About

The Evanston Community Foundation (ECF) offers event sponsorship opportunities to support community events and gatherings. These events are Evanston-serving and align with ECF’s mission, vision, and values. Events sponsored by the Evanston Community Foundation aim to bring the community together across differences in identities and lived experience to foster meaningful relationship building. These events celebrate Evanston as a community where all are welcomed and feel a sense of belonging.  

Timeline 

ECF collects sponsorship requests on a rolling basis. Applicants will receive a decision regarding their sponsorship request 3-4 weeks from the date of application submission. There are no reporting requirements for sponsorships.   

Request Requirements 

• Sponsorship requests must be submitted through the Evanston Community Foundation's online grants management system between 2 to 6 months before the expected event date. 
• Applicants approved for sponsorship support may not be awarded more than one event sponsorship in a calendar year.
• ECF is currently accepting applications for events occurring in the current calendar year.
• All sponsorship applicants must complete and pass an eligibility quiz prior to submitting a sponsorship application for consideration of support.  
• The lead applicant organization for the event sponsorship request must be Evanston-based and Evanston-serving.  
• The lead applicant organization be in existence and operating for at least 1-year. 
• The lead applicant organization must be a nonprofit organization with an active 501c3 tax exempt status.  

Evaluation Criteria 

Sponsorship applications are reviewed by ECF staff and evaluated based on the following four core criteria: 

• Mission and Strategic Priorities Alignment - Requests should align with ECF’s mission and strategic priorities.  
• Evanston and Community Impact - Requests should be Evanston-serving. 
• Accessibility - Requests should demonstrate a strong commitment to accessibility offering considerations for language, cognitive, auditory, visual, physical, and/or technology accommodations for event attendees. 
• Community Connection - Requests should intentionally aim to create the conditions for meaningful relationship building and connection between community members.