The Aberdeen Area Community Foundation along with its partner the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has provided a grant of more than $18,000 to the Aberdeen Family Y for upgrades to its wireless network to facilitate use by students for school work. This will be necessary should the pandemic require schools to alter current in-person classes. The funds came from the Knight COVID-19 Aberdeen Sub-fund within the AACF.
In March 2020, Knight Foundation committed $225,000 in partnership with the Aberdeen Area Community Foundation and the South Dakota Community Foundation to provide short-term and long-term relief in response to the pandemic through the AACF Knight COVID Sub-fund. These funds were a portion of the over $10 million Knight Foundation committed to its 26 Knight communities around the country. The funds are meant to address immediate needs within the community while also focusing on priority areas Knight Foundation has identified in Aberdeen. Through September 2020, the fund has made more than $120,000 in grants in the Aberdeen area to address the impact of the pandemic.