Build Blue Podcast: Sioux Empire United Way & APX Construction Group (Part 2)

Jess: Built on relationships, focused on people, and rooted in the community. Welcome to the Build Blue Podcast. Tune in for weekly episodes featuring guests who are building a better tomorrow. You'll hear inspiring stories from industry leaders, business owners, community partners, and our team members. The Build Blue Podcast, where construction comes to life, an APX Construction Group production. Welcome to the Build Blue Podcast. My name is Jess Blais with APX Construction Group and we are joined today by the CEO of the Sioux Empire United Way, Lisa Romkema. Thank you for joining us. 

Lisa: Yeah, thanks for having me.

Jess: We start all of our podcasts with the same question. It's our APX icebreaker and I want to know, what was your very first job? 

Lisa: I'm a farm girl.

Jess: Okay, me too.

Lisa: Awesome. My very first job was detasseling corn. And I did not like it at all. My dad loves to, he still pokes fun of me because I came home the first day and was like, I do not like that. So, but it was good. I mean, it was good experience. We went out in the fields at, you know, six in the morning and walked through “the mud and the wet corn stalks. And it was fun, but I was definitely not the life for me.

Jess: So tell us a little bit more about yourself and your background from detassling corn to now your position at the United Way.

Lisa: Yeah. So I went to Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota. I have a degree in business marketing and worked for Target for a few years right out of college. I worked in stores as like a team leader, sort of running around, learned a lot of really great leadership skills over the years. And I was in three different stores before then moving back to Sioux Falls in 2010. And when I was in those stores, we did a lot of volunteer work. And so I got to engage with different community organizations. And one of them that we supported through those stores that I was in was United Way. And so when we wanted to move back closer to home, I started looking at different organizations that I was familiar with. United Way at the time in Sioux Falls had an opening for a campaign director. So I started my fundraising career, nonprofit career at Sioux Empire United Way and was there for five years as the campaign director. And then moved into a couple of different roles in fundraising, nonprofit leadership before now being where I'm at. And I have personally on that side, I have a 11 year old middle school now boy who is loves basketball and all things sports.

Jess: Very cool. So what is it like for you to return to the Sioux Empire United Way after serving as the campaign director now in the role that you're in?

Lisa: Yeah, it's I mean, it's almost for a little while, it was almost surreal just to think like, wow, I get to go back and do this again and kind of in a little bit different way. But like I shared, that was my very first job in fundraising and nonprofit leadership. And so it was, it's just really cool to be able to look back at how things are there and what's changed in the nonprofit world over the last 14 years since I first started. But super fun to just work alongside the team and people who were even doing the job that I was doing 14 years ago, and to be able to look at it through a different lens with some additional experience. But it's an organization that I've always remained passionate about. And so I've said to so many people, it's like it truly is a dream job. I mean, there are days when I wake up and I'm just like, I can't believe I get to do this again. This is so fun. So it's great.

Jess: That's so wonderful. What is your biggest goal for the Sioux Empire United Way in your leadership role?

Lisa: My biggest goal right now, anyway, is to continue to share in the community what United Way does and the importance of having United Way support because we have incredible nonprofits. And I think that we here in Sioux Falls, we just have a really great philanthropic community as well. And so I want to be sure that we continue to educate people about not only the organizations that we support and serve, but the importance of the role that we play and the processes that help us to determine where the funding goes and who the partners are, and what that can mean for some of the smaller organizations in our community who maybe aren't as well known by potential donors or who don't have the staffing or the resources to go out and raise money on their own outside of what they're getting for support from United Way.

Jess: Let's dive into that a little bit. The United Way has a strong nationwide brand, so people are familiar with that. But I find sometimes the actual work that the United Way does is a little abstract to people who aren't directly involved with it. So I would love for you to dive into really what your role in the community is as a fundraising organization and how you help those partner agencies.

