South Dakota · Nonprofit
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION (South Dakota) receives grants from 99 organizations whose IRS filings report $34,539,210 to it, the largest being SANFORD GROUP RETURN ($19,388,579). 55 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $38M
- Funders on record
- 99
- Grants received
- $35M
- Net assets
- $349M
What University of South Dakota Foundation does
Mission
To provide private resources for the university of south dakota to increase the excellence of its students' educational experience.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Provide scholarship funds to increase the academic excellence of the student body and the quality of their educational experience. Scholarships are awarded for both recruiting and retention purposes. $12.3 million and $11.1 million in scholarships were awarded as of december 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. This level of funding represents an increase of 30.3% over the last 5 years.
$12,348,296 spentof which $12,348,296 as grants$1,436,212 earned by the program46% of program spendingProvide funds to construct new campus facilities and restore, repair and maintain existing facilities. The foundation has been instrumental in a major renovation and reconstruction plan for facilities at usd. Since 1996, $119.0 million has been provided for facilities that haveenhanced the students' educational experience and opportunities.
$7,747,906 spentof which $7,747,906 as grants29% of program spendingProvide funds to support academic faculty through salary augmentation, research and professional development, support of student travel and research, and support of usd museums and various auxiliary programs. In 2024, $6.4 million was provided to support these needs.
$6,425,919 spentof which $6,425,919 as grants24% of program spendingProvide funds to support scholarship and various programs at other organizations. In 2024, $78.1 thousand was provided to support these needs.
$78,058 spentof which $78,058 as grants0% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $26,600,179.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $299M to $353M (+18%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
56% of UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (23% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Kevin Doyle
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 23 funders to 46 funders, grant income rose $3.6M → $5.0M.
33 of 99 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 18% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $263k from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Alumni Association of the University of South Dakota). These are real filings, and they are not money UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION raised.
From the IRS filings of UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 99 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 56% of grant income and the top three 68%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
81% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 74% · 2018 40% · 2019 57% · 2020 55% · 2021 37% · 2022 68% · 2023 69% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
46% of UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 56% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
89% of UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION's grant income comes from South Dakota funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6.1M arriving through sponsors registered in 20 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 4,065 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,065 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In South Dakota
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
79% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
66%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 17 states
Part of a family of 4 related entities
- Usdf LLC · disregarded
- Usdf2 LLC · disregarded
- Charitable Remainder Trusts (12) · corp_trust
- Charitable Lead Trusts (3) · corp_trust
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION?
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION (South Dakota) receives grants from 99 organizations whose IRS filings report $34,539,210 to it, the largest being SANFORD GROUP RETURN ($19,388,579). 55 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 99 organizations giving $34,539,210 in grants to UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION, 55 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION?
- SANFORD GROUP RETURN is the largest funder on record, with $19,388,579 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in South Dakota. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 99 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing