Over 150 supporters celebrated The Promise Campaign at the Chicago Botanic Garden

GLENVIEW, Ill. – The Western Golf Association and Evans Scholars Foundation hosted a reception on Friday, July 28, in celebration of the successful conclusion of The Promise Campaign, the organization’s first-ever comprehensive campaign.

The six-year campaign, which concluded in 2022, aimed to raise critical funding to increase the number of Evans Scholars in school, expand the presence of the Evans Scholars Program from coast to coast and develop new caddie training and career mentorship initiatives. The Promise Campaign ultimately raised more than $371 million, exceeding its $300 million goal.

More than 150 supporters attended the event at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois. The evening featured remarks from WGA/ESF leaders and the debut of a special video in honor of the campaign. The twelve families who served as campaign Co-Chairs were recognized, as well as the WGA Chairmen who led the organization during the campaign.

Guests also heard from Evans Scholar Megan Mihalkanin, a caddie at Edgewood Valley Country Club in Illinois, who recently graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in speech and hearing sciences. She was part of the milestone class of 1,000 Evans Scholars in 2019, a campaign goal.

“During this campaign, we witnessed the power of a promise,” said John Kaczkowski, President and CEO. “An incredible group of generous supporters came together to ensure that the Evans Scholarship would be an option for generations of future caddies and that we would have the continued resources to guide our Evans Scholars from caddie, to college, to career.”

Over the course of the campaign, the Foundation achieved the following milestones:

  • Supported 1,100 Evans Scholars at 22 universities in the 2022-23 academic year, surpassing the campaign goal of more than 1,000 Evans Scholars in school each year
  • Grew its endowment fund to five times its operating budget, securing the future of the Evans Scholars Program
  • Built or renovated seven Evans Scholarships Houses, and established five new university partnerships to expand the Program from coast to coast
  • Launched four new WGA Caddie Academy chapters and established a Life Skills and Career Services Program for Evans Scholars

“The Promise Campaign was quite the journey,” said Executive Vice President Bill Kingore. “Simply put, our wonderful community of supporters stepped up and answered the call in this

landmark campaign. With this momentum, we are another step closer to achieving the ambitious goals in our long-term strategic plan.”

This fall, a record 1,130 Evans Scholars will be enrolled at 24 universities across the country, and more than 12,000 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr.