Kevin TeBeest is linked to Southwest Initiative Foundation in about as many ways as one person can be: He’s a loan client, a former board member for our community foundation partner, a past SWIF program participant, and a donor to our funds.
“I’ve seen, very uniquely, the many ways that SWIF is connected. Part of the foundation’s value is just getting people to communicate with each other,” Kevin said. “I think the hardest thing for small towns is to lose their identity, and yet we also have to cooperate with our neighbors. Sometimes we need help to mediate that, and to make that work.”
Kevin and his wife, Judy, were both born and raised in Montevideo and graduated from Montevideo High School. Kevin received his degree in mortuary science from the University of Minnesota in 1985 and worked in Thief River Falls for 7 years before joining Anderson Funeral Home in 1992.
Now he operates funeral homes in Appleton, Benson, Dawson, Granite Falls, and Montevideo. A loan from SWIF helped finance the purchase of the Benson location. The funeral business is a family affair for TeBeests, with Judy and the couple’s two sons Kyle and Kurt on staff, as well as Kyle’s wife, Camille.
40th Fun Fact
The Southwest Minnesota Initiative Fund, the original name for SWIF, distributed grants totaling over $300,000 and loans totaling over $180,000 in its first year. As of our last annual report, we’ve distributed $62.5 million in loans and $58.7 million in grants.
We’re turning 40 this year! We’ll be hosting celebrations and sharing stories throughout the year.
‘You have wealth’
An active chamber member, founding member and ongoing volunteer with the Chippewa Valley Youth Club, and former Montevideo Area Community Foundation advisory board member — among other community commitments — Kevin is a big believer in giving back.
“My dad grew up in a very poor family, an only child. There was a funeral director in Watertown, South Dakota, that told school counselors, ‘You know, if there are kids that should go to school that can’t, call me,’” Kevin said. “So my dad was one of Joe Messer’s boys. And Joe helped him go to Northern (State University) to become a schoolteacher.”
That giving spirit got passed down to Kevin, along with values of volunteering, community, and civic engagement he picked up as a Boy Scout. For Kevin, generosity is about recognizing the resources everyone has.
“There’s time, treasure, and talent. You have wealth. You have the ability to do great things without having great amounts of money,” Kevin said.
No matter the size of the gift, Kevin emphasized that it can grow as part of a local community foundation endowment, where the original dollars are never spent but instead invested to grow and strengthen the community for the long term.
“People don’t always realize they have something to give. A gift can even come from a life insurance policy, or other assets. And it can be small. There are ways that you can just spend a little and still see the benefit in your community,” Kevin said.
More from Montevideo
The Montevideo Area Community Foundation has awarded more than $250,000 in grants to a wide variety of local organizations and projects since its founding. Looking ahead, the Montevideo Area Community Foundation is partnering with the City of Montevideo to build a new splash pad. “Projects that benefit the whole community are a natural fit for foundation fundraising efforts,” said board chair John Skoglund.