Evanston Community Foundation

What Evanston Community Foundation does

Evanston Community Foundation (ECF), founded in 1986 in Evanston, Illinois, is a tax-exempt community foundation (Tax ID 36-3466802) operating with 11-50 employees from its headquarters at 500 Davis Street. ECF mobilizes philanthropic capital and community resources to advance systemic racial equity and socioeconomic mobility in Evanston. The foundation runs a diversified portfolio of grantmaking programs (Community-Led Grants, Catalyst Grants, Resilience Grants, Building the Future, Partners for the Future, Event Sponsorship) and donor vehicles (Now Fund for immediate use, Forever Fund endowment, Donor Advised Funds, Impact Collective monthly giving, Corporate Community Partners). It also operates the Ubuntu Leadership Institute, launched in 2024, which encompasses Leadership Evanston (a 10-month cohort running since 1993), Board Leadership Training, Leadership Circles affinity groups, and a Legacy Leaders Network. In 2025 ECF anticipated distributing $3.4 million in grantmaking across Evanston, including $300,000 in Resilience Grants, and launched its first bilingual English/Spanish grant application.

ECF's business model is community-led grantmaking: donations and endowment investment returns are pooled and redistributed via unrestricted, trust-based grants selected by committees of community members. The foundation generates inflows through individual giving (cash, check, credit card, IRA rollovers, stock, planned giving, donor advised funds), corporate community partnerships (Changemaker, Catalyst, Leader, Friend tiers), monthly Impact Collective contributions, and endowment returns (a 5% spending rate yields approximately $50,000 in annual grantmaking per $1 million of endowment). The foundation has set a campaign goal to double the Forever Fund to $10 million by its 40th anniversary in September 2027 and, effective January 1, 2025, is qualified to issue a 25% Illinois state income tax credit under the IL Gives Act on the first $3 million in annual endowed gifts. ECF does not charge fees to grantees or community members.

Name

Evanston Community Foundation

Legal name

Evanston Community Foundation

Website

https://evanstonforever.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Evanston Community Foundation is a nonprofit community foundation in Evanston, Illinois that pools charitable donations and endowment returns to fund unrestricted grants, leadership development, and equity-focused community initiatives for Evanston residents and nonprofit organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation / Philanthropy & Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Community grantmaking
• Leadership development
• Donor advised funds
• Endowment management
• Nonprofit philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Evanston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: The foundation receives donations from individual donors through various methods including cash, check, credit card, donor advised funds, IRA charitable rollovers, wire transfers, stock donations, and planned giving. Donors can give to the Now Fund (immediate use) or Forever Fund (endowment).
2. Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships: Corporate community partners provide financial support in exchange for public recognition, event participation, social media visibility, and newsletter acknowledgment throughout the year.
3. Endowment Investment Returns: The foundation invests endowment funds (Forever Fund) and uses investment returns to support grantmaking activities. A 5% annual spending rate generates approximately $50,000 annually per $1 million in endowment.
4. Event Sponsorship: ECF offers event sponsorship opportunities to support community events that align with its mission. Applicants may request up to $1,000 in sponsorship funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Evanston Community Foundation mobilizes philanthropic capital for the Evanston, Illinois community through competitive grantmaking programs (Community-Led Grants, Resilience Grants, Catalyst Grants, Now Fund) directed at local nonprofits, as well as structured leadership development programs (Leadership Evanston, Ubuntu Leadership Institute, Board Leadership Training). It also stewards an endowment of approximately $65 million across 175+ funds, accepts individual and corporate donations, manages donor-advised funds, and convenes community members through signature events and the Community Investment Committee governance model.

Product overview

Evanston Community Foundation is a community foundation offering a comprehensive portfolio of grantmaking programs and leadership development initiatives. Core products include Community-Led Grants (with Spring and Fall cycles offering unrestricted, general operating funds), Resilience Grants for rapid-response funding, Now Fund for immediate needs, and Forever Fund for endowment. Leadership development is anchored by the Ubuntu Leadership Institute (launched 2024), which encompasses Signature Leadership Evanston (10-month cohort program), Board Leadership Training, Leadership Circles (affinity groups), and Legacy Leaders Network. Additional offerings include Catalyst Grants, Building the Future, Partners for the Future, Event Sponsorship, Impact Collective monthly giving, Donor Advised Funds, and Corporate Community Partners program. The foundation serves as a hub for community connection, nonprofit support, and strategic philanthropy in Evanston.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ubuntu Leadership Institute: A leadership initiative launched in 2024 to expand local leadership development opportunities for Evanstonians, building on the legacy of Leadership Evanston. Includes Signature Leadership Evanston, Board Leadership Training, Leadership Circles, and Legacy Leaders Network.
• Leadership Evanston
• Impact Collective
• Forever Fund
• Now Fund
• Building the Future
• Partners for the Future

