Newsletter: Spring 2023

FROM THE DEPOT SPRING 2023

Philanthropy in action across our community

THE GENEROUS

TRAILBLAZER

The enduring legacy of Opal Rogness

CRAYON COLLABORATION

Area kids find a colorful way to make a difference

FEATURE STORY

LEARNING TO GIVE BACK

Thanks to support from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, more teens have opportunities to volunteer and give back through SALSA.

For nearly 40 years, the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation has stood as a champion for philanthropy.

By evaluating community needs and opportunities, building engagement around important issues, and connecting donors with purpose, we’re helping to transform generosity into impact, improving the quality of life for all.

A CHAMPION FOR PHILANTHROPY

(Photo by Michelle Diehl)

From the Great Depression to WWII, to the civil rights movement, space exploration, the Cold War, 9/11, the tech revolution and so much more, Opal Rogness lived through some of the most significant moments in history.

None of which, she would tell you, she could have predicted.

Which is why, when Opal established her estate plans later in life, she worked with us to create a multi-faceted giving strategy.

Her strategy was both focused and visionary, and was designed to provide enduring support for her life’s greatest passions — her faith, local youth and the community she called home.

One portion of her plan is very specific — she wanted to provide ongoing support to her hometown church, the place where her faith was formed and nurtured.

The other portion is broader — she wanted to support youth activities aimed at building character, developing leadership and enhancing our community. For this portion of her plan, Opal placed her trust in the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, believing that our knowledge and understanding of community needs and opportunities would be the best way to ensure her endowment would have the greatest impact.

With Opal’s passing in 2014, we lost a faithful, generous, loving and community-minded trailblazer. Learn more about her extraordinary life on page 13.

However, through her planned giving, Opal’s legacy of care lives on.

Today, we have the privilege of stewarding Opal’s endowment and the honor of carrying out her charitable wishes. Thanks to her generosity and foresight, not only does her hometown church receive sustaining annual support, but so do local nonprofits dedicated to serving youth and our community, including SALSA (see page 7). These meaningful grants are helping to develop our young leaders and enhance the community we all love.

Thanks to Opal, and so many other donors who have entrusted the Foundation to carry out their legacy, philanthropy’s impact across our area has never been stronger.

Want to learn more about how to invest in the future good of our community through a planned gift? We’re here to help.

FROM THE DEPOT

— The Foundation Team

Student members of the Serve and Learn Student Association (SALSA) clear trash along the bike trail as part of a volunteer project for Friends of the Big Sioux River. Learn how a grant from the Foundation is helping more area teens find opportunities to serve our community on page 7.

Our Home: The Depot at Cherapa Place. (Photo by Emily Spartz Weerheim)

LEARNING TO GIVE BACK

Thanks to support from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, more teens are finding opportunities to volunteer and give back through SALSA

Student members of the Serve and Learn Student Association (SALSA) participate in a Rake the Town event last fall. (Photo by Lavin Maddox)

Student members of SALSA make tie blankets for kids in need.

RIGHT: SALSA members gather in support of a Rake the Town event last fall. (Submitted photos)

In the fall of 2015, Anna Shane was a shy, quiet freshman at Lincoln High School. She was a new kid — arriving at LHS from a much smaller school — looking for a way to get involved, make new friends, and build community.

She found what she was looking for, and more, through the Serve and Learn Student Association (SALSA), an organization developed by the Helpline Center to help local teens participate in meaningful service projects that meet community needs and inspire others to get involved.

For Anna, who’s now a student at South Dakota State University, SALSA was life-changing.

“It grew from ‘wanting to join a club’ to becoming something through which I could really make a difference,” she said.

“In the beginning, I’d be so nervous to go to SALSA events, but I’d always leave feeling so fulfilled. I made friends, I began to feel comfortable around others, and I was doing something to help.”

During her senior year, Anna served on the organization’s Youth Action Council (YAC) where she helped design, plan and lead service projects for all SALSA participants. The experience, she said, planted a seed that continues to grow today.

“When I decided to apply to YAC my senior year, I didn’t have any leadership experience. I didn’t see myself as a leader. But I decided to do it, and I really enjoyed serving in that role — leading a group and helping it grow,” she said.

