News & Events

This page highlights the most recent news about GROW South Dakota and our surrounding communities!

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Committed, inspired, dedicated, empowered. These are just a few words that describe the journey taken by the leadership within GROW South Dakota. More impressive, is the chief leadership positions are held by four women with a combined total of over 100 years of experience with GROW SD. This dedication to persevere through decades of challenges, growth, and change has allowed GROW SD to become one of the nation’s leading organizations in their industry. Marcia Erickson, Co-Chief Executive Officer, has been with GROW SD for over 32 years and Lori Finnesand, Co-Chief Executive Officer, has been with GROW SD for 30 years. ...

Celebrating Women’s History Month

Monday, March 15, 2021

In recognition of Women's History Month, GROW South Dakota is commemorating and celebrating the vital role of women in American history. One of the leaders we celebrate is JoAnn Schaefers, Faulkton, and previously from Polo. JoAnn Schaefers has served on the Board of Directors for GROW South Dakota for 47 years. Schaefers served on the Northeast South Dakota Community Action Program (NESDCAP also known as GROW South Dakota) Board of Directors for 10 years, including a number of terms on the State Community Action Board. Following her tenure on the NESDCAP Board she began serving on the Northeast South Dakota Economic Corporation (NESDEC also known as GRO...

Erickson Named President of National NeighborWorks Association Board

Monday, March 15, 2021

Marcia Erickson, GROW South Dakota CEO, recently became President of the Board of Directors for the National NeighborWorks Association (NNA). She will serve a two-year term. NNA is a national membership-based trade association for NeighborWorks America chartered organizations that are providing over $9.3 billion of affordable housing and community development across the nation. NNA provides national advocacy for policy and funding for these organizations as well as membership benefits that either reduce operating costs or increase revenues. Marcia has been with GROW South Dakota for more than 30 years and became the CEO in 2005. Marcia has a broad range o...

GROW SD Partners with State Farm® for Purchase Wisely, Live Safely Initiative

Monday, February 22, 2021

GROW South Dakota was awarded a Good Neighbor Citizenship grant from State Farm® for its Purchase Wisely, Live Safely Initiative. This initiative will enhance the potential for households to move through the home buying process successfully. Preparing homeowners for the expectations of applying for a home loan, raise awareness and give specific guides on how to proactively develop a personalized plan to keep their homes healthy and safe. Home safety is critical now when more people are spending additional time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Maureen Nelson, GROW SD Project Director said, “we are thankful for the partnershi...

NeighborWorks America Launches Campaign Empowering Homeowners and Renters to Combat Housing Scams

Monday, February 22, 2021

Visit StopHomesScams.org to help protect consumers against foreclosure and eviction GROW South Dakota has joined Neighborworks® America to launch the Stop Home Scams Initiative to protect consumers against foreclosure and eviction fraud. StopHomeScams is a national public education campaign led by Neighborworks® America with support from the Wells Fargo Foundation, National Fair Housing Alliance, and National Foundation for Credit Counseling designed to help protect consumers by empowering them to act and protect their home and community from scammers. The goal is for consumers to know the signs, get the facts, and stop home scams. The economic impact of COVID-19 has made housin...

Annual Point-In-Time Homeless Count

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Tuesday, January 26, 2021, South Dakota will be conducting the Annual Point-In-Time Homeless (PIT) Count and Housing Inventory Chart (HIC). These activities are required by US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) nationwide as part of the Continuum of Care Program. The information is collected and reported to Congress. The information is also used for measuring progress, identifying strengths in services, identifying gaps in services, increasing public awareness and enhancing system planning. GROW SD will be helping to coorindating the count for the following counties in SD: Beadle, Brown, Campbell, Day, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, Marshall, McPherson, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Stanley...

Warming Up an Old Home

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

I was living on fixed income, in an old home with very little insulation; even setting my thermostat to 78 degrees did not warm the house up. My daughter looked online and found GROW SD and helped me apply for their Weatherization Assistance Program. GROW SD completed an energy audit on the home, which helped to determine what work was needed on the home. Insulation was added in the attic, basement and walls; light bulbs were replaced. The dryer vent and bathroom exhaust fan were fixed, plus much more. Because of GROW SD, my house is warmer and peaceful. I d...

Weatherization Benefits Homeowners and Renters During the Pandemic

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Weatherization helps homeowners save money by improving the energy efficiency and comfort of their homes. Weatherization has proven to be especially important during the pandemic when many homeowners and renters are home more of the time. The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) provides qualifying homeowners with weatherization services during the pandemic and beyond. Benefits of Weatherizing Your Home The benefits of weatherizing go far beyond keeping homes warmer during the winter months. Weatherization benefits homeowners year round and reduces their overall cost of living. Weatherization lowers energy bills. Weatherization is vital during the pandemic as the energy savings offsets the cost of staying at home...

