Larson Foundation

The Larson Foundation is a tightly family-controlled private foundation with deeply personal roots in South Dakota. Established in 1990 by Dale Larson — then CEO and President of Larson Manufacturing Company in Brookings — the foundation was created as the Larson family's vehicle for returning community investment to the state that sustained their business success. Dale Larson serves as President, his daughter Maree Larson as Vice President, and Carmelle Jackson as Secretary. Day-to-day administration is handled through Sawmill Trust (laura@sawmilltrust.com), a professional philanthropic advisory firm. This is not a large-staff foundation with program officers; it is a small, values-driven family operation.

This family character shapes everything about how the foundation gives. The Larson Foundation is not a program-driven funder with formal rubrics or competitive open grants. It operates as a values-aligned funder that rewards organizations demonstrating genuine South Dakota community need and responsible stewardship of support over time. The grantee record bears this out: Cheyenne River Youth Project (3 separate grants), First Peoples Fund (3 grants), The Wholeness Center (3 grants), Volunteer Service Bank (3 grants), Boys & Girls Clubs in multiple cities (recurring), and Brookings Area Habitat for Humanity (2 grants totaling $280K) — these are organizations with established track records and ongoing relationships, not one-time recipients.

The board meets twice yearly in May and November, establishing a two-cycle annual rhythm. LOIs submitted between January 2–February 15 feed into the May board review; LOIs submitted July 2–August 15 feed into the November review. Only organizations whose LOIs pass initial review receive invitations to submit full Grant Request Forms, due March 1 or September 1 respectively.

First-time applicants should approach the LOI as an introduction to a relationship, not a grant transaction. The foundation consistently deepens support with proven organizations before making larger commitments. Starting with a modest, tightly scoped request — directly aligned to food, shelter, clothing, education, or youth development — is the recommended entry point. Avoid advocacy, systems-change, or policy-reform framing; the Larson Foundation supports hands-on, direct-service work serving South Dakotans.

The Larson Foundation's grantmaking operates in two distinct modes: a signature transformative investment and a consistent community grant portfolio. The signature investment is the Larson Foundation Scholarship at South Dakota State University — $25.56 million across two recorded disbursements — one of the largest private scholarship endowments in South Dakota's history. Excluding this outlier, the foundation has distributed approximately $4.63 million across 85 community grants recorded in IRS filings, averaging roughly $54,500 per grantee relationship across multi-year totals.

For a single award cycle, the foundation's stated grant range is $800 to $100,000, with an average of approximately $25,000. Annual grantmaking has been consistent in recent years: $2.33 million paid in 2023, $2.08 million in 2022, $1.90 million in 2020, and $1.71 million in 2019. The exceptional 2021 figure ($14.14 million) reflects the SDSU scholarship disbursement, not routine operations. The foundation's asset base of $22.7 million (2023) generates net investment income of $2.43 million annually, fully funding the grant portfolio without reliance on new contributions — a model that produces stable, predictable annual giving capacity.

By program area, human services dominates the community grant portfolio. Domestic violence and emergency assistance organizations — SD Network Against Family Violence & Sexual Assault ($145K), Working Against Violence Inc ($120K), Mitchell Area Safehouse ($40K), WAVI ($30K) — represent a substantial cluster. Youth development through Boys & Girls Clubs spans multiple chapters: Northern Plains ($260K), Rosebud ($150K + $75K separately), Moody County ($130K), and Rapid City ($30K). Food security grantees including The Banquet ($40K), Bishop Dudley Hospitality House ($30K), and Native American Community Board ($58K combined) cluster in the $25,000–$40,000 range.

Education grants outside the SDSU endowment include Red Cloud Indian School ($100K), Lakota Waldorf School ($100K), and Sioux Falls Public Schools ($10K). Health prevention organizations include Avera McKennan ($75K) and The Wholeness Center ($30K across 3 grants). Cultural enrichment includes Black Hills Playhouse ($100K across 2 grants), SD Humanities Council ($40K), and Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society ($15K). Geographically, 100% of grants are South Dakota-only, concentrated in Brookings (the Larson home community), Sioux Falls, and reservation-area organizations statewide.

