Sioux Falls, S.D. – August 21, 2025 – The Friends of SDPB announces the launch of the SDPB Bison Campaign, a bold effort to raise $2 million to protect, innovate and evolve SDPB’s future. The goal of the campaign is to close the gap following the vote to rescind federal financial support of public broadcasting. That vote meant a reduction of $2.3 federal dollars to SDPB.
Friends of SDPB CEO, Ryan Howlett says, “Like the bison, SDPB is bold, resilient, and strong. SDPB is going to come out of this situation more emboldened than ever. Since the rescission, we have had 417 new donors join us. Current donors have made additional gifts, sustainers have increased their monthly gift. The people of South Dakota have chosen to stand with SDPB. We are going to work with them to blunt as many of the programming cuts as possible.”
To launch the public phase of the campaign, a family from Sioux Falls has put forward the SDPB Bison Challenge a $100,000 match to jump start the next phase of the campaign and move one step closer to securing the future of local journalism and storytelling across South Dakota. These funds will stabilize SDPB’s operations now and rebuild strategically for generations to come.
To date, $1.1 million has been raised. The campaign runs until October 31.
More information on the SDPB Bison Campaign is available at SDPBFriends.org, by calling 605-367-7266, or emailing [email protected].