Celebrate!Evanston will be held on September 22, 2022.  Please save the date!

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Learn why the work we do together exemplifies the true meaning of philanthropy, which is rooted in “the love of humanity.” Read our 2021 Annual Report.

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News & Events

Save the date to join us at Celebrate!Evanston on SEPT 22. TIckets will be available soon. 

Read ECF's 2021 Annual Report — I am because you are. The work we do together exemplifies the true meaning of philanthropy, which is rooted in “the love of humanity.”

Apply by September 5th to join the 31st Leadership Evanston Signature Program cohort. Learn more about the program and how to apply.

Learn about ECF's Equity Promise, and stand with us by giving to the Now! Fund today. 

ECF leads effort to engage community as Evanston considers how to spend $43M in ARPA Rescue Funds. Learn more and read the report, available in English and Spanish.

The Reparations Stakeholders Authority of Evanston (RSAE) announced the establishment of a Fund with ECF that will provide investment support to advance Evanston’s Reparations Program.

Sobre la Fundación. ¡Se habla español! La oficina de Evanston Community Foundation (ECF) es bilingüe. Para servir a nuestra communidad de una manera mas efectiva, favor de contactarnos al 847-492-0990 o mándarnos un correo electrónico.

ECF's work during covid-19 crisis

ECRRF_logo_for_Dropdown_Alert_103x62px.gifSince mid-March, 2020 Evanston Community Foundation has radically expanded its fundraising and restructured its grantmaking and programs to respond to the new world shaped by Covid-19.

By March 18, 2020 ECF launched the Evanston Community Rapid Response Fund with $100,000 seed money from endowment to foster a unified philanthropic response to address the impact of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in the Evanston community. As of April 15, 2021, when the Now!Fund succeeded the Rapid Response Fund, generous Evanstonians had contributed over $4.4 million.

ECF immediately created a strategic vision for the use of the Fund, focused on relief, recovery, and rebuilding. Learn more about that strategy and exactly how over $4.6 million in ECRR and other ECF funds have been invested in the community since March 23, 2020.

In mid-2021, while continuing investments in collective and enduring systems, as well as immediate needs, ECF introduced two new grant programs, focused on nonprofit growth & sustainability and innovative solutions to address our current challenges. We will continue to work together in 2022 and beyond to reimagine a more equitable Evanston in a post-COVID world.