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Kick-Off for SD Non-Profit Association Planned

Pierre, SD—South Dakota’s non-profit organizations will launch a major effort to promote coordination and collaboration on May 8 in Pierre. The Kick-off Event for the South Dakota Non-Profit Association will be held at the Ramkota River Center.

"South Dakota is one of the few states that does not have an association," said Jean Layton, Ph.D., Director of the Non-Profit Management Institute. "By joining forces, the non-profit community has the opportunity to form a collective voice in order to impact policy making and systemic changes in federal and state funding. The need for an association became even more evident as a result of devolution—the decrease in federal spending, and the related move from federal programs to state funded initiatives."

According to Layton, few people realize the impact non-profits have on the state economically and in the provision of services.

"Non-profits in South Dakota spend more than $1.5 billion each year, yet they receive about .2 percent of public dollar support. The question, of course, is who will provide services if non-profits aren’t around. Who will provide mental health counseling? Who will put a roof over the head of a homeless person?"

The goal of the new South Dakota Non-Profit Association is to provide an opportunity for non-profit to access resources, share information, form a collective voice, and find means to collaborate with each other, business, and government.

"Every community needs an agenda that identifies its needs and its strategies to meet those needs. Meeting those needs will require collaborative effort on the part of non-profits, business, and government."

Keynote speakers at the May 8 event are John Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Non Profits, and Karl Stauber, president of the Northwest Area Foundation. The event will include discussion groups, election of a board of directors, and a business meeting.

For additional information, contact Jean Layton at 367-5380