DAR Foundation launches new website

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Mary Chilton DAR Foundation is launching a fresh, new website that will allow grant-seekers to file applications online. The updated site also will provide up-to-date information about the activities of the nonprofit Foundation and its creator, the Mary Chilton Chapter NSDAR, which is an affiliate of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

“I think streamlining the grant process to enable people to complete applications online and click to submit them will make it easier for everyone who seeks a grant. It also will make it easier for us to review grant applications,” said Tamara Noordermeer, president of the DAR Foundation Board of Directors. “I think it will be great.”

The address of the Foundation’s new website is mcdarfoundation.org. The former address was dar-marychiltonfoundation.org. The new website will be operational Feb. 1, 2025.

In addition to grant information and DAR-related news, the Foundation’s new website will include helpful information, such as DAR history and a link to the Chapter’s website. The DAR Foundation assists the Chapter by administering its investments and grant-giving activities.

DAR grants help nonprofit organizations as well as civic and educational causes in Sioux Falls and throughout South Dakota.

In 2024, the Foundation and Chapter awarded nearly $200,000 in grants. The awards included a special, annual, Dorothy Day Davenport Grant for $50,000, which was presented to the Promising Futures Fund for a school literacy project. July 1 is the deadline for applications for the next Davenport Grant.

DAR also regularly commits $15,000 annually to the Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation to assist first-year teachers and help fund student projects.

Other DAR awards in 2024 included more than $122,000 in Regular Grants and nearly $8,000 in Mini Grants. The DAR Foundation awards Regular Grants for $1,000 to $15,000 three times a year and Mini Grants for up to $1,000 every two months. (See the website for grant criteria.)

The new website will streamline and simplify the entire grant process, said Aaron Levisay, a member of the DAR Foundation’s Board of Directors and its Marketing Task Force.

“I think it will really help make the bridge to younger people, especially. Now that the process is going online, people will be able to submit applications from their smartphones,” he said.

The conversion to an updated website is timely, too, Levisay said. With the 250th anniversary of the United States coming July 4, 2026, the nation is beginning to make celebration plans. The local and state chapters of DAR will be among the organizations participating in the celebration.

The Foundation’s new website was built by Nicholas Levisay, a freelance website designer in Sioux Falls and Aaron’s son.

“I tried to make the site visually appealing to readers,” Nicholas Levisay said. “It will let people know about the great work that DAR does.”

Michelle McElroy, DAR Chapter regent and a member of DAR Foundation Board, said the update should help the organization generate more, good applications for grants to help preserve American history, assist and recognize U.S. veterans, and provide students more and better opportunities to learn.

“I’m excited that the website will provide a more impactful way for people to visualize their projects and encourage them that grants are something they should apply for,” McElroy said. “I’m also hoping this will highlight all the great things that DAR grants do.”

For more information, please email us at info@mcdarfoundation.org

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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 of $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.