Great Plains Education Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Great Plains Education Foundation supports education needs throughout the state of South Dakota.

FUNDING AREAS: Education

IP TAKE: This funder has a lot of money to spend in South Dakota and is solely focused on the education needs of local children and youth.

PROFILE: Established in 1999, the Great Plains Education Foundation (GPEF) is a grantmaking foundation based in Aberdeen, South Dakota. It grew from the Student Loan Finance Corporation, which began as a nonprofit corporation and was reorganized when the entity was sold and cash assets transferred to the foundation. A board of directors govern the foundation without compensation. The Dacotah Bank Trust and Wealth Management Department of Aberdeen, South Dakota administers GPEF today. The foundation aims to “further and aid education in the state of South Dakota.”

The Great Plains Education Foundation has a simple website with details about its history, operations, financial data, directors, and application procedure. GPEF typically distributes five percent of the value of the trust each year. It funds public and private schools in the state that have a primary function of directly delivery education to students. It does not usually fund for-profit schools, economic development, or construction or renovation efforts. It also does not fund salaries, non-accredited institutions, or direct-to-student scholarships. GPEF tends to fund around half of the requests it receives. Also, this foundation prefers to leverage funds in order to obtain further funds.

Grants range between about $10,000 and $200,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Grantmaking focuses on South Dakota and the city of Aberdeen, in particular. Past local grantees include Northern State University Foundation, Aberdeen School District, and SPURs Therapeutic Riding.

This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits. It does not have a formal application form but rather only requests that applicants send six copies of whatever materials they would like to submit by mail. Direct general questions to the staff at 605-229-7119.

PEOPLE:

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