Black Hills Area Community Foundation

What Black Hills Area Community Foundation does

Black Hills Area Community Foundation (BHACF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community foundation established in 2006 and headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota, serving the seven-county Black Hills region (Butte, Meade, Lawrence, Pennington, Custer, Oglala Lakota, and Fall River counties). It operates as the only community foundation solely dedicated to the Black Hills, managing over $100 million in assets and deploying more than $75 million in cumulative charitable investment since inception, including $7.9 million in 2025 alone. The foundation runs a unified platform of philanthropic products and services spanning Donor Advised Funds, multiple grants programs (Community Action, Capacity Building, Youth Philanthropy), scholarships, Legacy Giving, and Giving Circles, alongside strategic initiatives in affordable housing (Strategic Housing Initiative), environmental stewardship (Beautiful Black Hills), community-driven funding (Thriving Communities), and K–12 college savings (Trailhead Scholars).

BHACF is governed by a 14-member board of directors and supported by a lean staff of 5–11 employees organized across philanthropy, operations, community impact, strategic communications, and a dedicated strategic housing function. Its technology footprint is intentionally narrow: FCSuite powers online donations, fund advisor access, and grant management; My529 underpins the Trailhead Scholars 529 college savings accounts. There is no proprietary technology product. Distribution is multi-channel — walk-in office, online portals, quarterly newsletter, social media, community surveys, giving-circle events, and a financial-advisor referral network — and is regionally constrained to the Black Hills.

The business model is a fee- and donation-based nonprofit operating model. Core revenue derives from charitable contributions (individuals, families, businesses, partner foundations), with management fees on donor-advised, agency, and other funds supporting operating costs and enabling continued grantmaking. Recipients (nonprofits, students, housing developers, community programs) do not pay for grants or scholarships, while online donations incur standard merchant processing fees. Recent strategic positioning — including a $30 million Congressional Directed Spending award administered through HUD for affordable housing trust funds (2024) and a $500,000 Helmsley Charitable Trust endowment for the Beautiful Black Hills Initiative (2026) — reflects a deliberate shift toward larger institutional capital deployment and crisis-response programming alongside traditional community grantmaking.

Name

Black Hills Area Community Foundation

Legal name

Black Hills Area Community Foundation

Website

https://bhacf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Black Hills Area Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) community foundation managing over $100 million in assets to serve nonprofits, donors, students, and housing developers across the seven-county Black Hills region of South Dakota through grants, scholarships, donor-advised funds, and strategic initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation / Philanthropic Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Donor advised funds
• Charitable grantmaking
• Scholarship administration
• Affordable housing financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Rapid City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, BHACF generates revenue primarily through donations from individuals, families, businesses, and other foundations. Donors contribute to various fund types including Donor Advised Funds, agency endowments, and designated funds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Black Hills Area Community Foundation is a regional community foundation that manages charitable funds on behalf of individual donors, families, businesses, and nonprofit organizations, and redistributes those funds as grants, scholarships, fiscal sponsorships, and affordable housing loans across the seven-county Black Hills region of South Dakota. It also designs and operates strategic community initiatives (affordable housing, environmental stewardship, food security, education savings) and provides donor services such as Donor Advised Funds, Legacy Giving, Giving Circles, and endowment management.

Product overview

Black Hills Area Community Foundation operates as a community foundation offering a unified platform of philanthropic products and services. Core offerings include Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) for flexible giving, multiple Grants Programs (Community Action Grants, Capacity Building Grants, Youth Philanthropy Grants), Scholarships for students, Legacy Giving tools, and Giving Circles for collective giving. Strategic initiatives include the Strategic Housing Initiative (affordable housing trust funds), Beautiful Black Hills Initiative (environmental stewardship), Thriving Communities Initiative (community-driven investment), and Trailhead Scholars (education savings program). Add-on services include Individually Managed Funds for larger accounts and Agency Endowments for nonprofits. All services are accessible through online portals and guided by BHACF's Giving Team.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Beautiful Black Hills Fund: A fund supporting healthy outdoor spaces, recreation, and community building in the Black Hills region
• Strategic Housing Initiative
• Thriving Communities Initiative
• Trailhead Scholars
• Black Hills Food Response Fund
• GenerosiTEA

