March 1, 2021

The annual Leadership Sioux Falls program typically involves an element of giving back – but there has never been an effort like this.

The 35th class of the Evan C. Nolte Leadership Sioux Falls program is aiming to raise at least $100,000 to replace playground equipment at Hayward Park.

The northwest park is part of a broader city effort to improve what’s available for the neighborhood around Hayward Elementary.

There’s not much there now – a couple of soccer goals, a picnic shelter and what generously could be called some old-school playground equipment.

“There’s just not a lot of money put into it,” said Matt Paulson, a member of the Leadership Sioux Falls class and founder of MarketBeat. “There’s a lot of underutilized space.”

Paulson had connected with Steve Hildebrand, founder of the nonprofit Promising Futures, last year with the plan to do a different community service project. It didn’t work out because of the pandemic, so when it came time for Leadership Sioux Falls to select a service project, Paulson reached out again.

“He brought that opportunity to me, and I thought maybe we could do something,” Paulson said.

Hayward Park sits in a neighborhood surrounded by mobile homes and serves a school that’s among those with the district’s highest poverty rates.

So one morning late last year after the weekly startup event 1 Million Cups, Paulson approached Leadership Sioux Falls classmate James Gaspar.

“He thought I had a good rapport with our class and could help him get everyone focused around the idea and how it would be a unique project beyond revitalizing Hayward Park,” said Gaspar, a business development specialist at Interstate Office Products.

Typically, Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce-backed programs such as Leadership Sioux Falls don’t raise money for nonprofits outside of broader approved campaigns. In this case, because the project involved a city park, Leadership Sioux Falls got the OK.

The broader, more than $2 million plan for the park, includes a splash park, expanded garden, dog park and walking trail. The goal is to raise most of the funds privately.

The playground equipment will be a fitness-based or obstacle-course structure accessible to all ages but designed to especially appeal to youths age 10 through 14.

“It’s really a collaborative project,” Paulson said. “And we all got excited about it and thought we could do it.”

But it became clear a dedicated team within the 35-person class would be needed. So three members were added.

“They said they needed a marketing writer, and I looked around the room and said, ‘OK, it’s me,’” said Maddie Mack, a senior content manager at Lemonly.

Mack is producing content for prospective donors.

“People as a whole, especially the younger generation, we like to give our time and do boots on the ground,” Mack said. “So people were asking if we would help install the playground equipment … but your work now is phone calls and emails. I thought it was interesting, and I liked the legacy part. A generation away this park will still be there.”

Jae Kelsey, a business intelligence analyst at First Bank & Trust, joined the team when the call went out for someone with data and operational expertise.

“I volunteered myself due to the fact that I love spreadsheets,” she said, adding she supports the project “because it provides connection and community to the diverse neighborhood. I also a dog mom, and I think having a dog park allows not only the dogs to socialize but the owners as well.”

And finally, Leadership Sioux Falls lucked out with a fundraising professional in the class: Rika Peterson, a consultant with Maximizing Excellence.

“There is no way this would be ready to go without her,” Gaspar said.

Peterson had written on her Leadership Sioux Falls application that “as a young fundraiser, I wanted to bring more people on to that skill set and how that was a thing I wanted to contribute as part of Leadership Sioux Falls,” she said. “And lo and behold, this opportunity came forward.”

She’s helping train her classmates on how to develop their fundraising skills.

“Matt and I had participated in fundraisers and been involved in the community, and we wanted everyone to have the opportunity to learn,” Gaspar said. “It’s not that hard to go out and ask people for money, particularly in Sioux Falls, so we wanted to get everyone’s feet wet in the fundraising world.”

From there, they will be better prepared to serve on boards and support nonprofits, Paulson said.

“What is really cool is we’re training 35 young leaders to do fundraising all at once,” he said. “That’s what I get more excited about. They will be better nonprofit board members because of it. So this project not only is great for Hayward and the city, but we’re equipping 35 young people with the skills to effectively fundraise for nonprofits they support.”

Another goal is to leave a Leadership Sioux Falls legacy, Gaspar said.

“Not just our class, but beyond our class – every class before and after us,” he said.

So the current Leadership Sioux Falls class will be reaching out to past class members for contributions.

“Everybody in our class has signed up to ask at least eight Leadership Sioux Falls grads, so it’s a very boots-on-the-ground, hands-on campaign,” Peterson said. “Leadership Sioux Falls grads can expect to hear from our class, and the link (to donate) is open to everyone.”

The effort already has found a lot of traction, with more than $53,000 raised.

The hope is to hit $100,000 before May 1, when the class will be ready to graduate. Anything raised in excess of that will contribute to the broader park improvement effort.

“If everyone gives $140, it’s very manageable,” Peterson said. “We want to do a big collective lift with this.”

To contribute, click here. 

Forgotten no more: Park improvements are coming to west-side neighborhood