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Bush Prize: Minnesota

Lakes and trees in Northern Minnesota hero

The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation has been selected as a community grant partner by the Bush Foundation to operate two statewide grant programs.

The Bush Prize: Minnesota will open April 1 and a second grant program to support Minnesota communities will be launched by early 2025. View more about our partnership.

The Bush Prize celebrates organizations that are highly valued within their communities and have a track record of successful community problem solving. The application period for the 2024 Bush Prize: Minnesota begins on Monday, April 1, and closes at 12 p.m., Friday, May 31.

The Bush Prize award is flexible and can be used to build up reserves, test that next big idea or whatever else would best support the organization's ongoing good work. The award amount is up to 25% of an organization’s most recent fiscal year expenses, with a maximum of $500,000.

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.

For more information on the Bush Prize and to find previous years’ Bush Prize recipients, visit the Bush Foundation’s website.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

Wondering if your work fits with the Bush Prize? We’re here to help. If you have specific questions about eligibility or selection criteria, contact the Foundation’s Bush Prize: Minnesota team at bushprizeminnesota@spmcf.org or 651.325.4202.

Eligibility

  1. All Bush Prize: Minnesota award funds must be used for charitable purposes to benefit communities in Minnesota.
  2. Organizations that are 501(c)(3) public charities or government entities (including schools) are eligible for the Bush Prize. Groups of organizations (such as coalitions or collaboratives) are eligible to apply, but only one organization may receive the award.
  3. The Foundation accepts Bush Prize applications from organizations or programs that are fiscally sponsored. These organizations or programs may register on the grant application portal and serve as the applicant. They will be asked to provide information on their fiscal sponsor and will need to complete a fiscal sponsor agreement form [PDF] to submit with the application. Fiscal sponsors must be 501(c)(3) public charities or government entities (including schools). If the applicant is selected as the award recipient, their fiscal sponsor will serve as the grantee and receive the funds.
  4. Bush Prize: Minnesota award recipients must be located in Minnesota. The specific community innovations highlighted in the Bush Prize: Minnesota application must also have occurred within the state of Minnesota.

Selection Criteria

Does the organization have a pattern of innovative solutions?

  • Are these breakthroughs in addressing community needs more effective, equitable or sustainable than existing approaches?
  • Did these innovative solutions make a significant difference?
  • Could the organization inspire or inform others?

Does the organization have a pattern of using inclusive, collaborative and resourceful processes?

  • Inclusive: meaningfully engaging key stakeholders, thoughtfully identifying those needed to create the intended change and, whenever possible, including those directly affected by the problem.
  • Collaborative: a true joint effort, with partners willing to share ownership and decision-making as they pursue an innovation together.
  • Resourceful: using existing resources and assets creatively to make the most of what a community already has.

Does the organizational leadership foster a culture of innovation?

  • Is the organization stable and strong in terms of governance and finance?

Community-led Solutions

The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation believes that our community should not only benefit from our work but inform and form it as well. Creating solutions to today’s issues requires a collaborative approach. Our work is also rooted in a commitment to racial equity.

How to Apply

The Bush Prize: Minnesota application period begins on Monday, April 1, 2024.

The deadline for submitting Bush Prize: Minnesota applications is Friday, May 31, 2024, at 12 p.m.

All applications will be submitted using the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation’s online grant portal, GranteeView. All applicants must register for GranteeView to apply for the Bush Prize: Minnesota. Registration is open now and registration instructions are available. We encourage all prospective applicants to complete registration early.

Once you have begun an application in GranteeView, you can save it and return later to continue working. To return to an in-progress application, log in to GranteeView using the username and password you created when registering your account.

Download a copy of the Bush Prize: Minnesota Application Information (PDF)

Not able to apply online? Contact us at bushprizeminnesota@spmcf.org or 651.325.4202, and we will work with you on submitting your application.

Selection Process and Timeline

  • April 1 – May 31: The application period for the Bush Prize: Minnesota begins on Monday, April 1, and closes at 12 p.m., Friday, May 31.
  • Late June: The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation will gather a team of community partners and leaders to support the Bush Prize: Minnesota selection process. This team will conduct an initial review of applications and select finalists in late June.
  • July-August: The Bush Prize: Minnesota team will work with finalists to conduct site visits and review references. The team will recommend the Bush Prize award recipients from this group of finalists.
  • September-October: Recipients and all finalists of the 2024 Bush Prize: Minnesota will be announced. All selections are based on program eligibility requirements and criteria.
  • Spring 2025: Next opportunity to apply. The Bush Prize: Minnesota is an annual program and will accept applications again in spring 2025.

New Statewide Grant Program

The Foundation will also develop a second statewide grant program, with funding from the Bush Foundation, to support creative problem solving across Minnesota. The goal of this program will be to develop, test and spread ideas that make the region better for everyone and to inspire, equip and connect leaders to more effectively lead equitable change.

The Foundation will work in partnership with Minnesotans across the state to build this new program, which will open in late 2024 or early 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I submit my application?

We use an online application system, GranteeView. To start an application, applicants must first register for GranteeView. Registration is open now and registration instructions are available. We encourage all prospective applicants to complete registration early.

Once you’ve started your application, it can be saved for you to revisit and finish at any time during the open application period.

If I am unable to apply online, what should I do?

Contact us at bushprizeminnesota@spmcf.org or 651.325.4202, and we will work with you on submitting your application.

If I am having trouble completing my application online, what do I do?

For technical support or questions regarding accessing GranteeView, please contact grantsadmin@spmcf.org.

We encourage you to begin your application in GranteeView as early as possible in the application period so that we will have time to offer you support.

Go to GranteeView

What if my organization is located outside of Minnesota or our work serves residents in multiple states?

The Bush Prize: Minnesota award recipients must be located in Minnesota. The specific community innovations highlighted in the Bush Prize: Minnesota application must also have occurred within the state of Minnesota, and all Bush Prize: Minnesota award funds must be used for charitable purposes to benefit communities in Minnesota.

If your organization also serves communities in South Dakota, North Dakota or any of the 23 Native Nations across the three-state region, you may consider applying to one or several of the other Bush Prize Community Partners:

An organization is only eligible to receive one Bush Prize, so if you are considering applying to multiple Bush Prize Community Partners, please contact us at bushprizeminnesota@spmcf.org or 651.325.4202 to best coordinate your application.

What if the innovative work in our application is a collaborative effort? How do we determine which organizations will be publicly acknowledged and which organizations will receive the award?

We will only provide the award to one entity but will happily credit multiple organizations publicly, if that is your preference. The primary applicant organization will be the award recipient.

What can Bush Prize award recipients do with the award money?

The Bush Prize award is flexible and can be used to advance the charitable purpose of the organization. Bush Prize: Minnesota funds must be used to benefit communities in Minnesota. Bush Prize award recipients will be asked to report on the use of their award funds, and this information may be shared publicly.

Visit the Bush Foundation website

Not finding an answer to your question? We’re happy to help. Please contact the Foundation’s Bush Prize: Minnesota team at bushprizeminnesota@spmcf.org or 651.325.4202.

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