This is Evanston Made’s first attempt at fundraising, it’s our first year as a nonprofit organization, and we want to invite you into the process with us! It’s a little granular, but we hope you learn something new about our organization. (Full disclosure, our approach was greatly influenced by the brilliant work of Vu Le at nonprofitaf.com)

The goal of all Evanston Made’s fundraising initiatives are to diversify and democratize philanthropy; we believe that everyone can be a philanthropist and patron of the arts. We are building out a strategy that celebrates ALL giving at all levels.

This approach to soliciting donors mirrors the openness with which we accept members; $6 a month regardless of art credentials invites creatives to be a part of Evanston Made.

We strive for community engagement with this fundraising campaign, the same way we want community engagement with our arts initiative #CollectEvanstonArt – we believe the citizens of Evanston know the value of community investment and engagement with the arts.

Like our organization’s ability to pivot during Covid and lean on innovation as a way to problem solve, our Year End Fundraising Campaign will include the following ways for everyone to engage;

  • Campaign Posters! Letterpress artist Ben Blount created a call to action poster; Artists are Essential! Posters will be gifted to any donor giving $50 or more. We encourage people to display the posters in windows across Evanston.

  • Facebook Giving Tuesday Match! We’re hosting a fundraiser on Facebook that will match a % of donations made to nonprofit organizations. Click here to learn more and donate.
  • Giving Tuesday at last! We are so excited to participate in our First Giving Tuesday! Please add us to the list of organizations you give to and welcome checks in the mail too!
  • We honor snail mail! To make a donation through the mail, send a check made payable to Evanston Made Art to: 1100 Florence Ave., Evanston, IL 60202

  • Giving Circles! Groups of friends are invited to gather on Zoom with an Evanston Made advocate to learn about the organization and pool resources to make a donation! Interested? Email us at info[at]evanstonmade dot org

  • Video testimonials from artists and supporters who benefit from Evanston Made are part of our storytelling strategy, to show the impact Evanston Made has on individuals, business owners and the community!

  • Celebrating Eight Years of Evanston Made daily gratitude project tells our origin story by sharing milestones, epic fails and highlights from year’s past.

  • This 100% Digital Campaign that will lean on our existing social media channels, newsletter lists and YouTube to get the word out. We believe this will not only save us money but help us reach beyond Evanston for support.

  • Pitch Deck! Through endless hours of workshops and trainings, several fundraising mentors recommended creating a Pitch Deck to solicit big donations. This exercise gave us the opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been, where we’re at and where we plan to go as an organization. Click here to watch the presentation video on YouTube.

  • Small Business owners are encouraged to support the arts! We plan to sell Ben Blount’s call to action poster to business owners and display it in window.

  • Artist Sunday Promotional Collaboration will bring shoppers from across the globe to the Evanston Made Art Shop, encouraging people to #collectevanstonart

We encourage you to get involved with this campaign where you can. We know that money and time are very valuable commodities, and we welcome your involvement in any way.

Thank you for being on this journey with us these last eight years. Together we can pivot Evanston Made into a sustainable nonprofit arts organization!

Lisa Degliantoni

Founder and Executive Director of Evanston Made