Products and services

• Community-Led Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.4 million in total grantmaking across Evanston in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• The Eight EffectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 April 2024Partnership with The Eight Effect, a woman- and Black-owned consultancy, to deliver Board Leadership Training through their culturally responsive 'Board Bootcamp' curriculum. The program prepares BIPOC-identifying community members for service on nonprofit boards, city committees, commissions, and task forces. Inaugural cohort graduated 18 new leaders in April 2025.
• YWCA Evanston/North ShorecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in Savings for Success program aimed at making educational and economic mobility a reality for Evanston children through Postsecondary Savings Accounts. YWCA serves as the primary implementation partner alongside District 65.
• District 65 (Evanston/Skokie School District)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Savings for Success early childhood education savings program. Collaborates with YWCA and ECF to provide Postsecondary Savings Accounts for Evanston children.
• Northwestern UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Guaranteed Basic Income initiative focused on building economic stability and ensuring all Evanston residents can afford to live and thrive. Northwestern collaborates with the City of Evanston and ECF on this initiative.
• City of EvanstoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Guaranteed Basic Income program and Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Evanston (RSAE). RSAE is an advisory organization led by Black Evanstonians to develop and implement reparations proposals addressing historic racial disparities.
• Hagerty ConsultingcoreGTM or Marketing Partner2025 Changemaker-level Corporate Community Partner providing financial support for ECF's mission in exchange for public recognition, event participation, and marketing visibility.
• Northwestern UniversitycoreGTM or Marketing Partner2025 Changemaker-level Corporate Community Partner. Major institutional partner in both Guaranteed Basic Income initiative and corporate sponsorship.
• William BlaircoreGTM or Marketing Partner2025 Changemaker-level Corporate Community Partner providing financial support for ECF's mission.
• Byline BanksecondaryGTM or Marketing Partner2025 Catalyst Sponsor-level Corporate Community Partner supporting ECF's mission.
• Endeavor HealthsecondaryGTM or Marketing Partner2025 Leader Sponsor-level Corporate Community Partner supporting ECF's mission.
• RotarysecondaryGTM or Marketing Partner2025 Leader Sponsor-level Corporate Community Partner supporting ECF's mission.
• Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Evanston (RSAE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory organization led by Black Evanstonians and supported by ECF to develop proposals and implement plans for reparations addressing historic racial disparities. ECF holds the Evanston Reparations Community Fund.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Polk Bros. Foundation: Chicago-area family foundation focused on strengthening Chicago-area families and communities, with a grantmaking and community-led approach similar to ECF. Comparable in mission and trust-based funding philosophy, though serving a different (larger) geography.
• Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Fund: Local Evanston-area charitable entity focused on community impact, overlapping geographically with ECF and participating as a Corporate Community Partner of ECF; represents adjacent local philanthropic capacity in the same service area.

Broad incumbents

• Robert R. McCormick Foundation: Large Illinois-based foundation focused on Chicago-area education, veterans, and community development. Comparable as a regional institutional grantmaker with similar community-investment DNA to ECF, though at materially larger scale.
• DonorsTrust: National donor-advised fund sponsor providing giving vehicles to individuals and family foundations. Comparable to ECF's DAF and Giving options as a competing donor-advised fund vehicle, though operating nationally and not tied to a specific community.
• The Field Foundation of Illinois: Chicago-based foundation supporting community organizing, civic engagement, and equity-driven grantmaking. Highly comparable in mission orientation (racial equity, community voice) to ECF's Ubuntu in Action strategic plan, though with broader geographic mandate.
• The Chicago Community Foundation: The Chicago region's largest community foundation, operating in the same metropolitan area as ECF with a similar donor advised fund, grantmaking, and leadership development model, but at substantially greater scale (billions in AUM) and broader geographic scope.

Others

• YWCA Evanston/North Shore: Direct strategic partner of ECF and 2025 grantee/program partner. Highly comparable as a mission-aligned Evanston-area nonprofit delivering community services and serving as both an ECF grantee and co-implementer of Savings for Success and Reparations initiatives.
• Illinois Community Foundation Network (Forefront): Statewide association of Illinois community foundations providing infrastructure, training, and collective advocacy. Comparable as the umbrella peer ecosystem supporting ECF and its community foundation peers across Illinois.

Direct peers

• Community Foundation of the North Shore (Illinois): Regional community foundation serving Chicago's North Shore suburbs adjacent to Evanston, offering directly comparable community foundation services (grantmaking, DAFs, scholarships, leadership) in the immediate geographic adjacency to ECF.

Emerging players

• Northwestern University Settlement (now Northwestern Settlement): Long-standing Chicago nonprofit providing settlement-house services. Comparable as a community-based organization that ECF funds and partners with, but serving a different (Chicago) geography with similar equity and leadership-development DNA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EvanstonForever
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/evanston-community-foundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/evanstonforever

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Evanston Community Foundation