Sponsorships at GovState
Sponsor your interest.
Sponsor the Future at GovState
Every partnership has the power to create opportunity. By sponsoring events and programs at GovState, your organization helps celebrate student achievement, strengthen community connections, and expand access to transformative educational experiences.
For more than 50 years, GovState has served as a leader in the Southland, preparing students for meaningful careers while enriching the region through education, research, the arts, and community engagement. Sponsorships allow businesses and organizations to be part of that impact while connecting with students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community leaders.
Whether you're looking to increase your visibility, engage with future talent, or demonstrate your commitment to education and the community, sponsoring GovState events is an investment that creates lasting value—for your organization and for the people we serve.
Event Sponsorship Opportunities
GovState hosts a variety of events throughout the year that celebrate student success, recognize leadership, foster cultural engagement, and strengthen connections across our region. Each event offers unique opportunities to align your organization with experiences that matter to our students and community.
The event listings below highlight each sponsorship opportunity, including audience information and available recognition, making it easy to find the partnership that best fits your organization's goals.
To learn more about general sponsorship opportunities or to discuss a customized partnership, contact the Foundation at engage@govst.edu or 708.534.4105.
Why Sponsor GovState?
Sponsoring GovState events and programs offers benefits that extend well beyond event-day recognition. Your partnership helps create opportunities for students while positioning your organization alongside a university committed to access, excellence, and community impact.
As a GovState sponsor, your organization can:
- Increase brand visibility among students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community leaders.
- Connect with prospective employees and future workforce talent.
- Demonstrate your commitment to education, economic development, and the Southland community.
- Support scholarships, student success initiatives, cultural programming, and career-building experiences.
- Align your organization with a trusted regional institution dedicated to creating opportunity and transforming lives.
Your sponsorship is more than a marketing investment—it helps ensure that GovState continues to provide impactful educational experiences that empower students to achieve their goals while strengthening the communities we serve.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Sculpture Wine and Dine & The Prairie Party
This event celebrates the award-winning Sculpture Park on the grounds of Governors State University with a farm-to-table dinner, cocktails, and a guided tour of the Park. As one of GovState’s favorite events, community members, artists, faculty, staff, and students gather to honor the contributions made over the past year and to hear continued vision for the Park as it continues on its mission of art, conservation, and education.
Audience engagement includes:
- Alumni
- Businesses and Organizations
- Community Members
- Faculty and Staff
Contact: lesolato@govst.edu
Scholars & Stewards
Scholars & Stewards brings together scholarship recipients and their supporters to honor student achievement and the generosity that fuels it. The event offers a meaningful opportunity to connect, share stories, and see firsthand the impact of philanthropic investment. Together, we celebrate the partnerships that open doors and shape futures.
Audience engagement at this event includes:
- Alumni
- Businesses and Organizations
- Community Members
- Faculty and Staff
- GovState Students
Contact: engage@govst.edu
Distinguished Alumni Reception
Our alumni are doing incredible things. We use this night to honor their contributions: past, present and future. The GSU impact is evident all throughout the year and this event highlights those stories. This nomination-based event brings together the people who are making a great impact in the business world, in their communities, in the GovState community, and beyond. Support of this event allows us to continue to share those stories and inspire the next generation of stories.
Audience engagement at this event includes:
- Alumni
- Businesses and Organizations
- Community Members
Contact: alumnirelations2@govst.edu
Homecoming Week
Homecoming honors the traditions of a university. Here at GovState, we honor our history and call our alumni home to celebrate with our current students, faculty, staff, friends, and family. This week is full of events of all varieties – there is something for everyone. We invite you to be a part of this special week by supporting events that match your interests and passions.
Audience engagement at this event includes:
- Alumni
- Businesses and Organizations
- Community Members
- Faculty and Staff
- GovState Students
- P - 12 Students
Contact: engage@govst.edu
MLK Day Celebration
Each year, we take time to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As we pause to remember and reflect, we also aim to put before our GovState community new and substantial ways that his legacy can be activated. This day of celebration incorporates speakers who bring us new challenges or inspiration, students who are driving campus initiatives, and community members who are invested in the future of Dr. King’s and GovState’s legacy toward a greater future.
Audience engagement at this event includes:
- Alumni
- Businesses and Organizations
- Community Members
- Faculty and Staff
- GovState Students
- P - 12 Students
Contact: engage@govst.edu
GovState 5K Run and Walk
The GovState 5k Run and Walk actively brings together our Jaguars to move and have fun. This 3.1 mile race takes place throughout the stunning campus, past sculptures and along the Alumni path. Alumni are often seen running or walking with their kids, reminiscing about their days at GovState. Community members also love this race because it falls at an ideal time in the annual race calendar, giving our Chicago Marathoners a short re-entry race. We even have current students wake up early enough to join the fun. Volunteers line the course as directional help, but more importantly, the cheering squad! A DJ keeps the music going and the typically beautiful fall weather makes it a great day to move those muscles. This event promotes high community engagement and partnership in an energetic and fun atmosphere.
Audience engagement at this event includes:
- Alumni
- Businesses and Organizations
- Community Members
- Faculty and Staff
- GovState Students
- P - 12 Students
Contact: jaguar5k@govst.edu
Scholarships
Every year, scholarships help students achieve their educational goals by providing thousands of dollars in financial assistance. These educational goals are really a part of dreams that reach beyond this moment. Your donation goes to support students as they journey toward those dreams.
Audience engagement at this event includes:
- GovState Students
Contact: foundationscholarships@govst.edu
Athletics
Since 2014, GovState has been fostering an environment that brings student athletes to our campus. This focus allows us to develop exceptional student athletes that engage the local communities, inspiring future Jaguar athletes and developing a Jaguar-proud community. Giving to athletics makes a positive impact on nearly every GovState entity, from students to future students, and community members to businesses. Year-round athletic sponsorships are available and customizable.
Audience engagement at this event includes:
- Alumni
- Businesses and Organizations
- Community Members
- Faculty and Staff
- GovState Students
- P - 12 Students
Contact: engage@govst.edu
Chicago Southland International Film Festival
This annual independent film event showcases global short films, local feature showcases, and filmmaker Q&A sessions.
Audience engagement at this event includes:
- Alumni
- Businesses and Organizations
- Community Members
- Faculty and Staff
- GovState Students
Contact: engage@govst.edu
Center for Performing Arts
The Center for Performing Arts presents more than 50 performances to 60,000 guests annually making diverse Chicago-based, touring and community theatre, music, dance and education programs accessible to all Southland residents. Our state-of-the art facility seats 1,165 patrons and our theatre offers unique opportunities for pre- and post-show meet-and-greets, receptions, lectures, and social events. We welcome the community to the stage, attract customers to businesses, and find creative solutions to educate students in innovative ways that augment classroom learning.
Audience engagement at this event includes:
- Alumni
- Businesses and Organizations
- Community Members
- Faculty and Staff
- GovState Students
- P - 12 Students
Contact: lesolato@govst.edu
Contact Information
- Governors State University Foundation
- engage@govst.edu