Connection, capital, and leadership development for rural economic development.
Hi. We’re Dakota Resources. We believe rural communities can thrive.
Rural communities thrive when local economic development organizations (EDOs) are strong. The EDOs we work with tell us the same thing again and again: they need deeper connections, more flexible capital, and stronger leadership.
To accomplish our mission, we partner with mission-focused funders and community-minded for-profit businesses to help expand their reach to rural places. Our work has focused on connecting those partners with the rural places they want to see thrive.
For Economic Development Organizations:
For Partners:
Include
Connect
Inspire
Empower
Celebrate
Our Approach
We shape a path of support for EDOs.
Rural economic development organizations are underserved and face many challenges. They often can’t access flexible capital, causing the organization to struggle moving community-based projects forward, attract investment, or sustain economic growth. These organizations are often isolated from peer organizations, partners, and innovative ideas. Internally, rural economic development organizations can lack strong boards, skilled leaders, inclusive practices, and a broad view of rural development. Through our years of experience, Dakota Resources has seen that when rural economic development organizations thrive, rural communities thrive.
Dakota Resources is an intermediary serving rural economic development organizations. What sets us apart from other nonprofits is our focus on strengthening capacity in three essential areas at the same time: connection and collaboration, financial capacity building, and leadership capacity building.
We help rural EDOs strengthen their organizations in four main ways, shaping a path through all four that begins wherever they are most ready.
Flexible Financing
As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), we aggregate capital from mission-focused funders and lend it directly to EDOs in ways that provide liquidity without tying up collateral or restricting uses. EDOs are able to develop projects and businesses in a way that meets the community’s most pressing needs.
Leadership Coaching
We work with EDOs to understand where their capacity is and help them develop a plan to grow it. Our facilitation and leadership development coaching focuses on strengthening organizational operations, empower leaders with skills and knowledge, growing board capacity, and accessing capital and other resources.
Collaborative Networks
We connect economic development leaders and organizations in peer-to-peer networks that break down isolation, build trust, and accelerate learning. The network is designed to help build the confidence and skills of the leader, giving them access to learning opportunities and outside resources that help them solve problems together.
Impact
We are storytellers.
The heart of our work are the leaders, organizations, and communities that we impact. This can look like the impact numbers behind
our work, the experiences of our program participants in their own words, or a deep-dive story about the work we are involved in.
$83,000,000+
in loans committed to 58 rural organizations over 30 years
$460,000,000
in New Markets Tax Credits allocated to 39 low-income community projects
150+
rural organizations supported through our financial lending and leadership development programs
8,300+
rural leaders connecting, collaborating, and learning together through virtual events and in-person gatherings
46
investors contributing to our loan fund through equity equivalent investments, program related investments, other patient capital, and grants
146
organizations supporting our programming through sponsorships and grants
News
The Leadership Myth That’s Holding Us Back
Volunteering is a big part of life for many people living in rural areas. A recent community survey by Dakota Resources and eight rural communities found that about 80% of people believe they need to get involved to help their community succeed. Volunteering can mean different things: donating money, helping neighbors, taking on leadership roles, or working on community projects. Across the country, the number of people who volunteer formally has been dropping for about 20 years.
A Day at the Capitol to Celebrate 30 Years of Rural Impact
On January 15, Dakota Resources marked a major milestone: 30 years of connecting capital and capacity to empower rural communities. The day brought together community leaders, team and board members, partners, and supporters in Pierre for conversations at the Capitol and an evening reception celebrating the people and partnerships that make rural progress possible. It offered a meaningful look back at the impact created through our partnerships with rural organizations and local leaders, and a look forward to continued support for the projects and people shaping South Dakota communities for years to come.
Dakota Resources kicks off 30th anniversary year with public reception in Pierre on January 15
Dakota Resources will kick off its 30th anniversary celebration with a public reception on Thursday, January 15, 2026, inviting community members, partners, and supporters to join in recognizing three decades of investment in rural South Dakota communities. The 30th Anniversary Kickoff Reception will be held 4:30–6:00 p.m. CT at RedRossa Italian Grill – Hills Highland Ballroom in Pierre. A short program will begin at 5:00 p.m. and will include remarks and proclamation of January 15, 2026 as “Dakota Resources’ 30th Anniversary Day” from Governor Larry Rhoden and brief comments from Dakota Resources.
Partner with us
We do this work with a strong network of partners.
Rural is stronger when we act together. We partner with mission-focused funders and community-minded for profit businesses to help expand their reach to rural places. Our work has focused on connecting those partners with the communities that they want to see succeed.
Invest
Strengthening rural communities is possible by investing long-term capital in Dakota Resources’ Community Investment Fund. Your investment is pooled with equity equivalent investments, program related investments, other patient capital, and grants and is then re-lent to small, rural economic development organizations, many of whom have limited access to capital.
Leading Partners
As a Leading Partner, these organizations’ dollars go directly to operating all of our programming, creating impact across rural places in a variety of ways.
Leading Investors
Our Leading Investors have provided at least $3 million in capital to our loan fund, partnering with us to build the financial capacity of rural economic development organizations.
Let’s talk.
Whether you’re an EDO looking for support or a partner ready to invest, we’d love to hear from you.
