The Evans Scholars Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Glenview, Illinois that provides full tuition and housing college scholarships to golf caddies.
The WGA initially declined Evans' request, stating that it was a golf organization interested only in running championships, most notably the Western Open.
In 1929, Evans successfully lobbied the WGA to manage the scholarship on his behalf with the help of his longtime friend and prominent Chicago tax attorney, Carleton Blunt.
[4] After Evans' initial investment in the Foundation had run out, Blunt, an avid golfer and philanthropist, agreed to continue to help raise money to send more caddies to college.
In 2020 the Western Golf Association announced they formed a new partnership with the University of Chicago, and would begin awarding at least four new Evans Scholarships per year .
Candidates are personally interviewed at one of a series of Selection Meetings, co-hosted by the Western Golf Association and its affiliated country clubs.
[5] Funding for the scholarships provided by the Evans Scholars Foundation comes from a variety of sources, including private donations, fundraising events and professional and amateur golf tournaments held across the country each year.
Since its founding in 1950, the Western Golf Association's Par Club has been one of the most important and substantial revenue streams for the Evans Scholars Foundation.
One of the Foundation's most notable fundraising events in recent years has been the Western Golf Association's Green Coat Gala, held annually in Chicago.
Golf legends Curtis Strange, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Gary Player and Johnny Miller have all been honored at the gala.