homeowners who have available space. Launched in January 2026, the Challenge asked residents, nonprofits, and community organizations across…
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