(Peer assets and giving are approximate, drawn from publicly available foundation reports and aggregator data.)

The Larson Foundation occupies a distinct niche among South Dakota funders. It is mid-sized by state standards but operates with greater geographic and mission focus than larger regional funders. Its defining constraint — South Dakota 501(c)(3)s only, invitation-only full applications, maximum $100,000 per grant — makes it less accessible than the South Dakota Community Foundation or Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, which run open competitive cycles with standardized online portals. Compared to the Bush Foundation or Otto Bremer Trust, which prioritize systems change and leadership development, the Larson Foundation is resolutely direct-service and needs-based in its orientation. Organizations that apply successfully to regional open-cycle funders should significantly reframe their language for Larson: emphasize South Dakota community presence, direct service to food/shelter/education needs, and connection to the state's rural and reservation communities rather than advocacy or policy impact narratives.

The most significant operational change in recent years is the Larson Foundation's transition from the eGrant online submission platform to fillable PDF forms, effective January 2025. The eGrant system was discontinued by its developer as of December 31, 2024. Returning applicants who used the online portal in prior years must now contact laura@sawmilltrust.com directly to obtain current forms — this represents a meaningful procedural shift that applicants should verify before each LOI window.

The foundation's largest recorded investment remains the Larson Foundation Scholarship at South Dakota State University in Brookings — a multi-disbursement commitment totaling $25.56 million across two grants recorded in IRS data, establishing one of the most significant private scholarship endowments in SDSU's history and reflecting the Larson family's deep commitment to higher education in their home city.

The Larson family is also credited as a founding contributor to the Children's Museum of South Dakota in Brookings, indicating a long-term appetite for capital and institutional infrastructure investments beyond routine annual program grants. A documented 25% match to the United Way of Brookings' $1.1 million campaign reinforces the foundation's role as a lead institutional backer for Brookings community organizations.

Leadership remains stable: Dale Larson (President), Maree Larson (Vice President), and Carmelle Jackson (Secretary) continue in their roles as of the most recent available IRS filing (FY2023). Officer compensation was $60,000 in 2023 (up from $0 in prior years), suggesting modest changes in administrative structure. No public leadership transition announcements have been identified for 2025 or 2026.

Lead with the LOI — it is the entire gate. The Larson Foundation does not accept unsolicited full applications. The Letter of Inquiry is reviewed first; only organizations the foundation selects are invited to submit a Grant Request Form. Every word of the LOI should earn the next conversation. Keep it concise — 1 to 2 pages — and front-load your South Dakota community impact.

Use the foundation's own language. Dale Larson described the foundation's mission as helping 'South Dakotans achieve a better quality of life.' Mirror this framing. Reference specific South Dakota communities, counties, or reservations your organization serves. Avoid program jargon, national frameworks, or theory-of-change language that could read as disconnected from the state.

Size your first request modestly. The foundation's documented average grant is $25,000. Top community grantees — Habitat for Humanity ($280K total), Boys & Girls Clubs ($260K total) — built those totals over multiple grant cycles. First-time applicants should target $10,000–$40,000 for a defined program component, not a general operating request.

Budget for direct program costs only. The foundation explicitly excludes rent, utilities, and administrative salaries. Build a program-only budget with every line item tied directly to service delivery — food procurement, staff delivering direct services, supplies. Including overhead will likely disqualify the application.

Time your submission precisely. LOI windows are fixed: January 2–February 15 and July 2–August 15, both closing at midnight CT. Full applications (if invited) are due March 1 or September 1, also at midnight CT. In 2025, the foundation switched to fillable PDF forms — contact laura@sawmilltrust.com at least two weeks before your target window to request the current form. Do not assume the form from a prior cycle is still current.

Do not apply during your reapplication blackout. Organizations that received a grant must wait one full year before submitting a new LOI. Plan your funding calendar accordingly and use the off-year to build the relationship informally.

Ineligible requests to avoid: individual scholarships, loans, debt reduction, fundraising event sponsorships, economic development projects, medical or assisted-living facilities (health prevention programs are acceptable), and any organization whose primary office is outside South Dakota.