14-05-2025
Rapid City-based foundations partner to support nonprofits that have lost federal funding
A May 2023 aerial view of Rapid City, looking north from downtown. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
Two foundations in South Dakota's Black Hills have announced a partnership to support local nonprofits 'facing disruptions due to shifts in federal priorities.'
The Rapid City-based Black Hills Area Community Foundation and the John T. Vucurevich Foundation have launched a joint fund, the Sustaining Black Hills Nonprofits Fund, to offer short-term bridge funding. The partnership, also supported by the Bush Foundation in Minnesota, is designed to provide flexible support for nonprofits as they work through changes in their federal support, while encouraging additional community support for nonprofits.
Read South Dakota Searchlight's coverage of Trump administration firings, funding freezes, spending cuts, grant cancellations, tariffs and immigration enforcement.
Many nonprofits are experiencing funding reductions or eliminations since the Trump administration began making widespread cuts in government programs.
Jacqui Dietrich, John T. Vucurevich Foundation president and CEO, said in a news release that 'nonprofits are under intense pressure, facing rising costs, increasing demand for their services, and declining federal support.'
'While philanthropy can't fill every gap, our community can stand together to help sustain critical services through this transition,' Dietrich said.
Chris Huber, Black Hills Area Community Foundation president and CEO, said that without nonprofit services, 'our community's needs don't go away, they go unmet.'
The partnership has already provided bridge funding to Seventh Circuit Court Appointed Special Advocates, which recently lost $15,000 after the federal government terminated grant awards to the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association. The program advocates for children in the court system.
Funding has also been provided to Feeding South Dakota and to Working Against Violence Inc., which assists survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
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