City Selects Community Partners Program Recipients

Published on December 19, 2025

The City of Sioux Falls has selected 10 local organizations that will receive funding through its new Community Partners Program. The program, established this year during the city’s annual budget process, is a new way for organizations in the community to apply for city funding to address three priority areas: supporting at-risk populations; expanding culture, arts, and community programming; and strengthening economic vitality and growth. The funding is allocated through a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process.

The selected organizations for each priority area include:

At-Risk Populations

  • Bishop Dudley Hospitality House
  • East River Legal Services
  • Solace
  • St. Francis House

Culture, Arts, and Community Programming

  • Levitt at the Falls
  • Reach Literacy
  • Sculpture Walk Sioux Falls
  • Sioux Empire Community Theatre (The Premier Playhouse)

Economic Vitality and Growth

  • Downtown Sioux Falls Inc.
  • Sioux Falls Development Foundation

“We have great organizations doing tremendous work across Sioux Falls, and we thank everyone who applied for the Community Partners Program,” said Shawn Pritchett, the city’s finance director. “The city relies on outside organizations to help address priority areas in the community. Through this new program, we can build even stronger partnerships and demonstrate measurable impact to these areas.”

The Community Partners Program transitioned community funding requests from traditional subsidy agreements approved through the city’s annual budgeting process to a structured RFP process. The change establishes a consistent and transparent process for evaluating funding requests and awarding contracts to organizations best positioned to serve community needs. The new process also standardizes how program proposals are reviewed and ensures that funding decisions align with city priorities.

As part of the formal RFP process, the next step is for the city to negotiate contracts with each organization. Once those are finalized, they will go to the Sioux Falls City Council for approval. Contract details, including funding amounts specific to each organization and reporting metrics, would be made public at that time.

Funding amounts for each priority area include: $450,000 for at-risk populations, $300,000 for culture, arts, and community programming and $900,000 for economic vitality and growth. Organizations will receive funding in 2026 with the option to renew for one year in 2027, if contract terms are met and budget is approved by city council. The Community Partners Program will reopen again in 2027 for the 2028-29 funding cycle.

For more information about the program, including descriptions of each priority area, visit siouxfalls.gov/communitypartners.

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