Lisa: So our role is to, with the support of hundreds of volunteers, by the way. But our role is to determine what the greatest needs are right now in terms of financial support in the community. And so the way that we do that is, every year we have a group of volunteers who reviews applications from our partner agencies and the programs that they're requesting funding for. And they really dive deep into the impact that's being made, and then they look at the financials and sort of the overview of the organization. But the thing that we're looking most at is the impact that's being made, the collaboration that is possible and might be happening. Are they meeting a need that isn't being met by someone else in the community? Or that there's just such a great need that we need several organizations that are meeting that. And so, really, they're helping us to determine where the gaps and what does our community need most to continue, and that's where we focus the funding on. We have several different areas, and I think we'll talk about that in a second, that we support, but it's just a crucial piece of creating a community that continues to identify and meet even emerging needs as we continue to grow and as the world continues to change. We have a couple of different organizations over the years that we've been one of their primary supporters for a long time until they can get to a place where they can either hire someone or invest more time or find volunteers who can help to support. And I think one of the greatest things, and I don't know if we always celebrate this the way that we should, and we'll start doing that a little bit more, but when we have an organization who gets to a point where they don't need our funding anymore, it's kind of cool because then they've gotten to a place where they're self-sustaining and that's great and we love that. And we do like to and want to celebrate that with organizations too. But we're always, of course, here when they have another need or an emerging opportunity to impact. So yeah, it's just a really great process. And I think it's not as understood right now as we would like it to be.

Jess: Absolutely. And I do think that community vetting process gives donors a lot of confidence in where their dollars are going. And I always think it's really impactful to see the community come together, people from all walks of life volunteering their time to really dive into these partner agencies. So yeah, I like that part of the function of the United Way. But let's talk about the United Way and how you support the needs of individuals in the four county area you serve and maybe even dive in a little bit more to the area that the Sioux Empire United Way is working with too.

Lisa: Yeah. So we serve Lincoln, Minnehaha, Turner and McCook counties as far as service area. And our mission is to serve children, vulnerable adults and people in crisis. So we're looking at programs in agency or programs in non-profit partners that really touch those within that footprint, and then also within those areas of need. And so our greatest support is that we identify where a need isn't currently being met from the funding standpoint within the non-profits, and then we help to support them so that they can make a greater impact.

Jess: And you guys help fund over 30 partner agencies or 30 programs.

Lisa: 38 non-profits this year. I think it's 74 programs this year. So yeah, we have quite a few, quite a quite a long list. I mean, you can see it on our website and I can share if you want to link it. But we have a great list of programs through a number of partners that we work with every year.

Jess: And maybe for someone who may be listening, that is involved with a non-profit in the Sioux Empire area, what is the process for a potential partner agency for receiving funding?

Lisa: That's a great question. So we, what I would suggest if you aren't currently a partner, is to reach out to our office and Christina, who is our Chief Operating Officer, oversees all of that side of non-profit partnerships and sort of that whole experience. And what's easiest for us to do is to meet with a non-profit to just have a conversation about what the goals are and where you're at and sort of what you're looking at for funding so that we can also identify if it fits within what our mission is and if it is an opportunity. And then from there, we would, of course, encourage them to fill out the application and go through that whole process. But it's really good just to get to know that we can get to know the non-profit partner and they can get to know us a little bit too and the process and know what to expect. Our application process usually starts in this late fall winter time is when people are working on that information. And then we begin the community impact process with our volunteers in the spring.

Jess: The dollars that help fund your partner agencies are given by area donors, business partners. Tell us about the annual campaign and the importance of these donations.

Lisa: We have almost $9 million every year given through all of those donors back into our community. So, I mean, the importance is like $9 million worth of funds going to support those different areas and through the nonprofits. I mean, it's huge. It's an impact that, like, I almost want to say it's immeasurable because I don't know if we can even really imagine the ripple effect of the $9 million and of the impact that's happening through those nonprofit partners because of the support. And then I think like on the philanthropic side of it though, it's hugely inspiring to see the community come together and some of our companies who are donors or the donors within the companies are, they're not places that you would imagine that would have people giving $500 or $1000 a year. I mean, this is people who are probably seeing the impact firsthand and deciding to give back because they have just that spirit of philanthropy just because of what's happening in the community and seeing other people participate in it. So I think just the ripple effect of even understanding philanthropy at a different level and how you can be involved no matter the size of your gift is just great to see too.

Jess: Yeah, it's amazing. And that $9 million fundraising, annual fundraising total is staggering. And that's incredible.

Lisa: It's very cool.

Jess: So the 2025 campaign is kicking off this week. Let's talk about campaign goal, events, maybe your campaign chair and all things 2025 campaign.