Products and services

• Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) Flexible giving accounts allowing donors to contribute charitable assets, receive tax deductions, and recommend grants to nonprofits over time. Fundholders access accounts through an online portal and receive guidance from BHACF's Giving Team. Targeted at individual donors, families, and businesses seeking tax-advantaged, locally directed giving.
• Grants Programs A portfolio of grant programs for Black Hills nonprofits, including Community Action Grants ($20,000–$50,000, with five additional $20,000 grants announced for 2026), Capacity Building Grants ($5,000–$10,000), Youth Philanthropy Grants ($2,500), and Margaret Warren Animal Welfare Grants ($5,000). Applications are submitted through an online portal.
• Scholarships Multiple scholarship funds for Black Hills students pursuing postsecondary education or workforce certification, including workforce development, memorial, and school-specific scholarships ranging from $500 to $7,500. Administered on behalf of donors and community funds for student recipients across the region.
• Strategic Housing Initiative Initiative advancing affordable housing through Strategic Housing Trust Funds that provide flexible gap financing for developers and operators to create or retain below-market-rate housing units across the Black Hills region. Designed for housing developers, project sponsors, and nonprofit housing operators.
• Beautiful Black Hills Initiative
• Thriving Communities Initiative
• Legacy Giving Estate planning tools enabling donors to name a BHACF fund as a beneficiary and outline charitable wishes in a one-page Legacy MOU that can be updated without redoing the donor's estate plan. Targeted at individuals and families planning multi-generational philanthropic impact.
• Giving Circles Group giving programs including Northern Hills by Choice and Southern Hills by Choice in which members pool funds and collectively vote on nonprofit grants within their communities. Designed for individuals seeking collaborative, locally directed philanthropy.
• Food Security Response Fund Emergency response fund activated to help local nonprofits respond to food assistance needs, with dollar-for-dollar matching up to $50,000. Deployed amid federal SNAP disruptions in partnership with Feeding South Dakota and other regional food programs.
• Trailhead Scholars
• Individually Managed Funds Service for donor accounts above $150,000 that allows donors to keep funds invested with their existing financial advisors rather than BHACF's central wealth pool. Targeted at larger donor accounts seeking customized investment management alongside charitable giving.
• Agency Endowments Endowment funds managed by BHACF on behalf of local nonprofits, with a 25% match up to $20,000 available through BHACF's endowment matching program. Designed for nonprofits seeking long-term endowment stewardship and matching capital.

Quantifiable outcome

• $75 million+ invested in Black Hills since 2006
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• John T. Vucurevich FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2025Joint fund launch with BHACF for the Sustaining Black Hills Nonprofits Fund to offer short-term bridge funding for nonprofits facing disruptions due to shifts in federal priorities. Both foundations are contributing resources and coordinating response.
• U.S. Senator Mike RoundsflagshipOthers · 12 August 2024Senator Rounds secured $30 million in Congressional Directed Spending through the 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act for affordable housing trust funds across the Black Hills region.
• South Dakota Ellsworth Development AuthorityflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2024Authority receives the $30 million federal award and partners with BHACF to deploy funding through locally-led housing trust funds for Black Hills communities, addressing housing needs related to B-21 Raider bomber program at Ellsworth Air Force Base.
• Augustana Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted the Food Security Needs Assessment of Rapid City in 2024 for BHACF, identifying key barriers to food access and recommendations for community investment.
• Elevate Rapid CitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in Strategic Housing Initiative; provides housing data and dashboard resources; collaborates on addressing housing challenges in Rapid City.
• City of Rapid CitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Strategic Housing Initiative working to advance affordable housing for low-to-moderate income households in Rapid City.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBHACF is working with HUD to finalize the process for receiving $30 million in federal dollars for affordable housing across the Black Hills region.
• Council on FoundationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Chris Huber participated in Foundations on the Hill in partnership with Council on Foundations staff to engage with policymakers.
• Sage & Cedar Herbal Tea CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to create GenerosiTEA signature blend; each purchase supports Northern Hills nonprofits, with proceeds supporting Beautify Spearfish initially.
• Partridge FinancialminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFinancial advisor Jeff Partridge actively partners with BHACF to align clients' financial and charitable goals through Donor Advised Funds and giving plans.
• Journey MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBHACF facilitated merger between Journey Museum and Black Hills Historical Society at no cost; coordinated $500,000 donor challenge grant for endowment.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Northwest Minnesota Foundation: Regional community foundation serving northwest Minnesota with similar grantmaking, DAFs, and rural community programs. Direct peer with comparable small-staff operating model.
• Wyoming Community Foundation: Wyoming-based community foundation offering DAFs, scholarships, and statewide grantmaking. Direct peer with comparable rural footprint and asset scale.
• Idaho Community Foundation: Statewide Idaho community foundation offering similar donor advised funds, scholarships, and regional grantmaking. Comparable in mission, scale, and rural community service model.
• Montana Community Foundation: Statewide community foundation in Montana operating with comparable rural-focused grantmaking, endowments, and donor services. Regional peer with similar scale and rural geography.
• North Dakota Community Foundation: Statewide community foundation in North Dakota with similar DAF, scholarship, and nonprofit endowment programs. Comparable in mission and rural geographic orientation.
• Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation: Community foundation serving the Sioux Falls region of South Dakota. Direct peer offering similar DAFs, grants, and scholarships in the same state with overlapping donor pools.
• Nebraska Community Foundation: Nebraska-focused community foundation with affiliated funds across rural communities. Direct peer with comparable rural network model and grantmaking approach.
• South Dakota Community Foundation: Statewide community foundation serving South Dakota with comparable grantmaking, donor advised funds, and scholarship programs. Direct peer operating in the same state with overlapping donor and nonprofit networks.

Others

• Council on Foundations: National membership organization for community foundations and grantmakers. Not a direct competitor but BHACF's CEO participates in Council on Foundations' Foundations on the Hill advocacy events, making it a relevant ecosystem peer and sector association.

Broad incumbents

• Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines: Larger Iowa-based community foundation offering comprehensive DAFs, scholarships, and grantmaking. Broad incumbent with similar product suite but greater scale and urban donor base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BlackHillsAreaCommunityFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackhillsareacommunityfoundation

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Black Hills Area Community Foundation