Search Through Grants for Charities in South Dakota in the U.S.

Background

CHS is a global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy, agronomy, grains and foods, we’re committed to creating connections to empower agriculture, helping our owners and customers grow their businesses.

General inquiriesWe consider other requests that benefit the agriculture or cooperative industry.

Charitable Contributions

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where we do business. Throughout the year we receive a large number of requests from nonprofit organizations striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes. While we would like to respond favorably to all requests, understandably, the needs are far greater than our allocated resources and we are unable to accommodate them all.

Warehouse Donations:

Warehouse donations are handled at the warehouse level - please consult your local warehouse for up-to-date information regarding their donations contacts and review process.

Grant Applications

If the request is under consideration, you may be contacted by staff for any additional information needed. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, and decisions are made based on several factors, including: type of program; identified community need not otherwise available; indication that evidenced based data will establish measurable results of intended outcomes; community collaboration; broad base of financial support; project budget and operating expenses.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Global Impact Cash Grants

Cisco welcomes applications for Global Impact Cash Grants from community partners around the world who share our vision and offer an innovative approach to a critical social challenge.

We identify, incubate, and develop innovative solutions with the most impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. We’re looking for programs that fit within our investment areas, serve the underserved, and leverage technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services. We accept applications year-round from eligible organizations. An initial information form is used to determine whether your organization will be invited to complete a full application.

Social Investment Areas

At Cisco, we make social investments in three areas where we believe our technology and our people can make the biggest impact—education, economic empowerment, and crisis response, the last of which incorporates shelter, water, food, and disaster relief. Together, these investment areas help people overcome barriers of poverty and inequality, and make a lasting difference by fostering strong global communities.

Education Investments

Our strategy is to inclusively invest in technology-based solutions that increase equitable access to education while improving student performance, engagement, and career exploration. We support K-12 solutions that emphasize science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as literacy. We also consider programs that teach environmental sustainability, eliminate barriers to accessing climate change education, and invite student engagement globally to positively affect the environment.

What we look for:

• Innovative early grade solutions using the internet and technology to bridge the barriers preventing access to education for underserved students globally.
• Solutions that positively affect student attendance, attitudes, and behavior while inspiring action by students to improve learning outcomes, whether they participate in person, online, or in blended learning environments. 
• Solutions with high potential to replicate and scale globally, thereby increasing the availability of evidence-based solutions that support student-centricity, teacher capacity in the classroom, and increased parental participation to help students learn and develop.

Economic Empowerment

Our strategy is to invest in early stage, tech-enabled solutions that provide equitable access to the knowledge, skills, and resources that people need to support themselves and their families toward resilience, independence, and economic security.

Our goal is to support solutions that benefit individuals and families, and that contribute to local community growth and economic development in a sustainable economy.

We target our support in three interconnected areas:

• Skills development to help job seekers secure dignified employment and long-term career pathways in technology or other sectors, including environmental sustainability/green jobs.
• Inclusive entrepreneurship with small businesses as engines of local growth as well as high growth potential start-ups as large-scale job creators nationally and internationally, in technology or other sectors, including environment sustainability/green businesses.
• Banking the unbanked through relevant and affordable financial products and capacity building services.

Cisco Crisis Response

We seek to help overcome the cycle of poverty and dependence and achieve a more sustainable future through strategic investments. We back organizations that successfully address critical needs of underserved communities, because those who have their basic needs met are better equipped to learn and thrive.

What we look for:

• Innovative solutions that increase the capacity of grantees to deliver their products and services more effectively and efficiently
• Design and implementation of web-based tools that increase the availability of, or improve access to, products and services that are necessary for people to survive and thrive
• Programs that increase access to clean water, food, shelter, or disaster relief and promote a more sustainable future for all
  • By policy, relief campaigns respond to significant natural disaster and humanitarian crises as opposed to those caused by human conflict. Also by policy, our investments in this area do not include healthcare solutions.

Climate Impact

Our strategy is to invest US$100 million in Cisco Foundation funds over the next decade to help reverse the impact of climate change, working toward a sustainable and regenerative future for all.

