SDCF Announces Grant Partners
On Monday, March 23, Bob Sutton, President of the South Dakota Community Foundation announced the first round of grant awards as part of the South Dakota Nonprofit Enhancement Project.
The grants are part of a recent partnership between the South Dakota Community Foundation and the St. Paul, Minnesota based Bush Foundation aimed at building capacity of South Dakota’ nonprofit sector. The goal of the project is to develop a support framework for the nonprofit community that is sustainable for the future. Specifically, the project focuses on three objectives: organizational capacity building, capacity building services, and grant making. The five organizations receiving funding have developed plans to increase the capacity of nonprofits in their geographic area or area of expertise across the state of South Dakota.
Approximately $380,000 was awarded to the following organizations:
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Black Hills Area Community Foundation: Funds from this grant will allow the Black Hills Area Community Foundation (BHACF) to offer technical assistance training to nonprofit organizations from across western South Dakota. In addition, the BHACF plan will focus on the development of an online product that enables nonprofit organizations to connect with donors utilizing the technology of the Internet. The BHACF program will ultimately strengthen and empower leaders within the nonprofit sector, increase philanthropic giving to nonprofits in the Black Hills, and increase the awareness of the nonprofit sector and its contribution to quality of life in the Black Hills region. For more information please contact Regina Jahr, Executive Director at: rjahr@rushmore.com |
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Northeast South Dakota Economic Corporation: This grant will allow the Northeast South Dakota Economic Corporation (NESDEC) to offer technical assistance training to nonprofit organizations throughout their 22-county region. NESDEC has completed a survey of nonprofit partners to determine the areas of highest need for technical assistance and capacity building. NESDEC’s plan includes workshops for nonprofit entities, regional networking meetings, and a training grants program that will provide capacity building opportunities directly to the nonprofit sector. For more information please contact Lori Finnesand, Executive Director at: lorif@nesdcap.org |
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Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation: Grant dollars will assist the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation with the Transforming Leadership: A Capacity Building Workshop Series for Area Nonprofits program. This program is designed to offer technical assistance and capacity building training to nonprofit staff and board members in the Sioux Falls area. The large concentration of nonprofit organizations in Sioux Falls makes this training series critical to increasing the capacity of the entire state’s nonprofit sector. The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation program will ultimately strengthen and empower leaders within the nonprofit organizations, making this an excellent partnership for these grant funds. For more information please contact Candy Hanson, President at: chanson@sfacf.org |
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South Dakota Housing Development Authority: Grant funds will be used to provide National Development Council (NDC) training to nonprofit staff members and community leaders engaged in housing development across South Dakota. Participants completing the 17-day course will gain certification through the Housing Development Professional program. The NDC training provides comprehensive education in affordable housing finance and development. Through the proceeds from this grant, the training will be offered in South Dakota to a maximum of 50 participants. For more information please contact Mark Lauseng, Execitve Director at: mark@sdhda.org |
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South Dakota Nonprofit Association: A portion of the funding available through the Bush Foundation will be aimed at assisting in the re-launch of the SD Nonprofit Association. This organization will continue to provide capacity building and technical assistance services to South Dakota’s nonprofit sector at the end of the two year grant program. The South Dakota Nonprofit Association will help link nonprofit organizations, businesses, associations and government, and provide the collective voice for every nonprofit statewide. For more information please contact Christine Sorenson, Chair at: nesdec@dailypost.com |
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Watertown Community Foundation: Funds from this grant will allow the Watertown Community Foundation to offer technical assistance and capacity building training to nonprofit staff and board members in the Watertown region. In addition, the Watertown Community Foundation plan will bring to South Dakota a nationally recognized program on fundraising and development from The Fundraising School at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. The Watertown program will ultimately strengthen and empower leaders within the nonprofit sector, and increase philanthropic giving to nonprofits in northeast South Dakota. For more information please contact Jan DeBerg,, Executive Director at: foundation@iw.net |
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First Nations Oweesta Corporation: First Nations Oweesta will be using the grant funds to implement the “South Dakota Native CDFI Technical Assistance Project,” a program that will provide a range of capacity building services to South Dakota-based nonprofit Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and their partners. Capacity building efforts will include one-on-one technical assistance and guidance for start up, emerging, and certified Native CDFIs, based on Oweesta’s menu of services and programs which focuses on organizational and asset building program development. The primary concentration will be on the organizational development and expansion of the Native CDFIs themselves. |
