Social Services Funding Application

The City of Evanston awards grants to programs that serve primarily low and moderate-income Evanston residents - services help residents thrive in the community. Awarded programs address basic needs or provide poverty interruption/ prevention services. Programs are reviewed in two categories: case management OR safety net (more information, including a definition of the categories, provided below).

Key Application Upcoming Deadlines: 

• Intent to Apply due Tuesday, July 15, 2025
• Application due Friday, August 22, 2025
• Mandatory Grant Information Sessions held in July

Additional information about eligible applicants and the application process provided below.

Eligible applicants are nonprofit agencies with a history of managing federal grants or those that have successfully managed City of Evanston grants in years past.

Applicants should have:

1. Organizational Experience (ability to comply with reporting requirements)
2. Organizational Capacity (ability to serve Evanston residents and ability to document/report increased capacity resulting from awarded funds)
3. Reporting system that is digitized, searchable and secure
4. Intake process robust enough to verify and document participant demographics and household income information

Applicants will be required to submit the following documentation:

Program budget based on agency chart of accounts (template available).

Organizational chart that indicates the actual lines of responsibility of individuals involved and written definitions of the duties of key employees.

Audited financials or an Annual Certified Financial  Statement. The City reserves the right to request a Subrecipient to hire a Certified Public Accountant to review and report on the agency financial and programmatic records.  

IRS Form 990 filing – All agencies with revenue of $25,000 or more must complete and submit this annual tax report. Contact the IRS for more information.

There are three types of audits:  

Single Audit:  Organizations that expend $750,000 or more in one year in federal awards shall have a single or program specific audit conducted for that year.  

Audited Financials: This means that a CPA has audited your records in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices and procedures, and provided a hard copy.  

Annual Certified Financial Statement:  This is the lowest threshold criteria and will only be accepted from those non-profits who can document that they did not qualify for a single or regular audit. Annual Certified Financial Statements (ACFS) must be certified (signed and dated) by the Treasurer and the Board President. They must also have the following certification statement: We, the undersigned, as Executive Director and Treasurer of (Name of Agency), hereby certify that, to the best of our understanding and knowledge, the attached Financial Statements fairly and accurately represent the financial condition and operations of this organization.  

Key Application Deadlines:

1. Intent to Apply form due Tuesday, July 15, 2025 by 5 PM (one required for each program/category for which you are requesting funds). Intent to Apply form accessible under Apply Here dropdown.

Full application form sent to agency representative by City staff within 3 business days of submission of Intent to Apply form.

2. Grant manager or program representative must attend at least one mandatory meeting below:

• Case Management Services: Thursday, July 17 @ 10 AM OR Tuesday, July 22 @ 2 PM
• Safety Net Services: Thursday, July 17 @ 2 PM OR Thursday, July 24 @ 10 AM

3. Final Application due Friday, August 22, 2025 by 5 PM

All applications will be reviewed at a public hearing meeting held in November/December. Agency representatives must attend Social Services Committee hearing meetings - additional information on SSC page and City Calendar. City staff will provide additional information to applicants prior to November.

Awards are not finalized without approval by City Council (typically reviewed in the first quarter of the grant year - Q1 2026). 

 CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES are comprehensive enough to address complex needs by provide a single point of accountability for coordination of benefits enrollment and access to community resources.

Case plans/case notes should be digitized, searchable, and secure; plans should document:

• regular meetings and participant contacts 
• referrals to additional agencies/services
• services participants receive
• goals and accomplishments

 Case management should be robust enough to help participants/households with complex needs or challenges. Examples of target populations served include, but are not limited to: opportunity youth, low-income seniors living on fixed incomes, recent immigrants/refugees, participants with undiagnosed/diagnosed mental health issues, physical impairments and/or learning differences, limited English proficiency, those fleeing domestic violence, individuals impacted by the carceral system, etc.

 If your agency requests funding for SAFETY NET SERVICES, please see the information for safety net services on the dropdown below.

Eligible case management programs include:

• Development of Participant-Centered Service Plans: Designed in collaboration with program participants that have specific, measurable outcomes with strategies and timeframes to achieve them, and documentation of successful connection to needed support services. 

• Regular Meetings with Participants: Case managers are expected to meet with participants on a defined schedule to monitor progress. Meeting frequency is anticipated to vary based on the stability of the participant or household.

