In November and December 2024, the following organizations were selected to receive over $4.38 million for their efforts to make a difference in our community– enhancing access to early learning opportunities, providing essential services for the aging, ensuring safe and affordable housing in our community, and establishing an impact fund for the city. Congratulations!

• • Journey On – Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program: $40,000 one-year Basic Needs matching funds for their federal grant.
  • Volunteers of America – Black Hills Regional Homeless Coalition:  $300,000 in two-year Basic Needs support to coordinate the Black Hills Regional Homeless Coalition 
  • Early Childhood Connections – Starting Strong:  $1,875,000 Early Learning grant to support the Starting Strong program for two years.
  • Early Childhood Connections – Child Care Stability Grants: $424,000 in Early Learning funds for one year to stabilize Starting Strong childcare providers in Rapid City.
  • Black Hills Area Community Foundation – Rapid City Strategic Housing Trust Fund: $1,000,000 in one-time Affordable Housing funding for the construction of homes for low-income families in Rapid City.
  • Action for the Betterment of our Community: $120,000 in one-time Basic Needs funding to build housing for participants in their recovery community.
  • Northern Hills Alliance for Children: $50,000 in one-year Early Learning operation support for their childcare center.
  • Adult Day Center of the Black Hills: $50,000 one-year Basic Needs grant to renovate a second location to provide day services for the aging in Rapid City.
  • Black Hills Special Services Cooperative – Future Forward Program: $25,000 in one-time Early Learning funding to improve literacy skills among K-3 students in Title I schools in Rapid City.
  • Black Hills Area Community Foundation – Rapid City Impact Fund: $500,000 to be used to secure and grow the Rapid City Impact Fund, an endowment to be created by the City of Rapid City, in support of Rapid City nonprofits.

Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program

$40,000 – One-year Basic Needs matching funds for their federal grant

Journey On was founded in June 2018 as a wilderness therapy program. In working with other Rapid City organizations, it became clear that the unsheltered and at-risk community members were among the most vulnerable populations. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Journey On shifted their focus to providing street outreach services to Rapid City’s unsheltered and at-risk populations.

The Street Team Outreach Program launched in July 2020. It provides essentials and transportation for individuals experiencing homelessness. Staff assess needs, offer referrals, and arrange transportation to medical appointments and court appearances. Journey On also offers three Youth Outreach programs: Safe Passage, STEPS, and High-Risk Intervention.

This Basic Needs grant satisfies a match for the Youth Homeless Demonstration Program federal grant and will support transportation costs, afterschool programing, and outreach activities with at-risk youth ages 16-24

Black Hills Regional Homeless Coalition

$300,000 – Two-year Basic Needs grant to coordinate the Black Hills Regional Homeless Coalition

The Black Hills Regional Homeless Coalition, a program of Volunteers of America Northern Rockies, works to address involuntary housing instability by ensuring that adequate services are available and accessible, empowering housing insecure individuals to utilize services and achieve self-sufficiency, increasing the community’s awareness of and responsiveness to housing instability, and seeking long-term societal change.

The coalition is a collective collaboration of 40+ organizations that come together to advance best practices in housing stability services, engage in joint problem-solving, and collaborate to create shared solutions to both individual and community issues affecting those experiencing homelessness.

This grant will support a full-time staff member for the Black Hills Regional Homeless Coalition (The Black Hills Coalition for Housing Stability). This staff member will work in conjunction with and support the Strategic Leadership Committee, helping to advance key initiatives identified by the coalition.

Starting Strong

$1,875,000 – Two-year Early Learning funding for the Starting Strong Program

$424,000 – One-year Early Learning grant to stabilize Starting Strong childcare providers in Rapid City.

Starting Strong is Early Childhood Connections’ preschool scholarship program for three and four-year-old children as well as a quality-building tool for participating preschool programs. This program helps to fill the gap for families that earn too much to qualify for Head Start but earn too little to afford preschool for their child. Our grantee, Early Childhood Connections, reaches out to families and helps them enroll their child in the quality preschool of their choice from participating providers. Participating providers also receive funding from this grant for professional development, environmental improvements, and staff retention.

