Local nonprofits receive $921,000 in grants

Thirteen nonprofit organizations based in Sioux Falls and the surrounding area have been awarded grants totaling nearly $921,000 by South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF).  

“These grants will have a tremendous impact on the organizations and the South Dakotans they serve,” said Ginger Niemann, SDCF’s Senior Program Officer. “The organizations will tackle a variety of community challenges with unique and strategic approaches.” 

Five nonprofits received a SDCF South Dakota Fund Grant. These grants are designed to provide support in the following areas: culture, economic development, education, financial literacy, health, and human services. In 2025, the South Dakota Fund also provided grants to organizations impacted by federal funding gaps.

Eight nonprofits received a Beyond Idea Grant (BIG), which is a partnership between SDCF and the Bush Foundation based in St. Paul, Minn. These grants allow recipients to develop and test ideas that make the region better for all residents and to inspire, equip and connect leaders to more effectively lead equitable change.

South Dakota Fund Grant recipients were: 

• Feeding South Dakota – Statewide – $50,000
  • Assist in addressing a gap in the food supply across South Dakota (federal funding gap)
• Friends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting – Statewide – $50,000
  • Assist with sustaining services across the state (federal funding gap)
• Helpline Center – Sioux Falls – $48,000
  • Expand Transition to Success Program through financial literacy mentorship initiative
• St. Francis House of Sioux Falls – Sioux Falls – $20,000
  • Support services and accommodate increasing needs of guests (federal funding gap)
• Volunteers of America – Dakotas – Sioux Falls – $20,000
  • Support Veterans Services Center, serving more than 300 veterans in the Sioux Falls area each year (federal funding gap) 

BIG recipients were: 

• Children’s Care Hospital and School dba LifeScape – Sioux Falls – $100,000
  • Test a “SafeCare” initiative aimed to improve employee safety while maintaining quality care
• Emily’s Hope – Statewide – $100,000
  • Create a statewide awareness campaign designed to educate students and parents about the dangers of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl
• Inter-Lakes Community Action Partnership – Statewide – $100,000
  • Address the growing challenge of food insecurity among seniors in rural South Dakota by implementing frozen meal program
• Promising Futures Fund, fiscal sponsor Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation – Sioux Falls – $100,000
  • Launch a pilot college-career readiness program to help underserved students navigate a path to success after high school
• South Dakota News Watch – Statewide – $100,000
  • Publish stories highlighting community driven solutions that could help to ease the housing shortage
• South Dakota State University – Statewide – $32,991
  • Expand the South Dakota Rural Libraries Hotspot Lending Program
• The Compass Point dba Solace– Sioux Falls – $100,000
  • Test a Trauma Recovery Center in South Dakota.
• Underdog Foundation – Reservations – $100,000   
  • Test the idea of a food truck operation to deliver meals directly to families in tribal communities.