25-Year-Old Leads Philanthropy for Sioux Falls Foundation

A failed chemistry class changed everything for Reagan Kolberg, and now her community is better for it.

The 25-year-old director of philanthropy at the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation started college planning to follow her OB-GYN mother into medicine. That 8 a.m. chemistry course had other plans, pushing her toward a finance internship at her university's foundation that revealed her true calling.

Now Kolberg spends her days doing something many people don't discover until much later in life: matching people's passions with real community needs. She connects donors who want to make a difference with nonprofits doing the hard work on the ground.

Growing up in rural Yankton, South Dakota, Kolberg made regular trips to Sioux Falls for shopping and events. The city always felt special, but it wasn't until she traveled more widely that she realized just how unique it was.

After graduating from the University of South Dakota with a business degree, the choice was clear. Sioux Falls offered the perfect combination of Midwestern values and big-city growth.

Sunny's Take

What makes Kolberg's story shine isn't just her career success at a young age. It's her awareness that thriving communities don't happen by accident.

She sees Sioux Falls as a city where people genuinely invest in each other's wellbeing. The nonprofit sector is strong, and generous residents want to help, but sometimes they need a bridge between their resources and the causes that matter most.

That's where Kolberg steps in. Her work at the foundation means local organizations get the funding they need while donors see their charitable goals come to life in tangible ways.

She describes her workplace as supportive, rewarding, and community-centered. Those aren't just buzzwords when you're helping channel generosity where it's needed most.

Kolberg's commitment goes beyond her day job. She volunteers, mentors, shops local businesses, and engages with the Chamber of Commerce because she understands something important: she wants to look back in 20 years and know she showed up.

In a world that often focuses on individual achievement, Kolberg represents a different kind of success story, one built on lifting others and strengthening community bonds that will outlast any single career.