Stavig House Museum Launches Fund with over $140,000

Stavig House Museum recently completed fundraising more than $120,000 to establish a permanent endowment fund at the South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) and was awarded $20,000 in matching funds from SDCF’s Nonprofit Savings Account grant program. Endowment funds are invested over time and earnings create a long-term revenue source to support the organization.

“The newly established Stavig House Museum Foundation is a great asset for the museum and our community,” says John Rasmussen, Stavig House Museum President. “Each year the funds available from the foundation will help the museum carry out its mission to preserve local history and attract visitors to our community. We want to thank the South Dakota Community Foundation for the $20,000 Challenge Grant. The grant served as a catalyst energizing our fundraising efforts and adding substantially to the total funds in our foundation once we reached our goal.”

The historic Stavig House, built by Scandinavian craftsmen in 1916, combines elements of the Victorian era with Arts and Crafts style architecture. Listed on the National Historic Register, the museum tells the authentic story of a Norwegian immigrant family through three generations, from fishermen in Norway to homesteaders on the Dakota prairie to Main Street entrepreneurs in the new town of Sisseton. The house remained with the Stavig family for 80 years before becoming a museum.