South Dakota Community Foundation Awards $15,000 to
South Dakota Historical Society Foundation

The South Dakota Community Foundation selected South Dakota Historical Society Foundation to receive a $15,000 grant for its Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Edition Book project. This grant was presented through the South Dakota Community Foundation’s South Dakota Fund Grant program.

“The Pioneer Girl Project has been a wonderful success for the South Dakota State Historical Society Press, says Michael Lewis, President of the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation. “The support from the South Dakota Community Foundation will ensure that the book is available to a wider audience and that the short term expenses of the project can be paid and reduce the financing expense of the project. This grant is a wonderful way to make a memorable impact on promoting and recognizing the history of Laura Ingalls Wilder.”

The South Dakota State Historical Society Press has successfully negotiated the worldwide, exclusive rights to publish Laura Ingalls Wilder's Pioneer Girl. Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Edition will make Laura Ingalls Wilder’s unpublished autobiographical manuscript available to the public for the first time. This handwritten autobiography formed the foundation of the Little House series for which Wilder has become so well loved. Pamela Smith Hill, the award-winning author of Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life, will annotate Wilder’s original text, providing historical context and commentary, plus two essays setting the work within the paradigm of Wilder’s children’s stories. Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Edition will bring to light Wilder’s last remaining unpublished work.

“This grant will enable the South Dakota State Historical Press to continue printing books and receiving national attention and praise,” says Ginger Niemann, program officer at the South Dakota Community Foundation. “The South Dakota Community Foundation is pleased to be a partner on this important project.”

Since 1987, the South Dakota Community Foundation has helped people reach their philanthropic goals and strengthened communities across the state. The SDCF administers over $230 million in assets for more than 700 endowed funds. By commingling endowed assets, the SDCF gives its partners enhanced investment opportunities that provide long-term support to charitable causes. Last year, the SDCF distributed more than $7 million in grants to nonprofits through the funds it manages. The South Dakota Fund, which distributes grants to meet vital and diverse needs, awarded more than $468,000 to charities in 2014. For more information, visit SDCommunityFoundation.org/grants