After graduating from high school, she enrolled at SDSU and eventually decided to join student government. Today, she serves as vice president of the SDSU Students’ Association.

“I really think my YAC experience and the commitment to service I developed through SALSA inspired my decision to join student government,” she said.

The experience, she said, is also inspiring her future.

“Whatever I do in my career, I know I’ll want to do something where I’m helping people,” she said.

Today, more local teens than ever before are learning about the importance of service and finding opportunities to help others through SALSA thanks to grant support from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation.

Anna Shane

CONTINUED FROM: PAGE 7

“Thanks to the Foundation, we’ve been able to expand SALSA to more schools and add a full time staff member,” said Susie Ryks, the Helpline Center’s vice president of community development. “We’re so excited to be able to do that — to get more kids on board, to expand into more schools, and to spread the message of the power of giving back.”

For the 2022-23 academic year, more than 1,000 students served our community through SALSA chapters at Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Jefferson, Brandon Valley, Tea Area and Sioux Falls Christian high schools.

Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Leaders

When teens participate in SALSA, Ryks said, the entire community benefits.

“This program allows students to learn about what’s going on in their community. It teaches them the power of giving back. It’s an opportunity to make friends and build community. And, it’s a chance to learn new skills,” she said.

“Each meeting features a speaker from a different nonprofit who talks about their organization, shares volunteer opportunities, and explains how their agency and their mission are funded,” Ryks said.

“It helps students understand that our nonprofits are able to serve those in need thanks to donors and the generosity of our community,” she said.

Junior Lavin Maddox is a member of Sioux Falls Christian High School’s SALSA chapter. She said participating in SALSA has helped her better understand the community she calls home.

“It’s so eye-opening to see and learn about the different needs across our community and how, even as high school volunteers, we can help fill some of those needs,” she said.

A Place for Everyone

Beyond the impact to our community, SALSA also impacts the lives of students.

“SALSA is open to everyone. There’s no pressure — you can just come and give of your time, and in return, you get that great feeling of joy from helping someone else,” Ryks said.

“SALSA is really unique because everyone can participate. You don’t have to be athletic. You don’t have to be an artist or a musician or a member of the honor roll. Or, you can be. Everyone can volunteer — and their different personalities and skills and abilities working together is what makes it so great.”

Area high school students participate in various volunteer opportunities each month through SALSA. (Submitted photos)

“We have kids in SALSA that might not interact with each other in school, but when they’re volunteering, they’re able to get to know each other,” Ryks said. “And, we know that when kids are involved in extracurricular activities, they are more likely to succeed in school, and they are more likely to graduate.”

SALSA volunteer events can also inspire students to think differently about their own futures, Maddox said.

“Volunteerism is a great way to experience different fields and think about different career opportunities,” she said.

Looking Ahead

Since SALSA began in 1999, local teens have logged nearly 170,000 volunteer hours in service to our community. And thanks to support from the Community Foundation, Ryks said, there’s much more to come. Looking ahead, the program aims to reach even more students at more schools in the coming years.

Patrick Gale, the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation’s vice president for community investment, said SALSA embodies the essence of philanthropy.

of

good of all.

For Maddox, participating in SALSA is a chance to impact change today, and tomorrow.

“It’s exciting that SALSA is raising up a generation of students who want to serve and give back to their communities,” she said. “Raising up leaders who want to serve now means we’ll have leaders who will want to serve into the future. I know the people I’m volunteering with now will want to continue to make an impact through volunteering no matter where they end up.”

Students gather for a SALSA Youth Action Council (YAC) meeting. YAC allows students to design, plan and lead service projects for all SALSA participants.

"Core to our mission is to inspire philanthropy — to inspire people to give

themselves for the greater

So supporting SALSA — a program that teaches teens the importance of helping others and giving back — is a way for us to invest in the philanthropists of tomorrow."

— PATRICK GALE SIOUX FALLS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Kids from Horizon Elementary participate in the Crayon Factory

(Submitted Photos)

THE C R AY O N FACTORY

Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation, area kids participated in a colorful, creative project to help others.

You’re never too young to make a difference — students from one local elementary school are proof of that.

