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The downtown Sioux Falls of 1911 is not the downtown of today.

There are the obvious changes – new buildings, new modes of transportation, a footprint that is ever expanding how we delineate what, exactly constitutes downtown.

But, more than that, it was not a place particularly welcoming to women.

Consider that the original Minnehaha County Courthouse was built with a restroom for men – but not one for women, according to a 2010 article in the Argus Leader. Or that one businessman’s wife told him – when he was erecting a new building downtown – not to include a bathroom for women because they “shouldn’t be downtown.”

What was a woman to do – when she wanted to take a break from working or shopping downtown, to eat her lunch or feed her baby?

Edith Kellar Lillibridge and Anna M. Eddy had an idea – and they gathered other women in support, raising money for the work. They became the Woman’s Alliance, and they used the money to set aside a few rooms downtown, at Ninth Street and Main Avenue, specifically for women to drop in during the day.

At the time, it was nearly revolutionary, said Candy Hanson, who has served on the board of the Woman’s Alliance since 1984.

Over the years, the Woman’s Alliance space grew to include a set of sleeping rooms and an employment service for women in need. There was a cafeteria. Their property expanded to a house, and then a two-story dormitory, providing a total of 25 bedrooms to accommodate 46 residents, according to the Woman’s Alliance’s historical marker, which is in the Cathedral District at South Spring Avenue and West Ninth Street.

Who stayed there? Everyone from the wives of ill veterans being treated in Sioux Falls to teen girls who “ran away to see the world,” according to the Argus Leader.

Woman’s Alliance homes operated for more than 60 years, providing services and support for women, funded through gifts, bequests, rummage sales and card parties. The initial vision of the founders was “to help others help themselves.”

Sustained giving

In the 1970s, with more options for women available, the Woman’s Alliance sold the property and invested the proceeds into an endowment, which has been held at the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation since the 1990s.

“I don’t think they ever thought they would be out of the housing business, but the world changed so much,” Hanson said. “They decided they would just invest the money and use it to help women and girls in the area.”

An endowment was the ideal vehicle to ensure continued support. “The Community Foundation was the perfect shelter for our assets,” Hanson said. “And I think it still is. They help us decide each year how much to spend in order for that nest egg to always be there, and always be doing what we want it to do.”

Each year, the Woman’s Alliance board distributes grants from the endowment, to continue supporting women in the community.

The Woman’s Alliance has funded projects as diverse as weekend retreats for teen foster girls to grants which help low-income families repair their vehicles to scholarships for classes and camps in everything from the arts to technical schools.

Field of interest endowments, like the one with the Woman’s Alliance, are great opportunities to keep with the intended mission of an organization while allowing enough flexibility to meet changing needs.

Women, girls and programs benefiting from the endowment have different needs than they did in 1911, and the parameters of their endowment allow the Woman’s Alliance to meet those changing needs.

For women and girls

Hanson said the collective power of those original members continues – with threads that run through the history of the organization.

For example, in any gathering of the group, she’ll ask, “How many of you are from families with all daughters?”

Hands go up.

“We do have a tradition. Mrs. Delbridge had eight daughters,” Hanson said, of one of the longtime former members.

Kerri DeGraff, the new board president of the Woman’s Alliance, has three daughters.

DeGraff is a longtime member of the group and says as the mother of young girls, it has been a great fit. “I have always felt so strongly about wanting to make sure girls have good opportunities in the community,” she said. “It’s so rewarding. We get to meet to review the grant applications, and then meet with the nonprofits to give them the good news. It’s fun to see their reaction.”

One organization that has benefited is Girl Scouts.

“It’s especially exciting when women see the value of what Girl Scouts is doing and find that worthy of investment. It’s exciting to see women investing in the next generation of women leaders,” said Jennifer Hoesing, chief development officer of Girl Scouts Dakota Horizons.

Hoesing said the funds from the Woman’s Alliance have historically gone to their outreach programs, which help remove barriers for girls who want to participate. That can include everything from helping pay for membership dues to camp fees to a uniform.

“If there is a family, and finances will keep them from experiencing programs, funding from groups like the Woman’s Alliance helps girls participate,” Hoesing said.

But it also helps bring the Girl Scouts to the girls – programs at area schools and organizations, to introduce the organization to young women who might not otherwise be exposed, Hoesing said.

“We meet underserved populations where they are, and we bring programming directly to them,” Hoesing said. “The Woman’s Alliance has been supportive of that outreach programming.”

More than a thousand girls in the Sioux Falls area, and more than 7,500 in the region, participate in Girl Scouts.

“Girl Scouts has been a great partner of ours,” DeGraff said.

Mary Kolsrud, chief philanthropy officer, said the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation is proud to help organizations such as the Woman’s Alliance.

“Supporting initiatives like the Woman’s Alliance is at the heart of what we do,” Kolsrud said. “Our role is to honor and sustain the vision of those who came before us, ensuring their legacy continues to make an impact for generations to come.”

Hanson said the Woman’s Alliance relies on the Foundation’s expertise in area nonprofits, helping provide insight as they consider where to give. “It’s a perfect place to steward an investment that’s going to benefit the Sioux Falls area,” Hanson said. “That’s what it’s all about – for good, forever. That’s why the Woman’s Alliance belongs at the Foundation.”

“We’re blessed with a community that is so supportive,” DeGraff said.