“When Beth and Ray came to talk to us, I thought of that quote and all the reasons it feels right to be back living in Faith. I also knew that starting the CSA was the right thing to do.” The group of volunteers knew the first thing to do was to involve more individuals in the area. They scheduled a community-wide family game night, and people showed up. The evening started with a free-will donation supper of tacos and nachos, provided by the Faith Community Commerce and Development. Entry fees were charged to compete in poker, cornhole and dice. It was a fun, competitive and energetic group, and everyone left with a good feeling and a little more knowledge about the CSA concept. The Advisory Board had a Super Bowl fundraiser, and a summer event is planned for June 8th to include a street dance. Every chance they have, they educate community members on the CSA and the importance of a perpetual stream of revenue to assist with projects and programs. They developed a mission statement that explains why they are passionate about the opportunity and process: The Faith Area Community Foundation is focused and committed to enriching the lives of our community members by establishing sustainable funds dedicated to enhancing the cultural, educational, social, and economic aspects of our community while inspiring future generations to do the same.

Pictured to the left: Amy Neff, Jeff Johnson and Lynn Williams play corn hole at the Family Game night. The event was held as a fundraiser for the newly formed Faith Area Community Foundation.

Pictured to the right: Misty Williams, Wendy Blunt, Dana Keffeler, Krissy Johnson and Lynn Halligan play dice at Game Night.

Looking into the future 50 years from now, the goal of community members is for Faith to maintain its small-town charm but have the capacity to keep up with the times. Their CSA will be a life-line for future success of these endeavors. They know this will be essential to attract and keep people who want to live and raise their families in small town America, this place and feeling they are happy to call HOME. zx

The first statewide South Dakota Day of Giving was held this year on Giving Tuesday, November 27th. Many of the almost 80 community savings accounts (CSA) the South Dakota Community Foundation partners with participated in the exciting day through social media campaigns, calls and letters to donors, and many more activities.

$5,250 from the Day of Giving prize pool. Congratulations to their board on the success of their efforts!

To highlight just a few, the Herreid Community Foundation board put articles in the paper, made over 60 phone calls to past donors and raised over $9,000 from promotion of the day. A special thank you to past board chair, Bruce Brandner and his wife, LeeAnn. The time, talent and treasure they have provided is immeasurable to the community of Herreid. Thank you.

Thank you to those who gave generously and to all the volunteer board members who took time to participate and raise awareness for their local foundations. You make a difference.

The Sisseton Community Foundation sent letters to their donors and was active on social media. Their CSA raised over $4,500 from donors and won

To learn more, please visit www.SouthDakotaGives.org. zx

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CSA Spotlight

We are happy to announce SDCF will again participate in the 2019 South Dakota Day of Giving on Tuesday, December 3rd. Please watch for more information in the coming months.