South Dakota Community Foundation Awards $77,510: Three Nonprofits Back Child Well-Being and Workforce Development
At a check presentation in Rapid City, Pennington County, South Dakota, the South Dakota Community Foundation awarded a total of $77,510 in grants to three nonprofits working on child well-being and workforce development. The recipients — TeamMates of South Dakota, Western Dakota Technical Foundation, and Community Organized Resources for Educating Youth (C.O.R.E.) — received the grants through the South Dakota Fund, the foundation's signature grant program.
TeamMates of South Dakota received $18,510 to grow mentor "matches" statewide. Founded by Tom and Nancy Osborne, the TeamMates Mentoring Program connects students in grades 3-12 with caring adult volunteers who meet with mentees weekly throughout the school year. "TeamMates currently serves eight communities across South Dakota, where over 100 students are waiting for mentors," said Jess Karim, the organization's state director. According to 2024-25 school year data cited by the foundation, 71 percent of TeamMates mentees had fewer absences than their peers, 87 percent had fewer discipline referrals, and mentees matched in their senior year had a 96 percent graduation rate.
Western Dakota Technical Foundation received $39,000 to support the Catapult Stakeholders, a group of area leaders from education, industry, and economic development working to strengthen career pathways and economic mobility across western South Dakota. "We recognize that long-term economic mobility depends on strong partnerships," said Andrew Kapelewski, Director of Foundation Development.
C.O.R.E. received $20,000 to purchase a used truck for its learning simulations, which include a mock 911 call and crash scene, and to formally evaluate its programming. The statewide nonprofit's Freshman Impact program gives students a one-day, hands-on experience of the consequences of choices such as impaired or distracted driving; since its inception in 2006, C.O.R.E. has impacted more than 50,000 South Dakota youth. "These funds will greatly assist us in delivering life-saving information to our state's youth," said Rick McPherson, C.O.R.E.'s founder and executive director.
"Early in 2026, we launched an initiative to address three critical issues shared by communities across South Dakota: child well-being, housing and workforce development," said Ginger Niemann, the foundation's Senior Program Officer. "We are pleased to collaborate with these organizations that are doing important work in two of these areas."
The South Dakota Community Foundation is a public nonprofit established in 1987. It administers over 1,300 funds benefiting hundreds of charitable organizations across the state and distributed over $40 million in grants in 2025. (Source: South Dakota Community Foundation)
Source: South Dakota Community Foundation
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：南达科他州 Rapid City 市景，本轮拨款的支票颁赠仪式在此举行。照片：WeaponizingArchitecture，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Rapid City, South Dakota, where the grant check presentation was held. Photo by WeaponizingArchitecture, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