Last fall, hundreds of kids from prekindergarten through fifth grade at Horizon Elementary in Harrisburg transformed used crayons into small works of art to help those in need through a special project called Crayons for a Cause.

Inside a classroom dubbed “The Crayon Factory” students peeled, sorted and smashed used crayons which were then melted, poured into small molds and packaged for sale. Proceeds were given to the school’s Horizon Cares Fund which provides support for school families in need.

The project, led by junior kindergarten teacher Sarah Hansen, was supported by a grant from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation’s Excellence in Education initiative, a program designed to help bring teachers’ innovative classroom ideas to life.

“We’d had some teachers and families from our school go through some significant medical events. Our whole school was thinking of ways we could help, and ways we could get the kids involved in helping because they were aware of these challenges,” Hansen said.

“We were so excited to get the grant and make this idea happen,” Hansen said. “These kinds of projects help kids see a different side of life, and that’s so important at this age.”

Hansen said the kids were excited to participate in a project that would help others.

“We always talk about the importance of service to others, but not all kids have a chance to practice it,” she said. “This helped them really understand the idea of service in a really meaningful way — and in a way that will stay with them.”

Patrick Gale, the Foundation’s vice president for community investment, agreed.

“What a creative way to help others while teaching kids the principles of kindness and philanthropy,” he said. “We loved Sarah’s idea and we were honored to support this project from our Excellence in Education initiative. Keep up the great work, Horizon Elementary!”

The project raised more than $1,200 for the Horizon Cares Fund.

In the early 1940s, Opal Rogness began her career as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. Fifty-five years later, she retired as an accountant.

Along the way, she built an amazing life defined by love, faith, perseverance and generosity. And today, her legacy lives on through numerous endowments held at the Foundation which provide lasting support to nonprofits and causes across our community.

Opal’s Story

The granddaughter of Norwegian immigrants, Opal grew up on a farm north of Alcester, South Dakota, near an area called Norway Center.

“All the families were close,” her sister, Sally Ahrendt, once told us. “There were all Norwegian people in the area; everyone helped each other out.”

Opal spoke only Norwegian when she started first grade in a one-room schoolhouse, but, she soon overcame the language barrier. A gifted student, she quickly developed a passion for learning, a willingness to explore new ideas, and a desire to make a difference.

Outside of school, time was spent with family, including many cousins, and with friends from Lands Church near Hudson, South Dakota. Summers at Swan Lake Bible Camp near Viborg, South Dakota, were especially memorable.

Sometimes the best ending is a beginning that didn’t go as planned.

Opal Rogness (Submitted Photo)

After graduating from the Augustana Academy in Canton, South Dakota, Opal earned her teaching certificate from the Augustana Normal School in Sioux Falls.

Her first teaching position was in a one-room schoolhouse much like the one she’d attended as a girl.

After teaching for four years, Opal decided to try something new and took an office job at Crescent Electric in Sioux Falls. Little did she know her life was about to take a big turn.

A New Chapter

Opal had always been good with numbers. Her math skills, combined with her professionalism, her ability to think critically and her knack for problemsolving quickly made her a stand-out employee at Crescent. Eventually, Thomas J. Morgan, the CPA who handled Crescent’s accounting, offered Opal a job with his firm.

Opal took it and set off to make history.

Making Her Mark

With encouragement from her boss, Opal enrolled in business and accounting classes at Augustana University. She worked hard and remained diligent in her studies. Her hard work paid off. In 1975, she became the first woman in South Dakota to earn a Certificate in Public Accountancy.

Giving Back

Family, faith, work and community remained central to Opal throughout her life. She taught Sunday School at First Lutheran Church, loved being an aunt to nieces and nephews, found fulfillment in her career, and led the local Altrusa Club, a women’s service club focused on community improvement projects.

When the club disbanded, she arranged to put its assets into two endowments at the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation.

Today, these endowments provide ongoing support to area students and families.

In 1995, Opal retired from McGladrey & Pullen (now RSM).

When she passed away in 2014, she left bequests to her family, First Lutheran Church, and the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. Per her wishes, the Opal H. Rogness Endowment provides sustaining support to her childhood church and helps advance programming for local youth, including the Helpline Center’s Serve and Learn Student Association (SALSA). Learn more about SALSA’s impact on teens and our community on page 7.

