Your support can benefit families in need, health and education, the arts and more
When I was a child, my parents would receive in the mail a pamphlet from UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) identifying a child in need. Instead of a broad ask for money, we had an opportunity to sponsor but one child and hear over the years how the child was doing. A few months later, the photo of a new child to sponsor would come along.
My mother was so empowered by this.
There was always speculation of which organizations were accredited in the ’80s and ’90s – and seemingly no proof whether her money was in safe hands – but here’s the thing. My mother gave $20 every time the photo of a child was delivered to us anyway, and it became something very important to her – along with tithing to the church, volunteering time at our school and donating $16 every month to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital for my entire upbringing.
Over many years, her choice to participate in those opportunities empowered me, too, even then as a child, to help someone somewhere.
Today, raising my own family in Sioux Falls, I needn’t mail my money away. There are also other needs right here in our neighborhoods, where we can tangibly show our own children where our giving is going. What a privilege we have, to make our privilege count.
This Giving Tuesday, on Dec. 3, staff and volunteers among an estimated 3,000 501(c)3 nonprofits statewide will wake up (or not sleep at all) to shout their need even more than they do year-round.
Like the photo of the child in my mailbox growing up, we as a community will have a chance to see the face of need, and then to kiss the face.
Patrick Gale, vice president of community investment at The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, says their donors contributed nearly $30 million overall in 2023 and then three times as much this past year, while associate director Nora Leinen at South Dakota Gives reports that our state gave over $1.5 million last year during the 24 hours of their Day of Living alone, 65% of which were first-time donations.
Our established nonprofits support families, women and children in need, community development, food and health needs, education, public sector, the arts and humanities efforts, animals and housing.
Which calls to you?
Online portals make giving simple
Our nonprofits also make it easier than ever to give. The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation (SFACF) launched this year The Giving Depot, a non-exhaustive online list of area nonprofits where “givers and doers can connect.”
It’s wonderful that we have such a robust nonprofit community, but they are not always easy to find. The Giving Depot solves this by offering a “community bulletin board” online, Gale said, where nonprofits can write for themselves a short description of what they do and then a short description of what they need. This is a free benefit to them.
Better yet, these are very specified asks. For example, on the Giving Depot online portal:
- Addiction wellness nonprofit Face It Together shares that a donation of $150 covers the cost of a new member’s onboarding and first coaching session.
- Family grief support Sad Isn’t Bad offers free dinner nights for families, each of which cost $400 per evening.
- The Sioux Falls State Theatre is raising $5,000 to sponsor a new 10-part film series.
- The Backpack Program tells us it takes $216 to fill one child’s backpack for a year.
- Eat Well Mobile Market needs new tires for their mobile grocery store.
- After-school music program Harmony South Dakota is seeking $2,500 to provide 88 students with afternoon snacks for the reminder of the school year.
- And Owen’s Outfitters, a medical equipment lending library, tells us it costs $50 to deliver a lift chair.
Mike and Eleanor Turner founded Owen’s Outfitters in 2021, a personal endeavor to honor their oldest son, who died of a chromosome disorder and genetic abnormalities in 2021 at 12 years old.
Today, they collect, refurbish and then donate medical equipment – anything from reclining wheelchairs to swing beds to crutches or gauze – and donated over $620,000 worth of rehabilitation needs within their first year alone. Mike anticipates surpassing $1 million in supplies in 2025.
“I’m just one voice in the immensity of the internet,” Mike said, whose nonprofit is one among more than 50 others and counting on The Giving Depot website.
He said their largest need is a bigger space.
“We struggle to get the word out, and marketing is expensive and time consuming,” he said. “The Giving Depot allows us to participate in a meaningful way that avoids burnout.”
South Dakota Gives states that online giving has been the most popular way to give in Sioux Falls, and so similarly offers a giving portal on its own website, listing nearly 400 nonprofits statewide in need of volunteers, money or time.
“We’re just the initiators,” Leinen said, trusting that when a donor becomes aware, a nonprofit will be lifted in some way.
“South Dakota Day of Giving is a catalyst for nonprofits to recruit new volunteers, increase awareness and gain advocates for their important work,” she said. “We are honored to help magnify their missions.”
What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is an international endeavor—always the week after Thanksgiving and right as the frenzy of holiday shopping begins.
It began in 2012, a meager effort in New York City to consider shopping for a cause while also Christmas shopping for families. Today, the independent organization has become one of the largest and most lucrative fundraising days of the year.
But Leinen said that nonprofits nationwide have been experiencing a decrease in donations.
“There is no better time than Dec. 3 for South Dakota to show up for our nonprofits and support those organizations that work every day to make the lives of South Dakotans better,” Leinen says.
Giving Tuesday events and where to give
Here’s a look at a few Giving Tuesday events in Sioux Falls, and then a few links on where to give.
- EmBe leadership invites you to Coffee & Conversations with EmBe from 6:30 to 9 a.m. Tuesday at Josiah’s Coffeehouse downtown. In partnership with Thrivent, the free Giving Tuesday event is an opportunity to celebrate EmBe’s community efforts and learn about how to participate in Giving Tuesday. They are seeking to reach a $40,000 goal this year. Give here.
- Sioux Falls Cares has been bringing gifts and groceries to homes in need for more than 30 years. Each year, volunteers help to knock on the doors of over 850 families, which equates to over 2,000 children. Boxes are stacked at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds and then dispersed in cars and sent off. Deliveries will be made Dec. 11 and 12. Sign up to volunteer here.
- South Dakota Gives will commence its seventh annual Day of Giving at midnight Tuesday. Within those 24 hours, they will educate donors on areas of need while seeking support for nearly 400 nonprofits statewide. See a list of participants here.
- The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation lists nonprofits on their Giving Depot online portal, giving you easy access to consider how and to whom you’d like to give this year. Check out their Giving Depot here to “make giving easy and joyful,” Gale says.
“This is online shopping for a good cause,” Mike said. “We’re just aiming to do good.”
Let’s get out there.
Let’s Get Out There is a weekly column from Argus Leader’s trending reporter, Angela George, who highlights local culture, entertainment, people and events.
