Black Hills Area Community Foundation

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OVERVIEW: The Black Hills Area Community Foundation supports arts and culture, disaster recovery, women and children, environment, education, affordable housing, human services, homelessness, and other community needs in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.

IP TAKE: The Black Hills Area Community Foundation seeks to provide “leadership” when it comes to giving in its community in South Dakota. It encourages giving and administers a range of grants through an open, accessible application process.

PROFILE: Established in 1987, the Black Hills Area Community Foundation (BHACF) is a community foundation based in Rapid City, South Dakota. It works with nonprofits, assists donors, raises funds, and distributes grants in the local community. The foundation aims to "provide philanthropic leadership to build community endowments to invest in people and solutions that positively impact the Black Hills area.” It funds local efforts for arts and culture, disaster recovery, women and children, environment, education, affordable housing, human services, homelessness, and other community needs.

The Black Hills Area Community Foundation has a robust, locally-oriented series of grants that have their own guidelines and application cycles:

  • The BHACH awards Capacity Building Grants to organizations working in their region of interest, specifically in the counties of Oglala Lakota, Fall River, Custer, Pennington, Meade, Lawrence, and Butte. The maximum allowable grant in this category is $5,000. Organizations should not expect to receive multi-year support.

  • It awards Community Action Grants of $50,000 and $15,000 to organizations that are sustainable, partnering with other community resources, and implementing new ideas.

  • BHACF’s Collective Impact Food Security Grants go to organizations in Rapid City and Box Elder and “support the overall collaborative efforts of the Collective Impact Food Security Workgroup.”

  • The funder’s Liv to Give Fund gives preference to organizations and projects that benefit children.

  • Its Community Service Center Trust Fund Grant assists organizations that provide services to low-income local people, especially Native American Indian groups.

  • The BHACF also administers the Margaret Warren & Grace Lemley Animal Welfare Grant. This grant is available to to organizations that provide for animals in the Black Hills community.

  • Rapid City 100 Giving Circle provides a grant award to organizations with activities located in Rapid City.

  • The foundation also has a Youth Philanthropy Grant program that focuses on youth mental health and awards grants up to $2,500.

  • Finally, Black Hills Area Community Foundation provides the opportunity for endowment matching with organizations trying to build an endowment for their future security.

Grant Details:

Grants range between about $2,500 and $50,000. Some grant categories limit grants to a maximum of $5,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Grantmaking focuses on the Black Hills area of South Dakota. Past local grantees include the Black Hills Raptor Center, Casa 7th Circuit, Front Porch Coalition, and Haakon School District.

This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits for some of its grantmaking programs. Each program has its own set of guidelines and deadlines. See guidelines for your specific grant category above. Direct general questions to the staff at info@bhacf.org or 605-718-0112.

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