COVID-19 Impact on South Dakota Nonprofits

In early 2020 the Covid-19 spread across the globe, affecting nearly all aspects of life.

The full effects of Covid-19 are still unknown, but the immediate and medium-term effects on the health and wealth of the nation and South Dakota have been significant.

A group of collaborative funders commissioned this analysis to help them understand how to effectively support nonprofits so that they could continue to meet community needs across the state.

Benchmark Data Labs surveyed nonprofits across South Dakota in April 2020 to gather real-time data on non-profit revenues, payroll, work environment and demand for services. Benchmark conducted a follow-up survey in October 2020 to gather additional data and understand the medium-term effects of Covid-19. The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic forced many changes upon South Dakota’s nonprofits.

In most cases nonprofits are facing increased demand for existing or alternative services while simultaneously dealing with limited capacity and declining revenues. As pandemic pressures mount, these systems will likely become even more fragile than reported in the survey.

  • Changing demand for services
  • Limited capacity to serve mission
  • Need for flexible financial assistance

The following dashboard summarizes all data collected for round 2 of the survey.