Verendrye Museum Recognized for Long Term Vision
November 18, 2024 // Donors
South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) recently presented Verendrye Museum with the Hometown Hero award, a tier of their legacy society.
"The partnership with South Dakota Community Foundation was instrumental in helping the Verendrye Museum, Inc. support our five museums (Verendrye Museum, Log Cabin Visitor Center Museum, Sansarc Country School Museum, Stanley County 1905 Jail Museum and the Ft. Pierre Depot Museum through the major restoration of the 1967 Verendrye Museum and the creation of two of the other museums (Depot and Country School),” said Deb Schiefelbein, Verendrye Museum Past President. “The legacy of safeguarding and preserving the historical buildings and artifacts to share with future generations is paramount. It's an honor to be affiliated with the SDCF and we appreciate their support!”
In 2016, Verendrye Museum established an endowment through the SDCF Nonprofit Savings Account challenge grant to provide ongoing support for their nonprofit’s work.
“Verendrye Museum preserves important pieces of our state’s history,” said Jamie Farmen, SDCF Community Development Coordinator. “We are grateful to partner with them and their generous donors in creating a sustainable funding source to preserve the area’s past,” said Jamie Farmen, SDCF Community Development Coordinator.
“The partnership with SDCF was instrumental in helping the Verendrye Museum, Inc. support our five museums through the major restoration of the 1967 Verendrye Museum and the creation of two of the other museums.”
Deb Schiefelbein, Verendrye Museum Past President
About Verendrye Museum
The Verendrye (pronounced Var-en’-dree) Museum was established in 1968, when the Old Stanley County Historical Society and many other historically-minded individuals worked together to bring to life their vision of a place where Fort Pierre’s colorful past could be preserved and commemorated. The museum is named for French brothers Louis and Chevalier Verendrye, who explored the upper reaches of the Missouri River and in 1743 buried a lead plate on top of a nearby hill, claiming the entire Missouri River basin for France. Today, the Verendrye Monument graces this same hill and is a National Historic Landmark. The lead plate is housed across the river in the South Dakota State Historical Society Museum. This is one of South Dakota’s most important historic treasures.
As the oldest continuous settlement in South Dakota, Fort Pierre occupies a unique place in South Dakota’s history. The Verendrye Museum brings this long and colorful history to life with displays that will capture the imagination of young and old alike.
Hometown Hero Award
SDCF’s Legacy Society honors and recognizes those who have made current and planned gifts to the SDCF. No one knows a community better than those who call it home. Since 1987, SDCF has had the privilege to collaborate with generous people, nonprofits and businesses wanting to give their neighbors a better place to call HOME. Hometown Heroes are an exceptional group of people with a passion for helping communities grow and thrive.
To learn how you can create your charitable legacy with SDCF, please visit https://www.sdcommunityfoundation.org/giving
SDCF is a public non-profit organization established in 1987. SDCF, with offices in Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Aberdeen administers 1,200 funds benefiting hundreds of charitable organizations annually. The Foundation distributed nearly $31 million in grants in 2023 which made a tremendous difference in communities statewide. This would not have been possible without the generosity of our donors. If you have a specific cause you would like to support or would prefer to give for the general good of our state, please visit https://sdcommunityfoundation.org/giving to learn more or call 1-800-888-1842.