GROW South Dakota Provides Home Ownership Assistance and Home Improvements

Wednesday, December 09, 2020

GROW South Dakota helps deserving community members find permanent homes through Home Ownership Programs. These programs provide financing for home purchases, down payment assistance and closing cost assistance. GROW SD also offers homeownership education and housing counseling to qualifying individuals through the HUD approved Housing Counseling Agency and Housing Education Resource Organization. One recipient of GROW SD assistance, who wishes to be kept confidential, recollects her former situation and how GROW SD helped her find a new home more suitable to her needs. “I was living in a high rise one bedroom apartment. We were allowed to have visitors, but only fo...

Celebrating June as Home Ownership Month

Monday, June 08, 2020

Helping Those Who Help Others Moving to a new state to be closer to children and grandchildren, one Washington state pastor found out it takes a lot of money to purchase a house. He cashed out his 401K but that wasn’t enough for the down payment. His bank suggested he contact GROW South Dakota for assistance. Through the down payment assistance program, the pastor and his wife were able to purchase a home in a central location near their family. After years of renting, they now will be building equity in a home of their dreams. Finding That First Home Many jobs requir...

GROW South Dakota Highlights NeighborWorks Week

Monday, June 08, 2020

During NeighborWorks Week, June 6-13, GROW South Dakota and other NeighborWorks organizations across the country will host several events that educate, train and inform. GROW South Dakota will provide a virtual platform this year to bring awareness about the programs we have to offer including home ownership options and economic development. Other activities this week include a Regional Economic Roundtable for economic development leaders to come together to provide development opportunities and solutions, and GROW SD will host a QuickBooks online tutorial. "NeighborWorks America provides a very impactful role in partnering with non-profits across the country. NWA, along with its man...

Making your Home Ownership Dream a Reality

Monday, June 08, 2020

Have you always dreamed of owning your own home? Does the process seem overwhelming, and you’re just not sure where, or how to start? GROW South Dakota is here to help make that dream a reality. GROW South Dakota is a HUD approved Housing Counseling Agency and Homeownership Education Resource Organization (HERO). With our team of trained, HUD certified counselors, we are here every step of the way to ensure you have the tools, knowledge and education needed to become a successful homeowner. Each counseling session is tailored to fit the individual needs of each client. In addition to home ownership counseling...

A Life Changing Event

Monday, May 18, 2020

“Because of this program, I no longer have to worry about C02 poisoning. I have adequate heat and no wind blowing through the windows and doors. For the first time, I don’t have to walk to the outhouse and worry about falling. I’m able to take a shower without going to someone else’s house. To say what I have received from the program has been life-changing would be a complete understatement.” In 2018 GROW South Dakota’s weatherization team received a call from Ruth, a senior resident, in need of assistance with heating her house. When the weatherization team went t...

Dakota Butcher - 2020 SBA Entrepreneur of the Year

Monday, May 04, 2020

Seeing a business close their doors in a small town is always difficult. When the Clark meat shop closed in 2008, Randy Gruenwald decided he wasn’t going to stand by and watch it happen. His professional experience was an excellent fit to revive the business. He worked 15 years as a meat department manager for Nash Finch. Then Randy worked as a banker before he purchased the butcher shop. Karen, Randy’s wife and business partner, worked for the previous meat shop owners and brings exceptional customer service skills and experience to their ownership team. Able to capitalize on their professiona...

Keeping a Veteran Warm

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Veteran Delbert Maxfield doesn’t like to be cold, especially with his health issues. But when their furnace went on the blink, cold is exactly what he felt. He and his wife Carol wanted to continue living in their home, but since they only had Social Security income, they were not sure they could afford to replace or repair their old furnace. Hearing of their plight, Dustin from GROW South Dakota informed them of a Veteran’s program that could assist them. “Without this program and the help of Dustin, we would never have known of this grant,” explained Carol. Through the Veteran’...

A Dream of Owning my Own Home

Monday, January 27, 2020

Kaitlain Meyerhofer moved to Sioux Falls in 2017. Single, with a full-time job, she was living in a one-bedroom apartment, but always dreamed of homeownership. She wanted a place she could paint the walls; a place she could make unique to her. She had assumed with one source of income that purchasing her first home would be difficult. She contacted GROW SD to see if she could receive financial help to purchase a home. With the help of her First Mortgage Lender and GROW SD’s down payment assistance program, she was able to purchase her first home without hassle or stress. Her hopes and dream...