The commitment includes both grant and impact investment funding for early-stage climate innovation. Both categories of support will be focused on bold climate solutions, and the grants side will also concentrate on community education and activation. Grants will go to exceptionally aligned nonprofit organizations, while impact investments will go to highly promising for-profit solutions through the private sector and climate impact funds.

Funding comes from the Cisco Foundation and will focus on:

• Identifying bold and innovative solutions that:
  • Draw down the carbon already in the atmosphere
  • Regenerate depleted ecosystems and broadly support the transition to a regenerative future
• Developing curricular initiatives to spur community engagement that can lead to measurable behavioral change and collective action

We will prioritize organizations that can achieve, measure, and report outcomes such as:

• Reduction, capture, and/or sequestering of greenhouse gas and carbon emissions
• Increased energy efficiency and improved mapping and management of natural resources, such as ecosystem restoration, forest treatments, reforestation, and afforestation that also will help repair our water cycles
• Transition to inclusive, just, coliberatory, and regenerative operating models, ways of being, and ways of organizing economies
• Creation of, and increase in, access to green jobs and job training
• Changes in community and individual behavior that lead to carbon footprint reduction, community climate resilience, and localized roadmaps to a sustainable shared climate future for all

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

The Labcorp Charitable Foundation

We believe every person deserves equitable care and education.

In 2020 Labcorp established a private charitable 501(c)(3) foundation to advance our desire to bring quality healthcare access to all by supporting education and our local communities. 

Common grant opportunities include:

• Supporting food pantries and meal programs
• Providing healthcare and patient services for underserved populations
• Encouraging STEM programming
• Advocating for healthy lifestyles through ongoing medical research and screening

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

About

The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative catalyzing social impact on a grand scale. Every year we select and nurture a group of big, bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges, and with the support of an inspiring group of donors and supporters, come together to get them launched.

Housed at TED, the nonprofit with a long track record of surfacing ideas worth spreading, and with support from leading social impact advisor The Bridgespan Group, the funding collective is comprised of several respected organizations and individuals in philanthropy.

Our goal is to match bold ideas with catalytic resources.

• We encourage the world’s inspirational changemakers to dream bigger than ever before.
• Help shape their best ideas into viable multi-year plans.
• Present those solutions in a compelling way to potential supporters.

The Process

Every year, The Audacious Project works with proven change-makers to surface their best, boldest ideas for tackling global problems.

Sourcing & review

Projects are sourced from public applications and a global network of partners and donors. They are narrowed down to a group of finalists whose ideas are representative of a broad range of geographies and issue areas while elevating leaders with proximity to the communities they serve.

Idea shaping & investment support

Each finalist project goes through a rigorous ideation, due diligence, and investment support process, to ensure their proposal is achievable and compelling.

Funding & launch

Finalist projects are presented privately to groups of donors and are then publicly unveiled at TED. Funded projects then pursue their plans and share regular updates on key milestones reached with donors and the public.

Is Your Idea Audacious?

• Are you a changemaker with a bold vision?
• Are you a non-profit with an experienced team equipped to receive large scale philanthropic support?
• Is your idea a proven concept that aspires to create a better world?
• We look for ideas that cover a wide range of issues, from global health and climate change, to social justice and education.

What Makes An Idea Audacious?

Inspire

• Transformative vision
  • Your idea should capture a bold vision for tackling one of the world's most urgent topics.
• Creating a better world
  • It is your opportunity to take a giant leap forward; you may be tempted to think incrementally, but remember for it to be bold, your idea should offer significant, enduring impact.
  • This vision should bring us much closer to your version of an ideal world in a matter of years rather than generations.
• Innovative and original
  • There should be a unique aspect or creative element to your approach that challenges convention or status quo or changes the narrative for the greater good.

Convince

• Proven concept
  • There should be evidence that the idea will have impact based on a track record of past success, a demand from those that would be affected, and justified confidence that results can be sustained in the future.
• A bold vision that has clear outcomes
  • There should be a sense of where you will be at the end of a multi-year funding term and the strategy, resources and timeline required to achieve it. We want to hear about the changes that would take place because of your idea, not just the components that go into implementing it.

