In October 1934, Professor Guy March, together with collegial alumni in the Black Hills area, formed the SDSM&T Alumni Association and published the first Hardrock magazine.
In 1954, the SDSM&T Endowment Association was chartered as a not-for-profit South Dakota corporation and was designated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization by the Internal Revenue Service.
In June 1960, the Alumni Association was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the State of South Dakota and subsequently was granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service.
In 1980, the SDSM&T Foundation evolved from the Endowment Association. The Foundation office opened and efforts were initiated to solicit funds for SDSM&T. At this time the Alumni Association contributed some 90% of its assets to the formation of the Foundation. Annual awards (Guy E. March medal, Distinguished Alumni, Outstanding Recent Graduates), the annual reunion of the 50-year graduates and an all-school reunion every five years are long-standing traditions organized by the Alumni Association and embraced by the family of alumni.
In 1994, the Arch was adopted as the official logo of the SDSM&T Foundation.
In 2000, the SDSM&T Foundation celebrated the successful completion of its first-ever capital campaign, VISION 2000, raising over $20 million for scholarships, faculty support, and department support. This campaign was followed by another, BUILDING THE DREAM, in 2012 resulting in an additional $50 million.
In 2015, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Foundation adopted SD Mines Foundation as an informal name for doing business.
On July 1, 2020, the SD Mines Foundation and the SDSM&T Alumni Association merged into a single, not-for-profit South Dakota Corporation entitled the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Center for Alumni Relations & Advancement (CARA).
