RAPID CITY, SD – Working Against Violence, Inc. (WAVI) has been selected as South Dakota’s 2026 recipient of a $20,000 unrestricted grant from the Mary Kay Ash Foundation®. The funding will strengthen WAVI’s ability to provide emergency shelter, advocacy, and essential support services to individuals and families experiencing domestic violence in Rapid City and the surrounding Black Hills region.

The award is part of the Mary Kay Ash Foundation’s annual shelter grant program, which is distributing more than $1 million to 51 domestic violence shelters across the United States in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

This year’s contribution brings the Foundation’s total investment in its shelter grant program to more than $57 million. More than 300 organizations applied for funding in 2026.

For nearly five decades, WAVI has been a place of safety and hope for individuals and families escaping violence. Established in 1978, WAVI provides free, confidential services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and intimate partner stalking.

WAVI’s comprehensive services include emergency shelter, a 24-hour crisis line, crisis intervention, safety planning, case management, legal and personal advocacy, sexual assault response, children’s programming, and connections to essential community resources.