Charles and Kathie Hart: Giving through Generations

The Harts Creating a Legacy of Giving Back to South Dakota

Dr. Charles and Kathie Hart have given back to South Dakota in more ways than one, and their devotion to continue giving back isn’t stopping any time soon. Dr. Hart is a South Dakota native–born and raised in Miller, SD. Kathie is a transplant to South Dakota, but holds the state near and dear to her heart.

Both of the Harts have had lasting careers in health care. Dr. Hart spent 14 years practicing Family Practice and Emergency Medicine, before he transitioned to CEO at Regional Health (currently Monument Health) in Rapid City, SD. Kathie is a registered nurse and an avid community volunteer with a focus on children’s activities. Dr. Hart served on the Board of Directors for the South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) and completed his term in 2022.

The Harts established a donor-advised fund through SDCF to help support projects and organizations they are passionate about. Through the encouragement of Dr. Hart’s brother and sister in law, Jim and Nini Hart, they looked into working with the SDCF to achieve their charitable goals.

“It’s been our goal that this is something that benefits our children, in an ongoing future way,” stated Kathie.

“ It’s been our goal that this is something that benefits our children, in an ongoing future way.”
Kathie Hart

Dr. Hart added, “We wanted something left for them so they would have that philanthropic part of their life…and a way for them to understand what they could do to make South Dakota a better place.”

Dr. Hart took note of the way the Miller Community Foundation offered residents a way to give back, and the immediate impact it had on his hometown. This impact built his trust in the SDCF to facilitate his charitable wishes. Both he and Kathie deeply appreciate the support they find in navigating the complexities of the tax laws of charitable giving.

“The Community Foundation helped us establish a set route to make it simple,” shared Dr. Hart.

“ The Community Foundation helped us establish a set route to make it simple.”
Dr. Charles Hart

Dr. Hart also added that working with SDCF has helped them navigate the age bracket of their own retirement funds. When individuals reach a certain age, required minimum distributions are applied to traditional Roth IRAs.

“The Community Foundation helped us take some of those minimum distributions and put them into our funds. It helped us minimize our taxes while giving back. It’s a win-win really,” said Dr. Hart.

Along with their donor-advised fund, the Harts felt passionately about giving back to South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB), so they established a fund to support “Friends of SDPB.” They shared that they personally access and enjoy media from SDPB in multiple ways, and they believe in the power of unbiased media. They wanted to make sure that a portion of their charitable giving specifically benefited SDPB.

When asked if they had anything they wanted to add at the end of the conversation, Dr. Hart shared, “we want to thank all of the great folks at the South Dakota Community Foundation for the great work they do, and we hope to keep on giving.”