Mary Kolsrud is the Community Foundation’s vice president for philanthropy. She called Opal an inspiration.

“It’s an honor to continue Opals legacy of care by carrying out her charitable wishes, and it’s wonderful to see the impact of her generosity in the lives of kids and families across our area,” she said.

"A trailblazer with a loving and generous heart — Opal inspires us in so many ways."

— MARY KOLSRUD SIOUX FALLS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Opal Rogness through the years. (Submitted Photos)

COMMUNITY IMPACT

Thanks to our growing community of donors, our grantmaking programs are helping to launch transformational programs, providing meaningful support for neighborhood nonprofits, and helping to develop innovative solutions for our area’s most complex challenges.

Project Seeks to Understand Needs, Eliminate Barriers to Wellness for Women Veterans

Though the number of women who join the armed forces is increasing, the support services available to them are still largely designed for men. These gaps in services follow women into the veteran space with shortfalls in areas such as suicide prevention, health care, housing, education and employment assistance.

A new effort led by Community Action for Veterans, w ith help from a Community Foundation grant, is working to change that.

The project will explore the needs of women veterans and evaluate barriers to their wellness. Data will help develop a collaborative-based program of providers and veteran supporters to help reduce gaps in services for military-connected women living in the Sioux Falls area.

Effort Aims to Help Local Nonprofits Build Capacity, Develop Connections

South Dakota’s nonprofits employ 14.8% of all workers in the state. These organizations play a critical role, serving some of the state’s most vulnerable populations. Unfortunately, support for our nonprofit organizations is lacking in areas such as capacity building, facilitation, technical assistance and connection with other organizations.

The South Dakota Nonprofit Network aims to create relevant and resilient nonprofit organizations across South Dakota. With support from a Community Foundation grant, the Nonprofit Network is working to offer long-term education, advocacy, and industry connections to Sioux Falls area nonprofits and others across the state.

GIVING AS THEY GROW

Easy strategies to instill kindness and a love of philanthropy in your children.

Giving back has always been important to Todd and Christie Ernst.

From volunteering and service work to charitable giving, philanthropy has been central to their life together. So when their children were young, the couple began thinking about how they could pass their love for helping others to their kids.

“Our kids were in first or second grade when we began introducing giving concepts they could connect to. At that age, it was toys,” the couple said. “We talked about the toys they had and the joy those toys brought them. Then we explained that other kids didn’t have toys to play with. We talked about how they could donate some of their toys so other kids could experience that joy.”

As their kids got older, Todd and Christie created opportunities for their kids to learn about needs across the area.

“We make it a point to talk about community needs and we’ve taken them with us to volunteer at different nonprofits like The Banquet, the St. Francis House and Sioux Falls Cares,” Christie said. “We also talk to them about where our charitable gifts go.”

The conversations, and the experiences, have made an impact on their kids, the couple said.

“They know I’m passionate about Make-A-Wish. When my daughter was younger, she held an ice cream stand to raise money for Make-A-Wish. Another year she did it and donated the money to Children’s Miracle Network,” Christie said.

Today, their kids have begun to develop their own charitable passions. Their daughter, Libby (15), wants to make camp possible for all kids. Their son, Evan (13), cares deeply about the environment.

During the holidays, the kids have a special chance to support the causes that mean the most to them.

Libby Ernst (second from left) and Evan Ernst (right) joined cousins Ellie and Ari to purchase items for Sioux Falls Cares deliveries. BELOW: Libby Ernst at the ice cream stand she held to raise money for a local nonprofit. (Submitted Photos)

CONTINUED FROM: PAGE 17

“Every year my parents give the kids a Christmas gift. They are asked to give half of it away. My sister’s family and ours mentor each other’s kids to talk about different ways they can give that money away. We encourage them to give it locally,” Christie said.

“From there, they give a presentation to their grandparents to show them how and where they gave,” she said.

This year, their daughter announced her own plan to give back.

“One of Libby’s New Year’s resolutions was to give away $100 of her own money,” Christie said. “It was great to see her thinking that way and wanting to do that.”

When it comes to instilling the principles of philanthropy in kids, the Ernst family is doing all the right things, said Mary Kolsrud, vice president for philanthropy.

