State Bar Foundation Receives Grant to Enhance Legal Services in Rural Areas
February 3, 2026 // Beyond Idea Grants
South Dakota Bar Foundation recently received $63,222.50 from South Dakota Community Foundation’s (SDCF) Beyond Idea Grant (BIG) program. Offered in partnership with the Bush Foundation, the BIG program supports community-based problem-solving efforts in South Dakota.
The grant will allow the Bar Foundation to develop and test a virtual platform to improve retention of rural attorneys, support student exploration of justice careers, and create a connected system of training, mentoring and workforce support that strengthens rural communities.
“Access to legal representation in South Dakota’s rural and tribal communities received a generous boost by being awarded SDCF’s Beyond Idea Grant,” said Rachelle Norberg, Co-Chair of Project Rural Practice. “Ensuring that all South Dakota citizens have access to local and quality legal representation has become a decade-long collaboration between policy makers, the South Dakota Unified Judicial System, the South Dakota legal community, and many South Dakota counties and communities. The Beyond Idea Grant will be an essential part of the continued success of attracting and retaining rural lawyers by providing additional mentorship, training and resources for those serving clients in all corners of South Dakota.”
Led by a steering committee of legal educators, practitioners and policy leaders, Project Rural Practice (PRP) Hub and South Dakota Justice Careers Coalition will work to address the shortage of legal professionals in rural and tribal areas, which can limit access to justice and overwhelm the small number of attorneys who practice in these regions.
PRP Hub will provide a virtual mentorship and training platform for rural and solo-practice attorneys. South Dakota Justice Careers Coalition will work to build a statewide pipeline from high school through professional practice in legal and justice careers. Together, these projects will work to address the disparities in access to legal services in rural and tribal areas, educational and career exposure for rural and Native youth, and retention and mentorship of early-career rural attorneys.
"The Bar Foundation has identified a need to stop the declining numbers of available professionals and a shrinking pipeline of students entering the field," said Ginger Niemann, SDCF’s Senior Program Officer. “SDCF is honored to provide support to the Bar Foundation for this important work.”
To learn more about funding opportunities through SDCF, visit SDCommunityFoundation.org.
SDCF is a public, nonprofit organization established in 1987. SDCF administers over 1,300 funds benefiting hundreds of charitable organizations across the state. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the foundation distributed over $40 million in grants in 2025. To learn more, visit https://sdcommunityfoundation.org or call 1-800-888-1842.
The Bush Foundation invests in great ideas and the people who power them. Established in 1953 by 3M Executive Archibald Bush and his wife Edyth, the foundation encourages individuals and organizations to think bigger and think differently about what is possible in communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the 23 Native Nations that share the same geographic area.