Imagination Grants are supported by the Acorn Fund, a gift to the Evanston Community Foundation from a long-time Evanston resident. The Acorn Fund encourages teachers and others to undertake small projects that will make a big difference. Through the Acorn Fund we encourage teachers who wish to help young people in developing their skills and imaginations as they "work with their hands and their heads." 

The first initiative is to support teachers in working with young people on school gardens, projects in which teachers introduce children to "real world work" with plants, gardens, and classroom experiences. We hope that projects undertaken with the help of these mini-grants might someday evolve into larger projects that involve and benefit more people.  Underlying the Acorn Fund is the desire to support teachers in going beyond standard classroom work, to provide more hands-on opportunities for working with their students.

Guidelines for this first round of proposals are as follows:

• Mini-grants of $100 to $300 will be awarded each year by decision of Foundation staff
• There is no fixed deadline for submission of proposals
• Grants will be made on a rolling basis beginning in January until the year's funds are used up
• Only one grant will be awarded to any one school within a school year; a principal's letter of recommendation is required
• Projects may be submitted by an individual teacher or collaboratively by a small group of teachers (e.g., by grade level or subject)
• Grants can be for new projects or for improvements to already established gardens
• Continuing funding may be sought in subsequent years for projects that demonstrate thoughtful improvements on the original idea
• We encourage teachers to involve students in assembling the final grant report which may comprise a narrative overview, photographs, drawings, displays of garden materials whatever best conveys the experiences made possible by the grant
• Reporting timeframes will be established for each grant as appropriate to individual projects and may incorporate a site visit to the project
  

To apply for a grant, please send a letter of proposal (limited to 1-2 pages) including the following information:

• Name of teacher, school, grade level
• Contact information: telephone, e-mail
• Date of submission
• What my project is
• What this project will mean for my students
• How I arrived at this idea
• The amount of funding that I request from the Acorn Fund
• How I will use grant funds
• When the project will start and when it will finish
• What students will know/be able to do if this project is a success

Please address your letter of proposal to:
Rebecca Cacayuran, Program Officer
Evanston Community Foundation
1007 Church Street, Suite 108
Evanston, IL 60201
847 492-0990

Or click here to send electronically to Rebecca Cacayuran, Program Officer

Questions? Please call ECF program staff:
Marybeth Schroeder, Vice President for Programs OR Rebecca Cacayuran, Program Officer, 847 492-0990