Learn more about this year's fundraising initiatives and support areas. When you select a support area, you are directing your donation specifically to that program or department on campus.

Athletics - During this year’s annual Unite for USD giving day, we are asking our Coyotes to contribute to the Champions Fund, which supports training opportunities and academic success for our student-athletes. 

Support Areas: Football, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Men's Golf, Women's Golf, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Softball, Swimming and Diving, Track and Field, Triathlon, Volleyball, Women's Soccer and Women's Tennis

Beacom School of Business - Your support helps sustain and enhance our reputation as a leading business school that provides students with exceptional learning experiences at an affordable cost. Funds raised during Unite for USD will support innovative academic programs including Global Immersion and Coyote Business Consulting, both of which facilitate real-world business opportunities for students outside the classroom.

Support Areas: Coyote Business Consulting and Global Immersion

Career Service Scholarship - By making a gift of any size to the Career Service Endowment Fund today, you will provide a way to give back and help civil service employees, their spouses, or dependents, as they continue their personal growth through education.

Center for Disabilities - The Center for Disabilities carries out its diverse capacity-building efforts through community education, clinical services, interdisciplinary training, technical assistance, research, information dissemination and policy/advocacy work. Your gift is an investment in a brighter future for the community of people with disabilities, their families and the workforce that supports them.

Charlie's Career Closet - Charlie’s Career Closet provides new or gently used business-professional and business-casual attire to USD students at no cost. Investing in Charlie’s Career Closet is an excellent opportunity to support the next generation of leaders, an act that goes beyond giving students free clothing.

Charlie’s Cupboard - By making a donation of any size, you can help solidify the program’s future, growth and mission to ensure every student on campus can focus on school without having to worry about where their next meal will come from.

College of Arts & Sciences - Giving to the Arts & Sciences Opportunity Fund today will prepare students for a successful tomorrow. Your gift will provide students the opportunity to participate in activities built to enrich their education journey.

Support Areas: Computer Science, Dr. Roche Distinguished Teaching Award and Farber Fund

College of Fine Arts - Your support ensures that the USD College of Fine Arts has the ability to attract, train and empower a generation of leaders who are committed to artistic expression and creative innovation – through student scholarships and programmatic support. 

Support Areas: Art Galleries and Choral Music

Coyote Beginnings - The Coyote Beginnings Fund is a general scholarship fund that seeks to bridge gaps in students’ financial aid needs. This fund differs from others in that it's tied to specific students and not specific academic units or departments.

Coyote Legacy Scholarship - The USD Foundation & Alumni Association debuted the Coyote Legacy Scholarship program in the fall of 2018 to recognize and honor families who have made a multi-generational commitment to USD.  More than 300 South Dakota students have received financial support to attend USD through the Coyote Legacy Scholarship Program. When you make a gift during Unite for USD, you commit to growing the Coyote Legacy Scholarship program while supporting USD’s tradition of excellence.

DEA Chapter 35 Student Scholarships - The Heart of America Patriot Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to the dependents of deceased or 100% disabled veterans by partnering with post-secondary education institutions that match its funds. These scholarships support DEA-Chapter 35 qualified students enrolled part- or full-time who demonstrate unmet financial need.

Graduate School -  When you support the Graduate School, you enable current and future graduate students to accomplish research and creative scholarships, both of which are crucial to success. Additionally, your gift allows graduate students to share their findings at the regional, national and international level.

Honors Program - The Honors Program offers travel and research opportunities designed to broaden student’s global and intellectual horizons, and funds from Unite for USD will ensure that all students have the financial ability to take part.

Knudson School of Law - The USD Knudson School of Law has recently established the 1901 Fund. This endowed fund was specifically created to provide scholarships exclusively to law school students, to help ensure that we attract and retain the best applicants and make sure that no talented student is unable to go to law school because they are unable to afford it.

Legacy Trip - The Legacy Trip is an annual, week-long humanitarian trip offered to USD Sanford School of Medicine students during their third year of medical school. All gifts will go toward various costs of The Legacy Trip, such as flights and accommodations, so that personal finances are not a barrier for USD students to participate in this volunteer experience.

Nursing - By making a gift of any size to the USD Department of Nursing, you’re investing in students’ futures and preparing them to graduate with the skills needed to provide exceptional care in any setting – both now and in the future. Your support today shapes the leaders and caregivers of tomorrow.

Office of Multicultural Affairs - Your donation will help expand community outreach, facilitate leadership development, increase recruitment and retention, promote travel and guest speaker acquisition. A gift to the Office of Multicultural Affairs will also evolve resources and programming that reflects student’s needs, connects communities, encourages social engagement, honors cultural celebrations and cultivates a shared understanding.