• Established support
  • You and your capable and confident team have the backing of a nonprofit, NGO, or institution (or is part of a collaboration between multiple such entities). This organization should be able to receive philanthropic funds and have the core infrastructure necessary to support the work. (Note: Past projects have had an annual operating budget of $1 million or more.)

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.

We have strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country that are working to advance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities. Our focus areas include basic needs like food and housing, workforce development and education, and community development. In addition to our philanthropic investments, we also encourage our employees to make a difference by offering robust employee giving and volunteering programs, including the opportunity to direct funds to organizations they support through volunteer efforts, and a matching gifts program that doubles their individual giving to causes they care about. Last year, we invested $350 million in the communities we serve, and employees contributed more than 1 million volunteer hours and directed $65 million through individual giving and matching gifts to support nonprofits.Through our regional U.S. sponsorships, we support the economic, social and cultural life of the places we live and work. We provide an extensive program of arts and sports sponsorships to help maintain vibrant, healthy communities.Sponsorships supporting communitiesBank of America welcomes your sponsorship proposal for opportunities that make our communities a better place to live and work. We are particularly interested in providing support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on:

• preserving neighborhoods;
• educating the workforce for 21st century jobs;
• addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter;
• arts and culture;
• the environment; and
• diversity and inclusion programs.

Grants are made at the Foundation’s discretion based on our current funding strategies focused on housing, jobs and hunger. 

Helping Build Better Futures

Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. For over four decades, our deep commitment to the principles of providing value and caring for others has helped define our culture. It extends beyond the walls of our stores, distribution centers, and offices, and into our local communities around the world. The intersection of these principles defines our global community mission:

Deliver great value to our communities by helping vulnerable families and children access the resources and opportunities they need to build a better future.

Our Social Impact Areas

We bring our community relations mission to life around the world by focusing our giving on four social impact areas where we believe we can have the most impact and are critical to helping families and children succeed and thrive.

Basic Needs

We are passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations that help fill critical basic needs such as a warm meal, clean clothing, and a safe place to sleep for vulnerable families.

Education & Training

Our efforts have focused on quality enrichment and extracurricular programs that provide skills, resources, and opportunities to support school and career success for children, teens, and young adults.

Patient Care & Research

We support organizations that deliver services to families and children facing health challenges and life-threatening illnesses.

Empowering Women

We support programs that provide services ranging from help for those fleeing domestic violence, to others that offer education, training, and job placement resources.

Our Mission

The Tony Robbins Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of people often forgotten.

We’re dedicated to creating positive changes in the lives of youth, seniors, the hungry, homeless and the imprisoned population, all who need a boost envisioning a happier and deeply satisfying way of life. Our passionate staff, generous donors and caring group of international volunteers provide the vision, inspiration, and resources needed to empower these important members of our society.

Grants

Dedicated to meeting challenges within the global community, creating solutions and taking action, The Tony Robbins Foundation provides monetary donations to various organizations around the world. Funding requests are evaluated on an ongoing basis. We look for organizations that align with our mission to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of those often forgotten.

Valero Energy Foundation 

Valero, its employees and the Valero Energy Foundation are committed to improving the quality of life in communities where we work and live, fulfilling a mission that was set from the beginning. We set the standard for corporate citizenship and promotes prosperity in our communities. 

The Valero Energy Foundation -- a public charity and Valero's philanthropic arm -- funds nonprofit agencies that serve predominantly disadvantaged children and families. In 2019, the Foundation contributed appoximately $40 million in assistance in the communities where Valero has major operations.

Four Pillars of Support

Our funding focuses on our four pillars of giving in communities where we have major operations.

• Basic Needs:  Valero gives assistance to agencies that provide basic needs of life, including shelter, food and clothing necessary for the development of a strong and safe community. 
• Health Care: We invest in the development of strategic community health resources and facilities that will support the needs of all members of our nearby communities, with major gifts going to children’s hospitals, university medical centers and service providers that offer specialized health care services and programs.
• Education: Valero is a strong advocate of education as it creates a necessary foundation for all children to thrive and for adults to lead productive lives. 
• Civic: We support civic and environmental initiatives directly related to the success of the communities where we live and work.

Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation collaborate with a wide range of nonprofit organizations that align with our strategic funding priorities. We prioritize our funding to activities and programs that have a broad reach and support the needs of underserved communities. We aspire to have a positive impact on the communities we serve by using our financial and volunteer resources and business expertise in collaboration with community organizations to help solve complex societal problems.

• Financial health
• Housing affordability
• Small business growth
• Sustainability

We may also support other local needs in eligible communities such as disaster relief, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, human and social services, and workforce development. However, opportunities are limited as our intent is to direct the majority of our giving within our major focus areas.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

Gupta Family Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. Our mission is to support organizations that provide focused intervention in the lives of people who have been disadvantaged in some way to help them become self-reliant. We take a very broad view of “disadvantage” to include anything that holds a person back from realizing their potential, such as poverty, physical or mental disability, social alienation, etc. The foundation also supports relief agencies that serve people affected by emergencies such as natural disasters.

The foundation evaluates and awards annual and multi-year grants ranging from $5,000 to over $250,000 (USD). Our focus is on funding smaller organizations all around the world that are led by individuals with a deep personal commitment to their missions. 

Our selection criteria include:

• Mission alignment
• The organization is run by the founder or, if not, by a successor who embodies the original inspiration, passion and commitment of the founder.
• At least 90% of grant monies reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• The organization is non-sectarian, i.e.,
  • It does not, directly or indirectly, support or condone the proselytization of any religion,
  • It is not supported by or affiliated to a religious organization.

Founded in 1980, First Nations Development Institute began its national grantmaking program in 1993. Through mid-year 2024, we have successfully managed 3,473 grants totaling $85 million to Native American projects and organizations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territory American Samoa.

First Nations is the most highly-rated American Indian nonprofit in the nation. Indeed, every year since 2013, First Nations has received the top 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator. Our mission is to uplift and sustain the lifeways and economies of Native communities through advocacy, financial support, and knowledge sharing. We envision a world in which Tribal Sovereignty is upheld, and Native ingenuity and knowledge are honored and respected. 

Our grantmaking program provides both financial and technical resources to tribes and Native nonprofit organizations to support asset-based development efforts. Eligible applicants include:

• Federal- and State-Recognized Tribal Governments (Tribal Government Programs, such as Tribal Arts Programs, Heritage Departments, Economic Development Entities, etc.)
• Native-controlled 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations
• Native 7871 Organizations
• Fiscally-sponsored Native community organizations
• There are also occasional individual support opportunities available through fellowships and scholarships.

Young Natural Resource Professionals Cohort in the Northern Great Plains

First Nations’ Young Natural Resource Professionals Cohort (“cohort”), launched under the Stewarding Native Lands program, is a 12-month enrichment opportunity, designed to support the knowledge and networks of young natural resource professionals in the Northern Great Plains. The goal of the cohort is to support and convene 15 early-career natural resource professionals who are employed by Tribes in the Northern Great Plains. Members of the cohort will develop professional, leadership, and technical skills, and learn how to employ tribal and community conservation priorities. By the end of the cohort, participants will:

• Gain a deeper understanding of traditional stewardship practices that improve and conserve tribal lands,
• Receive specialized training to manage projects, and
• Be able to communicate the importance of upholding tribal sovereignty, cultural grounding, and connection to ancestral lands in resource management.

Members of the cohort have access to the following:

• A $5,000 stipend to hosting Tribe
• Travel support for professional development
• A $50,000 tribal grant to lead a conservation-focused project
• Participation in a supportive network comprised of other young professionals in your region.
• Mentorship in project planning, management, reporting, and much more!

