DAR Foundation $50,000 2026 grant deadline is May 1.
12/17/2025
The deadline to apply for the next $50,000 grant from the Mary Chilton DAR Foundation is May 1, 2026..
The Dorothy Day Davenport Grant will award funds to a Sioux Falls-based organization to make the city a better place through a project related to patriotism, historic preservation, or education. Applications are due on July 1, and the chosen grantee will be announced in mid July.
The range for Regular Grants issued throughout the year is $1,000 to $15,000. Applications for Regular Grants are accepted all year and are awarded three times a year. Mini-Grants for amounts up to $1,000 are awarded six times a year.
“Several years ago, the Foundation decided to begin awarding the larger Dorothy Day Davenport grant to allow us to provide a greater impact specifically to a Sioux Falls-based organization,” Tammy Noordermeer, DAR Foundation president, said. “We look for organizations who provide us with detailed information about their project and how the funds from this grant will be applied to specific expenses the organization expects to incur.”
The grant honors the legacy of Dorothy Day Davenport, a founding member of the Mary Chilton Chapter of DAR, which is short for Daughters of the American Revolution. Her gift to the local DAR chapter led to the creation of the DAR Foundation in 1987. Ms. Davenport wanted to "make Sioux Falls a better and happier place" through her financial support of DAR's mission. The DAR Foundation's creation of the annual Davenport Grant helps honor her desire.
All DAR Foundation grants must go towards projects related to patriotism, historic preservation, or education and are available to nonprofit and governmental organizations throughout South Dakota.
About Mary Chilton, Dorothy Day Davenport, Mary Chilton Chapter NSDAR, and Mary Chilton DAR Foundation
The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) is a charitable organization established in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism.
The Sioux Falls Chapter’s namesake, Mary Chilton, was a passenger aboard the Mayflower and is believed to have been the first European woman to step ashore at Plymouth Rock in 1620.
Dorothy Day Davenport was an original founding member of the Mary Chilton Chapter in 1915. Mrs. Davenport’s later bequest to the Chapter made possible the formation of its Foundation in 1987. The Foundation administers grants made possible by Mrs. Davenport’s gift. Members of the Mary Chilton Chapter have an ancestral connection to the men and women who had a patriotic role in the American Revolution.
Since 1987, the Mary Chilton DAR Foundation has made over 500 grant awards totaling more than $3 million. These awards have had a significant impact on local and statewide initiatives. They also have helped preserve South Dakota’s pioneer spirit and democratic past, honored veterans, and expanded educational horizons for students and others.