$1.2 million Awarded from the South Dakota Community Foundation's Beyond Idea Grant (BIG) Program

Thirteen South Dakota nonprofits will receive grants totaling $1.2 million from the South Dakota Community Foundation’s Beyond Idea Grant (BIG) program. Offered in partnership with the Bush Foundation, the BIG program supports community-based problem-solving efforts in South Dakota.

• Black Hills Special Services Cooperative/Compass – Sturgis – $132,000
  • BHSSC will develop and test opportunities with AI to support educators across the state.
• Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market – Sioux Falls – $50,000
  • Eat Well Sioux Falls will test how a mobile market can help alleviate urban food deserts in Sioux Falls.
• Family Connections Center – Rapid City – $100,000
  • The Center will expand their capability to provide emergency shelter for and address youth homelessness in Rapid City with outreach into Pennington, Meade and Lawrence counties.
• Helpline Center – Sioux Falls – $95,000
  • Helpline Center plans to implement a collective impact model of coordinated care to better support families and individuals in poverty across social determinants of health.
• Lost&Found – Sioux Falls – $100,000
  • Lost&Found will expand upon their initiative to develop and implement a mobile application to provide preventative mental health support across the state.
• Midwest Street Medicine – Brandon – $90,000
  • Midwest Street Medicine will provide direct health support to individuals who are unhoused, testing an idea that has shown improved health outcomes in other parts of the country.
• Mitchell Area Development Corporation – Mitchell – $100,000
  • Mitchell Area Development Corporation will test an idea to incentivize childcare services in their community in coordination with the Chamber of Commerce.
• Northeast South Dakota Economic Corporation (NESDEC) – Sisseton – $100,000
  • NESDEC will test an idea to improve digital literacy in South Dakota, with a focus on financial digital literacy.
• SD Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault – Sioux Falls – $100,000
  • The network will focus on coordinating efforts to respond to and prevent sexual assault across the state.
• South Dakota Discovery Center – Pierre – $77,400
  • The Discovery Center will expand upon a workforce development effort, engaging students with local industry leaders to enhance awareness of local career opportunities.
• South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition – Kyle – $73,000
  • The Native Homeowner Coalition seeks to expand their Construction Internship Program to the Crow Creek reservation.
• Straight Up Care – Volin – $100,000
  • Straight Up Care plans to invest in digital tools to advance peer support of substance use/addiction and/or mental health in South Dakota.
• The Legacy Foundation – Sioux Falls – $82,350
  • The Legacy Foundation seeks to expand their medical device lending library, which loans medical devices to those in need for free.

SDCF has awarded nearly $3.6 million dollars from the Beyond Idea Grant program in since 2022. Interested organizations can visit SDCommunityFoundation.org/BIG to review the grant guidelines and application instructions. SDCF will offer BIG again in 2025, with more details to be announced later this year. In order to qualify, a nonprofit must be IRS Publication 78 verified or have a fiscal sponsor.