GROW South Dakota and the NeighborWorks Dakota Coalition Strengthen Rural Communities

GROW South Dakota and the NeighborWorks Dakota Coalition Strengthen Rural Communities

GROW South Dakota is working with nonprofit organizations across South Dakota and North Dakota through the NeighborWorks Dakota Coalition, an initiative focused on strengthening rural communities through housing, community and economic development, access to capital, and organizational capacity. The Dakota Coalition members are NeighborWorks Dakota Home Resources, Lakota Funds, Lewis and Clark Development Group, and GROW South Dakota. These organizations come together to exchange expertise, identify common challenges, and develop approaches that can benefit communities across the Dakotas.

“Rural communities are facing challenges that no one organization can solve alone,” said Marcia Erickson, CEO of GROW South Dakota. “The Dakota Coalition allows organizations to learn from one another, build capacity, and identify practical ways to better serve the communities where we live and work.”

The Coalition focuses on three primary areas: building partnerships, providing peer-to-peer learning, and identifying funding and investment opportunities that support affordable housing, community, and economic development.

Housing affordability and access to capital remain significant concerns in many rural communities. Limited housing inventory, rising construction costs, financing challenges, and limited local resources can make it difficult to meet the needs of residents and businesses. Coalition members are exploring strategies to expand homeownership and business opportunities, support development, and improve access to financing.

The Dakota Coalition also provides a platform for identifying funding and investment opportunities. By representing organizations serving rural communities across the Dakotas, the Coalition can help highlight needs and demonstrate the capacity already in place to address them. 

The initiative builds on the philosophy and support of NeighborWorks America, which helps organizations strengthen their operations, develop partnerships, and increase their impact in communities.

For GROW South Dakota, participation in the Dakota Coalition supports its mission to grow sustainable communities through housing, community, and economic development. “The needs of rural communities will continue to change,” Erickson said. “Having partnerships across the Dakotas puts us in a better position to respond.”