A GOOD PLACE FOR ALL

A more equitable and inclusive Evanston has been our mission for over 30 years. We're invested in our home.

The Now! Fund invests in the immediate work of the Foundation. Your donation supports ECF and enables us to make grants, bring new ideas to fruition, and mobilize people, ideas, and talent. Consider a gift today.

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News & Events

Sol Anderson, ECF President and CEO, shares thoughts on the recent shooting here in Evanston. Read the full statement here.

Eligible organizations can apply for E-Town Innovation Grants. Apply by DEC 6, 2021. Organizations can request meetings with ECF to discuss proposal ideas.

A gun buyback event will be held on December 4, 2021 by the Evanston Police Department through a partnership between the Evanston Community Foundation, Mount Zion Baptist Church, and Ms. Carolyn Murray.

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.

Does your employer offer a matching gift program? Learn more about matching your gift to the Now! Fund.

We are hiring our next Vice President of Finance and Operations! Interested candidates can read more about the position.

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

Since 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 Fund 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 to reimagine a more equitable Evanston in a post-COVID world.