Simplified: Sioux Falls Thrive has been focused on ensuring kids have everything they need to be successful from cradle to career for the last seven years. The nonprofit shuttered this week, but here's a look at many of the initiatives that'll continue to benefit kids in the community for years to come.
Why it matters
- Sioux Falls Thrive was created in 2017 with the goal of preparing the future workforce of Sioux Falls by making sure kids were hitting milestones like being ready for kindergarten, reading by third grade and graduating high school.
- That also meant making sure those kids have access to stable housing, appropriate child care and reliable access to food.
- From the outset, Thrive was never intended to be in charge of a bunch of programs. Rather, the goal was to lead the charge on collaboration and create systems to encourage various entities to work together through collective action.
- But as federal funding for nonprofits diminishes, donor behaviors are changing to fit more of the immediate needs rather than invest in long-range thinking and systems-building, Thrive President Michelle Erpenbach said, and without donor support, Thrive's board made the decision to close.
"That’s long-term, upstream, really, really important work, but right now, we just need to make sure those kids are fed tomorrow," Erpenbach said. "Everything that’s happening nationally is impacting us locally, and I think you’re going to see that we’re not the only ones."
Tell me more about Sioux Falls Thrive
The organization started as a joint effort between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, Sioux Falls Development Foundation, Sioux Empire United Way, the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation and Forward Sioux Falls.
Over the years, Sioux Falls Thrive has started a number of projects related to its three key priority areas: housing, after-school care and food insecurity.
After-school care
KidLink was one of Thrive's earliest successes. The neighborhood-based after-school program for kids laid the foundation for the Community Learning Centers now found at every elementary school in the Sioux Falls School District.
- Thrive also founded Sioux Falls Youth Connect, a website now run by Health Connect that connects families with extracurricular activities for kids.
Thrive also led more than a year of community conversations about addressing the childcare crisis. That included a detailed, 97-page report offering dozens of possible solutions to ease the burden on parents and childcare providers.
Megan Raposa
Food
In addressing food insecurity, Thrive launched the Eat Well Mobile Market, which brought fresh, affordable groceries directly to neighborhoods in food deserts. While the market in its most recent iteration closed this summer, its board of directors is still actively working to find a more efficient model to bring it back.
Thrive also helped facilitate Food Rescue 605, an effort to glean and process produce that would otherwise have gone to waste.
Housing
Thrive's housing team created a Community Housing Education Course and Resource Fair to give families an accessible opportunity to learn about paths to homeownerships and connect with resources.
Thrive also helped spur conversations about the value of a housing trust fund, something that's now in the stated goals of the next Forward Sioux Falls plan.
What happens next?
Sioux Falls Thrive has officially closed as of Tuesday, but many of the programs listed above will continue – including Food Rescue 605, Sioux Falls Youth Connect, and housing education programming.
And as for the future? Erpenbach said she's optimistic people will find new ways to spur collective action without Thrive to lead the charge.
"Thrive really helped us see that we can accomplish great things by working together," she said. "So, my advice to those folks that are sad about this is to look for those passion projects, those things that really matter to you. ... Put your time, talent and treasure for those passions. Don't just say, 'Oh, I wish I had time.' Do it."
