By the Numbers: How Evanston has spent NU’s Good Neighbor Fund money

Illustration by Isabel Su

In 2023, Northwestern announced a $100 million community benefits agreement for Evanston mere hours before City Council granted preliminary approval to commercially rezone Ryan Field. The agreement increased NU’s Good Neighbor Fund contribution to $3 million each year.

Isaiah Steinberg, Development and Recruitment Editor

February 26, 2025

Established in 2015, the Good Neighbor Fund — a set of annual contributions from Northwestern to Evanston — has provided the city $12 million to support community engagement and city services.

In its 10-year tenure, the fund has allocated money to support paramedics, improve roads, bolster job training programs and more.

Explore the city’s budgeted spending of the Good Neighbor Fund over the years.

NU began contributing $1 million per year to the city in 2016. The program lasted five years, expiring in 2020. In 2021, the university earmarked $1 million for the city’s racial equity programs.

Funding dried up in 2022 and 2023 as the fund’s mandate expired.

In 2023, NU proposed a community benefits agreement with Evanston to accompany its Rebuild Ryan Field project. The agreement increased NU’s annual Good Neighbor Fund contribution to $3 million per year for 10 years, starting in 2024.

In previous years, Evanston has not always spent the full allocation from NU, which leaves funds left over for later years and allows total budgeted spending to exceed total allocations.

City operations — including funding for police, paramedics and parks — and affordable housing led total Good Neighbor Fund spending over the past decade with roughly $4.5 million and $2 million, respectively.

When NU’s fund allocations increased to $3 million in 2024, city operations began to surpass every other spending category.

Within each spending category, Good Neighbor Fund money is often allocated to specific organizations or funds in the city budget.

The city’s General Fund — its main operating fund for all departments — has received more money from the Good Neighbor Fund than any other single beneficiary.

This year, Evanston allocated $1.5 million to the General Fund, $1 million to affordable housing programs, $500,000 to the Sustainability Fund and $164,000 to “miscellaneous” expenses. The city passed its 2025 budget in November and will budget the 2026 Good Neighbor Fund this fall.

Email: isaiahsteinberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
X: @IsaiahStei27