• Connections to Benefits & Support Services: Case managers provide support service referrals to federal, state, local, and private benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, SSI/SSDI, and TANF; they also help participants gather required enrollment documentation and complete applications. Referrals/connections to support services are documented and tracked in participant case files.

• Written Policies & Documentation Standards: Agencies must have written policies and procedures for case planning that define methods of working with participants, managing case notes and service plans, and documenting referrals/ support services. Caseloads should average no more than 25 participants per case manager.  Progress notes or case notes must be maintained and included in participant files to document frequency of meetings, types and duration of services, and outcomes achieved. Case notes should be digitized, searchable, and secure.

• Enrollment of New Evanston Participants: programs should be able to enroll new Evanston participants during the 12-month period.

SAFETY NET SERVICES address basic needs, needs caused by immediate or imminent crisis, or provide services that stabilize a household or individual, or have long-range poverty prevention impacts.  Services are offered for free or at a reduced rate primarily to low and moderate income community members.

Examples of participants served include, but are not limited to: opportunity youth, low-income seniors living on fixed incomes, recent immigrants/refugees, participants with undiagnosed/diagnosed mental health issues, physical impairments and/or learning differences, limited English proficiency households, those fleeing domestic violence, individuals impacted by the carceral system etc.

If your agency is requesting funding for CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, please  see the related information on this page.

Eligible Safety Net services:

• Enable individuals/households to cope with a specific, time-limited hardship or unaddressed need, to prevent further destabilization - service helps triage individuals in crisis or at risk of negative outcomes. 

• Provide rapid access to free or subsidized services - program must be able to measure service by hours of support provided AND/OR tangible, items connected to participant stabilization (e.g. food, financial support for housing/utilities/transportation, hygiene/personal care items, household supplies, etc.)

• Offer long-range poverty prevention measures (e.g. services to teach financial literacy skills, keep kids in school, help seniors age in place, etc.)

Funding can address a budget gap for existing programs serving Evanston participants (application must prove services would be lost or diminished) or pay for staff time not covered by other sources, provided outcomes are tied to significant, measurable gains for Evanston residents.

 Successful applications will demonstrate how grant funds, if awarded, would increase or sustain services to Evanston residents.

Case Management Services Application

Pre-Application Meeting Slides for Case Management 

Safety Net Services Application

Pre-Application Meeting Slides for Safety Net

For both programs, reports will include the following:

• Quarterly Reports: submissions must include the information listed below

• Beneficiaries - total unduplicated persons served, unduplicated Evanston residents, and unduplicated low/moderate income persons and Evanston residents served); 

• Accomplishments - progress against performance goals (service plans/goal attainment for case management & hours of service and/or units of service for safety net services 

• Source Documents - for all grant-funded expenses, as PDFs. If staffing is paid with grant funds, time & activity tracking must be provided if individuals being paid with grant funds also work on other programs that are not grant-funded.

A variety of source documents and records are needed to properly account for grant transactions. These documents include, but are not limited to the following:

Invoices – All awarded applicants are required to retain original invoices or sales receipts for all purchases. All invoices must be included with the check number and date paid provided. If any original document is not provided, the amount may be deducted from the next reimbursement request or may be required to be repaid.

Payroll Records – All Subrecipients will maintain concise documentation for both the time worked and tasks undertaken. The employee and his/her immediate supervisor must sign employee time cards.

The source documentation must explain the basis of the costs incurred, as well as show the actual dates and amount of expenditures.

For staff time charged to the award, time and attendance records should be uploaded with quarterly reports. If an employee’s time is split between City funds and another funding source, there must be time distribution records supporting the allocation of charges among the sources. Canceled checks from the employees, payroll service provider, etc., or evidence of direct deposits will document the actual outlay of funds. 

Sample Case Management Services Report Form

Sample Safety Net Services Report Form

 Applications will be reviewed by the Social Services Committee and City staff following the evaluation sheets:

• Case Management Services Evaluation Sheet
• Safety Net Services Evaluation Sheet

Applications will be reviewed at publicly accessible meetings; please see the City Calendar and the Social Services Committee page for more information about meetings including agendas and packets.

Applying for funding does not guarantee eligibility or funding

Application Resources/Support Documents