Lisa: Yeah. So our goal this year is $9,203,748. It's a very specific number. And we get to that number through our community impact volunteer team. So they look at all those partner programs and tell us, this is the exact amount of money we need you to raise. And then we go to our campaign chair and say, hey, you know, what do you think of this? But it really is set by the community impact volunteer. So it's a very exact number because it is an exact need based on the total. Our campaign chair this year is Kim Burma. She works for Midco and has been a volunteer with us for, I mean, probably over 20 years. She's such a great volunteer. She was a volunteer, you know, when I backed my first time around at United Way and just has amazing energy, so much passion, not only for Sioux Empire United Way, but for the community overall. And so she's just been great to get to work alongside and so much energy. She's showing up at all of our trainings, being really supportive of all of the volunteers. So she's I'm just excited for her year. Beautiful to be partnering with her. Yeah, and then we have so our campaign kicks off this week. We have a few events scattered throughout the week. You'll probably see signs for free coffee on Tuesday at Scooters. That starts at 6 in the morning. And we had click rain for Premier Bank, Premier Bank Card and Scooters sponsoring that for us. And then on Thursday, we'll have at Severance, we'll have a Subaru kickoff, which is our annual beer that Severance brews with a portion of proceeds going back to Sioux Empire United Way. So that's, that starts at 4 o'clock at Severance. And then on Friday, we have a community lunch starting 11:30 in right outside the Washington Pavilion, which is downtown, of course. Everybody's welcome to come join us, have a walking taco and just learn a little bit more, have some conversation about United Way. And then we're also at The Levitt. So we're the featured non-profit partner at The Leavitt at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

Jess: Exciting week. Congratulations. And then that, maybe for people who aren't familiar, the kickoff week is kind of a celebration of the campaign. And then that will spill into employee rallies and other things throughout the year, as you guys work towards that $9...($9,203,748)

Lisa: Yeah.

Jess: It trails off.

Lisa: Yeah. Yep. Absolutely.

Jess: You've mentioned volunteers, Lisa, a couple of times. Obviously, they're critical to the work that you do. How can the community engage in volunteer opportunities at the United Way?

Lisa: There are a number of ways. We have volunteer opportunities through all of the processes that we do. So we have over 700 volunteers every single year who support the work that we do, which means that we only have to have a staff of nine right now to get that work done. We love that because then we can just give more money right back into the community. So as far as becoming a volunteer, we really have opportunities no matter the amount of time or your area of expertise or where you're interested in learning. So our volunteers range anywhere from the community impact volunteers that we talked about who are looking through applications and vetting, going through that process. We also have a ton of campaign volunteers. So this is people who are either working directly with us to go into the community and help ask individuals or corporate donations or for employee participation. Then we have volunteers within the companies too who are helping to run these major campaigns and they're like boots on the ground. I mean, they're throwing parties and sending out emails and following up and asking people to support, which is great. We also have a really cool group called Volunteer United, and that is a group of people who goes and supports our partner agencies through work that they need to happen within their non-profit at the time. All this is on our website. They can just contact the office. But the great thing about that group is it's really an hour or two at a time. So if you just want to participate in getting to know what's going on in the community, you can give an hour here and there, and it's a little bit less of a commitment as far as ongoing, that sort of thing.

Jess: So many great opportunities, and again, I will leave a link to your website and social media accounts in the show notes. Looking ahead to the future, from your chair, what opportunities does the United Way have to continue to strengthen and grow its partnerships within the region?

Lisa: I think really, and we talked about this earlier, I think really just to continue to share the message about what we do, and how we're doing it, and the importance of the impact that that makes, because if people understand what we're doing, I mean, that's always, we tell that to our non-profit partners, impact is so important, and we want to make sure that we're sharing sort of that process behind it, and so that we can continue to encourage philanthropy in all forms and in all levels. But that, I mean, that really is our greatest opportunity.

Jess: Is there anything you'd like to add, Lisa, about the campaign, upcoming events or anything else about the Sioux Empire United Way?

Lisa: No, I mean, other than just join us for kickoff, and we would love to see everyone there. It's just, it's going to be a great year, and thank you to everyone who is already a supporter of Sioux Empire United Way.

Jess: Well, wishing you a wildly successful campaign for that $9 million. And thank you. Continue the great work you do.

Lisa: Thank you.