GROW SD Supports Statewide Homeless Count

Monday, January 27, 2020

For the fourth year, GROW South Dakota will help the South Dakota Housing Development Authority with the statewide homeless count, along with the other Community Action Agencies in the state. The Department of Housing and Urban Development requires states to complete the count in order to determine the level of the challenge of homelessness and to direct resources for addressing it. The count will be conducted on Jan. 28, 2020. GROW SD enlists volunteers from each of the 17 NESDCAP counties to help conduct the count. There are basically two aspects of the count: Sheltered and unsheltered. Sheltered: Homeless shelters repor...

Winners Announced for BIG Idea Competition

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

For more information, contact: Kelly Weaver at (605) 626-2565 (December 11, 2019, Aberdeen, SD) The 2019 BIG Idea Competition was a BIG success with 276 entries involving over 389 students from 29 schools. The event wrapped up Wednesday, December 11th, on the campus of Northern State University (NSU) and the winners were determined from among the eight final entries with over $30,000 in cash and scholarships awarded. Korbin Leddy of Milbank High School took first place with Korbin’s Steak Express which aims to sell convenient meat grill packs to customers, such as active camping families for example. His prizes include a $1,000 cas...

Cross County Vet Does It All

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

Nicole Nelson has owned and operated the Cross Country Vet Clinic in Clark, SD since 2004. She is well established and has a great reputation in Clark and the surrounding area. Cross Country Vet Clinic does everything from grooming small animals to medical services and surgeries, all the way up to large animal services. Over the past 15 years Nicole and GROW SD have had a great lender and borrower relationship. Nicole has used GROW SD and many of its funding program to help start, maintain, and expand her veterinary clinic. In 2004 she used GROW SD’s Intermediary Relending Program (IRP...

Triumph Over Tragedy

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

When Antonio Perdue’s fiancé passed away, he knew his family’s living situation was about to change. Having moved here from Florida, he had no family in the area and no one to turn to for help. That’s when GROW South Dakota stepped in. Antonio worked with a counselor to complete paperwork for emergency services and temporary lodging. He received rental counseling from GROW South Dakota, which allowed him to find an affordable place to live. “That was when I knew my family and I will be okay, which was comforting support in that time of crisis.” Now Antonio and his famil...

Help and Healing

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Virginia Maas is no stranger to hard work. As a single parent, she worked an average of seventy hours a week while raising her son. She built her own home and worked hard to keep it in good condition over the years. Virginia took great pride in her work and raising her family. Then tragedy struck. Virginia was diagnosed with cancer. No longer being able to work, Virginia’s attitude toward life changed. Things she used to take for granted, like being able to fix just about anything when it broke, now became nearly impossible for her. She was forced to retir...

A Sense of Belonging

Monday, October 07, 2019

Waiting over forty years to buy a house for the first time is not something most people plan to do. However, Debi Lunbery realized that now was the time to make one of the biggest purchases in her life. Debi had a good job and felt a strong sense of belonging to her community. “I had some savings but didn’t feel comfortable with the amount I had. I wasn’t sure if it would be enough,” she explained. Through GROW South Dakota, Debi qualified for the down payment/closing cost assistance. She gained understanding of homeownership through the first time home buyers educatio...

Staying Home

Monday, October 07, 2019

Buying a house for the first time can be intimidating. No one knows that better than Allison Daly of Sioux Falls. Allison always planned to stay in her hometown but wasn’t sure if she was ready to make the leap to buying a home. Once she felt she was financially stable, Allison turned to GROW South Dakota to make her dream of owning a home a reality. The first time homebuyer education classes that she took from GROW South Dakota helped her understand the homebuying process from start to finish. Allison also qualified for down payment assistance to aid with the initia...

Grant Received to Support Veteran Home Improvement

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

GROW South Dakota has received a grant from the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) to support home improvements for low-income veterans in northeastern South Dakota. The $30,000 grant was made possible through generous support from The Home Depot Foundation and will allow GROW SD to make improvements to six homes. GROW SD has renovated and weatherized more than 9,300 homes in eastern South Dakota over the past four decades. In recent years, it has added a special focus on veteran households, with a goal of helping veterans make their homes safer, healthier, and more energy efficient. Through this program, dozens of Sout...

