Local funders work together to support charitable efforts May 4, 2020

Collective Impact: Bringing people together in a structured way to achieve social change.

During this pandemic, many of our local nonprofit organizations are busier than ever. And the nonprofit organizations who provide grants are also working hard and working together for a more collective impact. As of May 1, together the group has contributed more than $1 million to West River organizations on the front lines of helping our neighbors in need during these trying times.

The Black Hills region is fortunate to have several nonprofit foundations and entities who support the charitable needs of our area.  For the past three years, these organizations have been meeting regularly to share information and insights that help everyone to prioritize their grantmaking efforts and make better investments in charitable work.

This funders group includes the Black Hills Area Community Foundation, Black Hills Energy, the John T. Vucurevich Foundation, the Monument Health Foundation, the South Dakota Community Foundation, and the United Way of the Black Hills.  More recently, the NDN Collective has also joined their calls.

“By sharing our work with each other, we are able to maximize the impacts of our charitable dollars and avoid duplications in funding," Liz Hamburg, the Executive Director of the Black Hills Area Community Foundation, said. "In the past two weeks, our Foundation and the United Way have shared grant applications and have both provided funding to fulfill requests. This allows both of us to stretch our grantmaking dollars further.”

“Over the last several years, our community has worked to solve big issues through collective impact,” Alan Solano, the President and CEO of the John T Vucurevich Foundation, said.

The term “Collective Impact” was coined by the authors of a 2011 Stanford Innovation Review article who asserted that “substantially better progress could be made” in alleviating many of society’s biggest problems if philanthropists, nonprofits, governments, businesses, healthcare, and the public put service to the community first and collaborate – thus creating “Collective Impact.”

“Indeed, collaboration has been crucial in responding effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic and the prevention measures that have impacted many lives across western South Dakota," Solano said. "We recognize and thank all the nonprofit organizations for their dedication to helping those in most need throughout the year."