“Creating opportunities for kids to give and volunteer is a great way to teach and pass on the core values of kindness and generosity,” Kolsrud said. “These experiences also provide wonderful opportunities for families to collaborate and learn from one another while creating meaningful memories.”

Want to learn more about family philanthropy? Contact us today at 605.336.7055 or sfacf.org.

Instilling the Principles of Philanthropy at Every Age

Toddlers and Young Children

• Let your children see you doing good by modeling generosity and kindness toward others

• Make it a practice to donate used toys, books and clothes

• Take time to talk as a family about things you’re grateful for

• Read books about generosity

• Help your child distinguish needs from wants

School-age Children

• Seek out opportunities that allow you to volunteer and give back together

• Include your children in charitable giving decisions

• Donate school supplies to nonprofits that serve children in need

• Share memories and experiences that illustrate your family values

Teens and Young Adults

• Talk about the value of saving and spending responsibly; help them develop a monthly budget

• Encourage them to pursue their own philanthropic interests

• Talk about your philanthropic experiences and interests

• Make a list of issues affecting your community and discuss how your family can help

A Champion for Philanthropy

By evaluating community needs and opportunities, building engagement around important issues, and connecting donors with purpose, we’re helping to transform generosity into impact, improving the quality of life for all.

200 N. Cherapa Place

Sioux Falls, SD 57103

THANK YOU TO OUR

SUSTAINING MEMBERS

Helping the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation inspire and grow philanthropy and generosity throughout our area.

PLATINUM

Eide Bailly

First Bank & Trust

The First National Bank in Sioux Falls

First PREMIER Bank/PREMIER Bankcard

Marsh & McLennan Agency

RBC Wealth Management

Van Demark-Lavin-Hodges Financial Advisors

GOLD

American Bank & Trust

Boen & Associates

Boyce Law Firm

Central Bank

Century Business Products

Citi

CorTrust Bank

Cutler Law Firm

Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith

First Dakota National Bank

The Lindquist Group at Merrill Lynch, Bill and Steve Lindquist

Sammons Financial Group

South Dakota Trust Company

The Venrick Goeman Group at Morgan Stanley

Wealth Management

Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith

SILVER

First Interstate Bank

Legacy Law Firm

Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun

McKinneyOlson Insurance

Paceline Accounting Group

Redstone Law Firm

RSM US

Security National Bank of South Dakota

Showplace Wood Products

Thompson Law

Woltman Group

INDIVIDUALS

Mavis Amundson

Martha Baker

Larry and Anita Bierman

Dick Brown

Walt and Martha Carlson

Greg and Sheri Carmon

Scott and Carolyn Christensen

Steve and Betty Crim

Daniel and Sara Crosby

Nate and Mary Dally

Cara Lee Davis

Tim and Tonya Dwire

Kris and Steve Egger

Stacy and David Erdmann

Todd and Christie Ernst

Tom and Barb Everist

Mike and Lauri Finnegan

Larry and Suzanne Fuller

Patrick and Susanne Gale

Candy Hanson

Wendy Hasche

John and Ann Henkhaus

Dan and Arlene Kirby

Joe and Jennifer Kirby

Kevin and Peggy Kirby

Mary and Chris Kolsrud

Linda Larson

Angeline and Marshall Lavin

Bill and Lorrae Lindquist

Helen Madsen

Tom and Susan McDowell

Jeff and Mary Jo Murray

Stephen and Mary Lynn Myers

Lewis and Helen Ofstein

Michael and Debby Olson

Susie and Kim Patrick

Andy and Sara Patterson

Doug and Sandra Pay

Steve and Marianne Perkins

Paul and Lyndy Peterson

Don and Ann Platt

John and Eileen Quello

Jimmie and Phil Rysdon

Steve and Sarah Sarbacker

Jeff and Katie Scherschligt

Paul and Koni Schiller

Aaron and Kimber Severson

Dick and Kathy Sweetman

Jerry and Mary Pat Sweetman

Dennis Thurman

Mary and David Tidwell

Bob and Marilyn Van Demark

Richard and Michelle Van Demark

Jon and Suzanne Veenis

Jamie and Penny Volin

Jerry Walton

Daryl and Mary Wierda