Office of Service Learning Student Lead Events & Programming - The Office of Service Learning (OSL) is home to not only three of the largest service-led student organizations, but to dedicated students that donate their time to organizing events aimed toward raising awareness around social issues, fundraising for Children’s Miracle Network and volunteering within local communities and across the country. Funding and support will allow us to reach larger audiences, travel to more locations, attend larger trainings and purchase much-needed supplies to make our impacts lasting.

Opportunity Center: Student Leadership Programs - With your support, we can expand opportunities to invest in the leadership development of more students. We are asking you to be part of growing these programs and providing an opportunity for all students to succeed. Your gift toward undergraduate leadership programming at USD is an investment in the skills and experiences students need to be the best neighbors you'll ever have and the best employees you'll ever hire.

Sanford School of Medicine - Located in downtown Sioux Falls, the Coyote Clinic promotes the well-being of the community by providing high-quality, free healthcare to the uninsured. The Coyote Clinic empowers Sanford School of Medicine medical students to serve in a primary care role to patients, under the supervision of local physicians, and advocate for the well-being of the Sioux Falls community through collaborative, interdisciplinary healthcare teams.

School of Education - The School of Education Excellence Fund supports students and faculty in areas of travel, innovative educational experiences and technology.

Support Area: Helping Hands Fund

School of Health Sciences - Your gift to the School of Health Sciences will support us in fulfilling our top priorities of providing academic scholarships to students in financial-need, upholding our reputation of exceptionally accomplished faculty guiding students through a wide range of human service programs and enhancing our outstanding programs in and out of the classroom.

Spirit Teams - By supporting this fund, you’re empowering current members to compete at the national level, travel to support Coyote Athletics and gain the skills to represent the Coyotes in a professional manner. Any gift, large or small, will help current and future students build the confidence, strength and character needed to compete and represent USD – enhancing their strength as leaders in today’s world.

Student Counseling Center- In quick response to the growing need of mental health services on college campuses, USD has established the Mental Health Fund, making our student’s mental health a top priority with the help of administrative and departmental support. A gift to this fund is a commitment to funding additional hours of counseling, access to campus events related to mental health promotion, access to continuing education for counseling staff and improved access to crisis care and online support services.

Student Emergency Fund - By making a gift today to the Student Emergency Fund, you will help ensure that our students needing financial assistance during any time of uncertainty are backed and supported by those who care about their education the most.

Testing Center - A gift to the USD Testing Center help provide needed structural modifications, digital enhancements, training programs and technology upgrades necessary to create an accessible environment that ensures everyone, regardless of ability, has an opportunity to fully participate.

Undergraduate Research - We’ve found that undergraduates who become involved in mentored research and creative scholarships have improved outcomes in their collegiate careers, which is where you come in. Our ability to offer financial support is only as vast as the available funds given from donors like you.

UPD Therapy K9 - Therapy K9s can provide numerous benefits to victims of crime. They offer emotional support and comfort, helping victims cope with trauma and reduce anxiety. By making a gift of any size to the UPD Therapy K9 fund, you will make a permanent investment in supporting our students when they need it the most.

USD - Sioux Falls - A contribution to USD-Sioux Falls provides students with connections to the main campus through support for student organizations, improved academic experiences, opportunities to attend athletic events, and enhanced orientation experiences that promote Coyote values.

Veterans Scholarship and Relief Fund - With 2024 as the inaugural year, the USD Veterans Scholarship and Relief Fund will provide opportunities for our Veterans and their dependents to be successful. By making a gift of any size to the Veterans Scholarship and Relief Fund, you will help ensure the success of our Student Veterans and Military Affiliated Students.

Wiyuskinyan Unpi Tipi - The Wiyuskinyan Unpi Tipi – which translates from Lakota to “they are living contently” – is a living learning community dedicated to Native American or Indigenous students and/or Native American studies majors and minors. Raising money for this initiative would support programming and growth for the 2024-2025 Living Learning Community cohort.

Women in Philanthropy - Inspired by a shared mission. USD Women in Philanthropy (WIP) provides a platform where women can pool their resources, passion and philanthropic insight to make a difference not only in the lives of students but also in their respective communities. Since 2019, Women in Philanthropy have supported numerous programs and student resources including President’s Senior Leadership Institute, Charlie’s Closet, USD Fellowship for the Underrepresented in Science and Engineering (USD FUSE) and more.