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

 Sam F. Weller Family Foundation

The Sam F. Weller Family Foundation is a private foundation established to:

• Honor Sam F Weller and his family.
• Give something back to the Mitchell, South Dakota, community that gave Sam and his family the opportunity to succeed in business
• Provide grant money to charities for special projects that are beyond their normal budgets

Grant Making Focus

The Board will consider the following grants:

• Programs which promote or enhance economic development 
• Programs which address the underlying cause of specific problems of the community rather than those which deal with the symptoms of these problems;
• Programs which work to bring about social changes which advocate for the rights of disadvantaged people or which are preventive in nature
• New, innovative programs which require start-up funds in order to begin to address emerging needs
• Community studies, programmatic research, original artistic works or other types of projects to assist with the following:
  • Help citizens understand their problems and options
  • Foster the refinement of public policy
  • Encourage inter-institutional coordination and cooperation
• Established organizations that continue to be relevant to the needs of the community in order to help these groups with the following:
  • Respond to a crisis within an organization
  • Develop more effective methods and programs to address changing problems
  • Improve administration and/or financial effectiveness
  • Reach out to new clients
• Educational programs which will benefit the work of local community service organizations
• Consideration of requests for physical projects or capital or construction drives
• Physical projects or capital or construction drives for charities, particularly those projects which foster economic development or deal with problems in the community

The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes.

The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.  

Grant Amount and Types

Grants typically range between $5,000 - $10,000. In some limited cases we may make larger grants, but that is typically after we have gotten to know your organization over a period of time. We also generally don’t make multi-year grants, although we may fund the same organization on a year by year basis over a period of years.

General operating or program/project grant requests within our areas of interests are accepted. In general, regardless of whether a grant request is for general operating or program/project expenses, all of our grants will be issued as unrestricted grants.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Ecosystem Grants

The Bush Foundation works to inspire and support creative problem solving — within and across sectors — to make our region better for everyone. We know problem solving is hard. Our Ecosystem grant program provides operating support to the organizations that support the people doing this work.

Some might call these infrastructure organizations or intermediary organizations or just can’t-do-without organizations. We call them Ecosystem organizations because they create the environment needed for organizations and leaders to solve problems. 

The Ecosystem program primarily supports organizations helping people solve problems across a number of issues, rather than orgs focused on a particular issue area. The exceptions to this are organizations working on spreading student-centered learning or using the arts to address community challenges. (These exceptions reflect our long-standing commitments to education and the arts.) We also want to make sure we are funding organizations focused on Native nation building in ways that support sovereignty. 

What We Fund

We award Ecosystem grants to organizations that other organizations and leaders within our region rely heavily on to do one or more of the following:

• Provide critical data and analysis.
• Advance public awareness and policy.
• Spread great ideas and build capacity.
• Build and support leadership networks.

Ecosystem grantees work across a variety of issues, or on one of three specific issues: supporting the sovereignty of Native nations, spreading student-centered learning, or using art to solve community problems. Organizations may apply to receive as much as $450,000 over three years in operating support. The annual grant amount is typically 25% of the organization’s expenses, up to $150,000 per year. All Ecosystem grantees receive an additional $10,000 in capacity building funds to build or increase their skills to work across differences. 

Background

Located in the Black Hills of western South Dakota, Liv Hospitality, LLC is an independent, professional hospitality management company featuring award-winning properties near some of the most captivating vacation destinations in the country. From the largest indoor waterpark in the Dakotas to full-service gaming resorts, Liv Hotel Group specializes in the development, ownership, marketing, and management of over a dozen Black Hills hotels, resort properties, restaurants, gaming establishments, and bars in Rapid City and Deadwood, S.D.

We believe in the importance of investing in our local communities, and in turn, investing in the people who help us become the best. Every year, Liv Hospitality gives back to local charities and other worthy causes, and we encourage participation for various fundraising events and volunteer efforts.

The LIV TO GIVE Community Grant

LIV TO GIVE got its start in 2007 originally as "Kevin Morsching Day," an event held to honor Kevin Morsching who lost his life after a tragic accident. This event raised over $30,000 and launched a spirit of giving, as it continues to give back to the community to this day, with reoccurring donations made to the Arete Foundation in memory of Kevin Morsching and the Scott Grimsrud Scholarship, an award that started in 2009 to honor Scott Grimsrud, a friend of the organization and an inspiration to many in the community. 