BIG IDEA COMPETITION OFFERS NEW AWARDS FOR 2019

Monday, August 12, 2019

by Kelly Weaver, Small Business Development Center Regional Director Youth! Entrepreneurship! Cash! Scholarships! These are the key ingredients in the 2019 BIG Idea Competition launching on September 1. High school students across South Dakota are invited to compete in this business idea competition where over $25,000 in cash and scholarships are awarded. Students will be able to submit their business idea applications online from September 1 until October 31, 2019. The online application as well as various resources and examples can be accessed at the BIG Idea website: www.BIGIdeaSD.com. For the optional marketing design competition, students can create an ad to suppor...

GROW SD Creates Homeowners

Thursday, July 18, 2019

GROW SD has been creating homeowners for over 50 years through a variety of services, such as pre-purchase counseling, homebuyer education, down payment assistance and direct mortgage lending. Many of our services are across the state of South Dakota. Our housing team has over 80 years of experience. GROW SD’s pre-purchase counseling and homebuyer education go hand-in-hand. Pre-purchase counseling offers a personalized approach to discussing the entire homeownership process with the customer; including setting up a personalized budget, debt and credit review, as well as reviewing financial products from various lenders. Homebuyer education covers the process for becoming a homeowner; fro...

GROW SD Receives Wells Fargo Grant for Homebuyer Education

Thursday, July 18, 2019

The Northeast South Dakota Community Action Program dba GROW South Dakota recently received a $7,500 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation’s Homeownership Counseling Grant Program to support homebuyer education and counseling. The Wells Fargo Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the GROW SD homebuyer education program. The grant will serve more than 125 participants who will receive homeownership counseling and financial education, which will help them to improve their credit scores, reduce personal debt and build their savings to reach the dream of buying a home. Participants will also learn how to build assets, access mainstream financial services, and gai...

Loans Available to New & Existing Businesses

Thursday, July 18, 2019

GROW South Dakota, (GROW SD) finances business development across the state of South Dakota. Business loans can be financed directly or in partnership with other local lenders. Partnerships with other lenders have proven to be a useful tool for economic development in the region. Lori Finnesand, GROW SD CEO, states, “GROW SD has funds available to lend to start-up or existing businesses. We can make smaller loans to individual businesses or partner with local banks on larger projects.” Loan funds may be used to purchase real estate, equipment, inventory, and/or working capital. Loan amounts typically range from $500 - $250,000. The amoun...

Journey toward Home Ownership

Tuesday, June 04, 2019

While beginning her journey towards home ownership, Amber Peters was first introduced to GROW South Dakota’s housing loan programs, through her first mortgage lender. “We did not know about the down payment assistance programs that GROW South Dakota had to offer, until our mortgage loan officer told us. She was able to initiate the process, in order for us to receive down payment assistance”, said Amber. Prior to purchasing her home, Amber had worked for several years to get her credit score where it needed to be, in order to secure financing for a home loan. “Money was very, very tight,&rdquo...

GROW SD Receives Over $1.4 Million in CDFI Funding

Thursday, October 04, 2018

GROW South Dakota was recently awarded $1.45 million from the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). GROW South Dakota and the Northeast South Dakota Economic Corporation (NESDEC), both of which are certified CDFIs, received the awards, which will expand their small business and first mortgage housing lending programs. The announcement came in September. GROW South Dakota received a grant of $950,000 in CDFI Financial Assistance funds, which will support its direct lending program for housing mortgages. Of the total, $250,000 will be directed to focus on South Dakota counties identified by the CDFI Fund as areas of persistent poverty. NESDE...

GROW SD Grant Supports Faulkton Elevator Mural

Monday, July 09, 2018

GROW South Dakota has received a grant that will support a unique mural going up in Faulkton this summer. Australian artist Guido van Helten, who has created large murals on public buildings around the world, will be painting images representative of the people of the Faulkton area on the grain elevator there. GROW SD received a grant from a Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) program meant to support arts and culture projects that help drive economic development. Van Helten was recruited to Faulkton to paint the Agtegra elevator in order to create a one-of-a-kind South Dakota artwork in the tow...

Unique Board Structure Guides GROW South Dakota

Monday, July 09, 2018

GROW South Dakota is not a typical nonprofit organization. Governing an affiliation of three separate, independent nonprofits with complementary missions and shared staff can be a challenge, but the boards of directors of the three agencies are up to the task. Each organization has its own board of directors. NESDCAP, founded as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, has a 15-member board, divided into groups serving from three sets of counties in the 17-county service area. By law, board members must represent low-income, private, or public official constituencies. NESDEC also has a 15-member board representing its 22-county service area...

News & Events

The GROW South Dakota Organizations Have had a Remarkable Few Years!