Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation reports a record $73 million in grants for its fiscal year
The South Dakota foundation said on Oct. 16 that it distributed more than $73 million in 2025-26, up from more than $38 million the year before, and now holds more than $452 million. It named the South Dakota Trust Company Foundation its 2026 Friend of the Foundation.
Sioux Falls. The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation distributed more than $73 million in grants and support in its fiscal year 2025-26, the most in its history, the foundation said on Oct. 16. Andy Patterson, its chief executive, announced the figure at the foundation's annual reception the evening before.
The foundation also received more than $66 million in new contributions during the year and now holds more than $452 million in charitable assets, according to the financial report in its 2026 annual report. A year earlier, that report for 2024-25 put grants at more than $38 million, new contributions at more than $33 million and assets at more than $390 million. Since it was established in 1984, the foundation has granted more than $425 million.
Where the money went
Part of this year's total came through the Seed for Success Foundation, which changed from a private foundation into a supporting organization of the community foundation, Mr. Patterson wrote in the annual report. Among the projects the foundation highlighted were expanded arts and recreation, a mental health pilot program in five Sioux Falls schools run with the Seed for Success Foundation, and large gifts to revitalize areas near Falls Park.
The foundation said it also hosted training events during the year that brought together hundreds of nonprofit leaders and board members.
“These are the people and organizations leading the work in Sioux Falls, and we want them to be strategic and successful.”
Friend of the Foundation award
The foundation gave its yearly Friend of the Foundation award to the South Dakota Trust Company Foundation. For years, Matt Tobin and Pierce McDowell asked the families the South Dakota Trust Company worked with whether they would invest in the future of South Dakota, the foundation said. The two set up a donor advised fund and an endowment at the community foundation, made the first contributions themselves, and began granting from them to charities across the state.
Mary Kolsrud, the community foundation's chief philanthropy officer, said many of the families the effort reached live outside South Dakota. She named the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House, CASA and the State Theatre among the organizations the fund has helped over the years. Mr. Tobin and Mr. McDowell accepted the award at the reception.
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