That same year, the LIV to GIVE Fund was established at the Black Hills Area Community Foundation as a way to give back to the community. To date the LIV TO GIVE has contributed more than $500,000 to many amazing causes and organizations in our community. 

About the Bush Prize

The Bush Prize celebrates organizations that are highly valued within their communities and have a track record of successful community problem solving.

Bush Prize grants are flexible and can be used to build up reserves or test that next big idea or whatever else would best support the organization's ongoing good work. The grant amounts are up to 25% of an organization’s most recent fiscal year expenses, with a maximum of $500,000.

Previously known as the Bush Prize for Community Innovation, the program is now known as the Bush Prize and is done in partnership between the Bush Foundation and its four community grant partners – Good Relatives Collaborative, Headwaters Foundation for Justice, South Dakota Community Foundation and Strengthen ND.

Each partner operates the Bush Prize using similar criteria and announces the winners at the same time yet has the flexibility to run different application and selection timelines. The four partners also will select and announce the Bush Prize winners, as well as provide any support along the way.

Bush Prize: South Dakota

The Bush Prize: South Dakota is done in partnership between the Bush Foundation and the South Dakota Community Foundation.

The South Dakota Community Foundation will select and announce the Bush Prize winners, as well as provide any support along the way.

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

Our Mission

The Hansen Family Foundation provides opportunities to domestic, international, secular, and non-secular organizations that support the American way of life, which is defined by the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

Causes

Children

The Hansen Family Foundation supports causes dedicated to helping children both home as well as abroad. Learn More

Education

The Hansen Family Foundation believes that a decent education should be made available to everyone, young or old, the world over. Learn More

Animals

The Hansen Family Foundation believes in helping those who cannot speak on their own behalf. Learn More

Environmental

The Hansen Family Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world we all share. Learn More

Humanitarian

The Hansen Family Foundation views the plight of our fellow man as an opportunity to actively engage and effect change. Learn More

Arts & Culture

The Hansen Family Foundation supports all forms of artistic and cultural endeavors. Learn More

Media Partnerships Program

For our region to work well for everyone, we need quality news and information to understand what’s happening in our communities and how we can work together to solve tough problems.

• We also know that producing high-quality, engaging information that breaks through the information overload of the digital age is increasingly difficult and expensive. It requires an experienced community of writers, journalists and storytellers. It requires up-to-date technologies. It requires a strong desire to tell the stories that might not otherwise be told.

We work with nonprofit media organizations throughout the region to support their coverage of news, information and stories that help more people and organizations work together to make our region better for everyone.

By supporting nonprofit media organizations, we also are able to:

• Amplify our work and offerings and that of our grantees
• Raise awareness throughout our grantmaking region about the stories and people doing creative problem solving
• Help people and organizations connect who are working on similar efforts

This program is distinct from our other grantmaking programs. The grants support general operations, and our partners support specific Foundation communications projects. For instance, we might place public service announcements with a partner or announce the Bush Fellows each year.

What We Fund

We provide three-year, flexible, operating grants to nonprofit news media organizations that meet the program criteria.

We then work with each organization to explore possible projects for amplifying our work and that of our grant partners. To do this well, the Foundation and media partner agrees to:

• Be transparent about the partnership, benefits and funds involved.
• Ensure creative and editorial independence. Media partners are not obligated to produce coverage about the Foundation or take particular positions in their reporting.
• Negotiate reasonable benefits. There is no requirement that benefits must equal the grant amount.

Organizations may receive a total of up to $150,000 in operating support over three years. The annual grant amount is typically 25% of the organization’s expenses, up to $50,000 per year. We expect that to be roughly 10 grants.

Selection Criteria

We are interested in organizations that can demonstrate all of the following to some degree:

• The organization is able to reach diverse audiences, which can include age, geography, race and ethnicity, sector or perspectives.
• The organization is recognized as a trusted, recognized or quality source of information.
• The organization provides content representative of the communities and audiences it serves.
• The organization collaborates with others in the field to share and distribute news and stories to more audiences.
• The organization aligns with Bush operating values.