Better Together

For more than 40 years, we've walked alongside our donors.

We've talked to them about their values, motivations and interests. Removed barriers to giving and made philanthropy easy. Introduced them to local nonprofits doing work that mattered to them.

In turn, our donors have built endowments and granted hundreds of millions of dollars to area causes.

The difference they've made in our community has been impressive and heartwarming.

While all that's happened, we've also quietly worked with nonprofits, offering grants to build their capacity, hosted training events, endowment challenges and shared feedback.

The work is two sides of the same coin: People who want to invest in our community, and people working hard to turn those investments into success stories.

But what happens next? How can we deepen our relationships with our donors and local nonprofits to better understand community needs - and then provide a path to meet them? What we've found is that our mission statement - which calls on us to transform generosity into impact - is leading us to our next phase of work.

That means additional research, conversations, relationships and collaborative efforts. We're proud to say that this past year, we've brought nonprofit organizations together for training and to build connections.

When we see community needs, we can examine our local resources, knit local agencies more closely together and try to reach a shared goal. This will help build and sustain partnerships, helping solve problems no sector can tackle alone.

How does this work tie back to our donors? It's simple.

We know people care deeply about this community. Donors come to us, looking for how and where to invest their charitable dollars. This work gives them more options for how to give back.

We're excited to keep building a better Sioux Falls.