South Dakota Symphony: How to Give

Give Back to the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra

There are two primary ways to provide gifts for the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. The first is the Annual Fund and the second is Endowment.

ANNUAL FUND
By definition, Annual Fund is a critical portion of our annual income providing 16% of our total operating budget. An Annual Fund gift may come from an individual, a business or a corporation. They are clear donations – no goods or services are provided - so therefore are 100% tax deductible. Contributors are asked each year to renew or increase their gifts. Contributions are accepted at any time. These gifts help provide general operating funds for our organization. Annual Fund gifts are often referred to as 'checking account' gifts. There is no minimum or maximum size of gift.

Please click on Annual Fund on the right to find out more about our giving categories.

ENDOWMENT
In contrast, Endowment gifts are considered 'savings account' gifts. They tend to be larger than Annual Fund gifts and less frequent. Donors are encouraged to continue their annual fund gifts at the same amount even when providing an endowment donation. An endowment gift can be cash now, deferred pledge payments, an estate plan or a combination of all three. Endowment income (about 5% of the total invested principal amounts) accounts for 4% of the SDSO budget at this time.

That percentage will change as the endowment funds increase. There is no minimum or maximum gift size for Endowment. However, specifically named funds do have minimum amounts required to create them. General endowment and contributions to existing funds have no minimum. The donor designates endowment gifts. In other words, the donor tells us what fund their gift goes into as well as the location of the fund. The SDSO has three locations for endowment: The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, First National Bank in Sioux Falls and the South Dakota Community Foundation. All endowment gifts are 100% tax deductible.

Please click on Endowment on the right to learn more about our Endowment Campaign.