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Congratulations to our three 2024 Bush Prize: Minnesota winners: Green Card Voices, Minnesota Education Equity Partnership and Mni Sota Fund!

These organizations are highly valued within their communities based on their strong histories of innovation and community problem solving.

Bush Prize: Minnesota is an award honoring nonprofit organizations throughout Minnesota who demonstrate:

A pattern of innovative solutions
Commitment to using inclusive, collaborative and resourceful processes
Leadership that cultivates a culture of innovation within the organization

Additionally, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation sought to honor organizations amplifying equity and community-led solutions, recognizing work that is informed, formed and for the benefit of historically underserved communities throughout the state.

Green Card Voices

Green Card Voices (GCV) is an immigrant and BIPOC-led organization that empowers immigrants by supporting them in the development and sharing of their immigration stories. GCV aims to help people see the growing number of immigrants in our communities as individuals through authentic, first-person stories of family, hard work and cultural diversity to build stronger communities.

Green Card Voices is a leader in innovative storytelling, focusing on narratives created by and with communities instead of narratives about them. Their graphic anthology Our Stories Carried Us Here led to the development of bilingual graphic memoirs for grades 3-8 helping teachers better serve multi-lingual classrooms. Another innovation is Story Stitch, a game facilitating equitable conversations across diverse groups. Through their efforts, Green Card Voices has reached over 500,000 people nationwide, fostering connection and empathy.

Visit Green Card Voices’ website

Minnesota Education Equity Partnership

Minnesota Education Equity Partnership (MnEEP) transforms systems, structures and public narratives to advance race equity and excellence in education. MNEEP works alongside students, parents, educators and community members to change institutional policies and practices that build a racially just education system rooted in healing, joy and opportunity for students of Color and Indigenous students.

MnEEP’s history of innovation focuses on racially equitable systemic change through collaboration between communities and educators. Through a multi-year process, their Local Action Plan in Worthington addressed racial disparities in one of the most diverse school districts in the state. This successful model has been replicated in other Minnesota communities. Additionally, MnEEP inspires others to innovate by making their learnings and toolkits around racial equity and higher education available for all on their website.

Visit MnEEP’s website

Mni Sota Fund

Mni Sota Fund is a Native-led Community Development Financial Institution committed to building Indigenous economic sovereignty. They provide financial tools and resources to empower Native communities, foster self-determination and create a sustainable future for all.

Mni Sota Fund has a strong track record of innovation. To address the barriers to homeownership faced by Native families in Minnesota, they launched the Mni Sota Mortgage Company — a groundbreaking initiative that provides culturally relevant and accessible mortgage solutions and contributes to an increase in the local Native homeownership rate. Mni Sota Fund also supports Native artists and entrepreneurs through the Ozhigin Fellowship, which focuses on arts-based cohorts, mentorship and loan readiness. This tailored approach has boosted business establishment, growth and collaboration within the Native arts community.

Visit Mni Sota Fund’s website

2024 Finalists

In addition to the three Bush Prize: Minnesota winners, seven finalists were also recognized for their innovative contributions and commitment to advancing community-led solutions:

Community Action Center of Northfield

Since 1969, the Community Action Center (CAC) has promoted a healthy, caring and just community for all. Through resources, advocacy and volunteer efforts, CAC meets the basic needs of people seeking help, and changes the systems they live in.

Epimonia

Epimonia is a sustainable social creative agency dedicated to empowering refugees and immigrants. They provide essential services such as employment opportunities, transportation assistance and cultural integration, all aimed at fostering resilience and self-sufficiency. Epimonia creates sustainable solutions that support the successful integration of displaced individuals into their new communities.

ISAIAH

ISAIAH is a statewide, multiracial community organization representing half a million Minnesotans. They organize in diverse communities across Minnesota, focusing on racial equity, public safety and the criminal justice system, working families, and climate change. ISAIAH empowers everyday Minnesotans to lead and achieve transformative change in their communities.

Keystone Community Services

Keystone Community Services was founded in 1939 as a small neighborhood resource center in Saint Paul. Today, Keystone is the largest provider of food shelf services in the East Metro and supports more than 50,000 people in Ramsey County through a variety of innovative community-based programs serving low-income adults and families, youth and seniors.

Open Cupboard

Open Cupboard has been feeding their community for over 40 years. In 2021, they opened Today’s Harvest – a first-of-its-kind market that is open to all and offers fresh food to the community, while reducing food waste by rescuing food from retailers. Their innovations in the food insecurity sector reduce barriers and increase access to fresh food, and they are the most visited food shelf in Minnesota.

Way to Grow

Way to Grow is a Minnesota-based early childhood education nonprofit that provides vital, holistic school-readiness and home visiting services for families in the Twin Cities. Way to Grow has empowered parents to be their child’s first and foremost teacher. In partnership with parents and communities, Way to Grow ensures children are born healthy, stay healthy and are well-prepared for school and life.

Youthprise

Youthprise's mission is to increase equity with and for Minnesota's Indigenous, low-income and racially diverse youth. Youthprise innovates systems, structures and practices that enable youth to thrive by mobilizing and investing resources, advancing knowledge and advocating for change. They seek to promote opportunities for Minnesota’s young people to achieve ownership, wealth, power and healing.

Thank You to the Selection Committee

With a commitment to community-led solutions, the Foundation convened a Community Review Committee of community leaders from across Minnesota to review Bush Prize: Minnesota applications and make final decisions on the winners and finalists.

The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation would like to recognize the 11 members of the Community Review Committee who diligently considered each applicant and the impact each had on their community.

The members of the selection committee are:

Chad Adams – Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership
Luwaina Al-Otaibi – The YES! House
Renee Bymark – ElderCircle
Naima Dhore – Somali American Farmers Association
Teresa Kittridge – 100 Rural Women
Brook Lafloe – Montessori American Indian Childcare Center
Kim Nelson – Riverland Community College
DaVonna Rucker
Tracy Schreifels – Ellison Center
Sneha Shankar – Minneapolis Institute of Art
Emily Steinmetz – Central MN Regional Representative, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

“ These organizations are pushing boundaries to do big things in partnership with their communities. These organizations often pursue solutions to problems that haven’t been tried before.”

Eileen Briggs, Bush Foundation

About Bush Prize: Minnesota

The Bush Prize celebrates organizations that are highly valued within their communities and have a track record of successful community problem solving. The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation was selected earlier this year as a community grant partner by the Bush Foundation to operate Bush Prize: Minnesota.

Previously known as the Bush Prize for Community Innovation, the program is now known as the Bush Prize and is done in partnership between the Bush Foundation and its four community grant partners – the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, Good Relatives Collaborative, South Dakota Community Foundation and Strengthen ND.

The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation was selected earlier this year as a community grant partner by the Bush Foundation to operate Bush Prize: Minnesota. View the program’s selection process, timeline and criteria.

View More about Bush Prize: Minnesota

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