This Early Learning grant will provide preschool opportunities for 3- and 4-year-olds, help childcare providers improve the quality of services, and support family needs in our community.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, we realized we could do more to ensure that Starting Strong providers remained open and accessible to our low-income families. In 2022, we worked with Starting Strong childcare providers to provide one-time funding. This grant is in addition to funding they receive in serving as Starting Strong providers.

To further stabilize local childcare, this additional Early Learning grant will help five existing Starting Strong providers retain childcare staff and improve their facilities: Banana Bunch, Every Child is Special, Kyra’s Kiddos, Lil’ Friends, and the YMCA.

Rapid City Strategic Housing Trust Fund

$1,000,000 – A one-time Affordable Housing grant for the construction of homes for low-income families in Rapid City

The Rapid City Strategic Housing Trust Fund was created in 2020 to address the affordable housing shortfall in Rapid City. Housed at the Black Hills Area Community Foundation, the Strategic Housing Trust Fund takes a long-term approach to the strategic housing issues faced by our community through low interest revolving loan funds for housing development. 

This Affordable Housing grant will help fund construction of affordable housing for low-income families through a revolving loan fund.

Action for the Betterment of Our Community

$120,000 – One-year Basic Needs funding to build housing for their recovery community participants.

Action for the Betterment of our Community improves the quality of life for citizens by collaborating to reduce drug and alcohol use among youth, adults, and address other social issues that may threaten the health and safety of communities and families. Through proactive education and innovative programs that are tailored to the community, ABC is committed to creating a cohesive culture, which promotes healthy lifestyles. ABC raises awareness of behavioral and mental health issues while simultaneously mobilizing a multi-generational network of community- and youth-focused individuals and organizations.

This Basic Needs Grant will support the construction of six tiny homes for men graduating from their drug and alcohol treatment program to their recovery community program.

Northern Hills Alliance for Children

$50,000 – One-year Early Learning operations support for their child care center

Northern Hills Alliance for Children provides affordable, secure and quality child care and educational services to families with young children in the Northern Black Hills. As the only licensed child care provider in the Lead-Deadwood area, they support their community with high quality care that starts by providing a livable wage for staff members. As an education-based childcare center that focuses on social and emotional learning, they believe that having amazing teachers makes their center successful in all aspects.

This Early Learning grant will support ongoing operations of the only licensed child care provider in the Lead Deadwood area.

Adult Day Center of the Black Hills

$50,000 – One-year Basic Needs funding to  to renovate a second location for day services in Rapid City

The Adult Day Center of the Black Hills offers individuals of all abilities a welcoming space that serves as a home away from home during the day, complete with expert care. The center provides comprehensive personal care and hygiene services, engaging cognitive activities, opportunities for socialization and friendship, exercise and mobility support, as well as recreational outings. Above all, the center fosters a sense of purpose—a place where participants feel needed, accepted, and valued.

This one-year Basic Needs grant provides capital support to renovate a second location for day services in Rapid City

Future Forward

$25,000 – One-time Early Learning funding to improve early literacy skills for K-3 students in high need Title I Schools in Rapid City

Black Hills Special Services Cooperative’s Compass division provides evidence-based high impact literacy tutoring intervention for K-3 students in Title I elementary schools in Rapid City. Building on the promising 2023-24 pilot, the Future Forward program addresses a critical need for early literacy intervention in our community, particularly for disadvantaged students. The program aims to significantly improve early literacy skills for K-3 students in high-need Title I schools in Rapid City. This tutoring program mitigates the challenge of limited resources available to support students who are struggling to learn how to read by utilizing experienced, retired educators and an evidence-based learning model that incorporates family engagement.

This Early Learning grant will support tutoring for K-3 students in the Knollwood and Wilson Elementary Schools.

Rapid City Impact Fund

$500,000 – A one-time contribution to encourage the City of Rapid City to Establish the Rapid City Impact Fund locally

JTVF has contributed $500,000 to the Black Hills Area Community Foundation to encourage the City of Rapid City to establish the “Rapid City Impact Fund.” The City plans to use the Vision Fund to create this new endowment, supporting the vital work of Rapid City’s thriving nonprofits. Our goal is for these community funds to grow and be managed locally.