Eligibility & Criteria

The application period for the 2025 Bush Prize: Minnesota begins on Tuesday, April 1 at 8 am MT / 9 am CT, and closes on Wednesday, April 30 at 5 pm MT/ 6 pm CT. 

Honorees will be selected among organizations meeting the following: 

Eligible activities and entities:

• Be a Native-led organization with 60% of its board members and senior leadership/ED identifying as Native American. 
• Be a Native-led organization and a legally incorporated entity with 501(c)(3), or, 501(c)(4) status, or have a fiscal sponsor.  
• Be based in and carry out their work in either Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota or in one of the 23 Native Nations that share the same geography.
• Submit a grant for a charitable purpose

Ineligible activities and entities:

• Native-led organizations who have received a Bush Prize in the last 10 years. 
• Projects sponsored by a government agency. 
• Endowment funds. 
• Individuals; these grants are for Native-led organizations. 
• Partisan efforts. 
• Late or incomplete application.

The Good Relatives Collaborative Community Selection Committee will consider the following criteria for review and honoree selection:

Transformational Impact

Bush Prize: Native Nations honors organizations which have created meaningful, long-lasting change to address the challenges and issues affecting their community. Transformational impact can happen through ideas of all sizes, within communities of all sizes, and through organizations of all sizes. Bush Prize: Native Nations finalists will have approaches and outcomes that:

• Challenge the status quo and address the root causes of significant community issues and systemic challenges.
• Create sustainable and equitable solutions for the community, particularly for communities which have been historically underserved.
• Inspire others in the region and serve as a model for future success.

History of Creative Solutions

Bush Prize: Native Nations honors organizations which have a history of using innovative approaches that offer real solutions for the challenges and issues affecting their community. Bush Prize: Native Nations finalists will be able to identify specific examples of processes, programs or projects that use creative approaches, technologies, collaborations, and methods to drive sustainable change and solve problems more effectively.

Community-led Solutions

Bush Prize: Native Nations honors organizations which understand that communities are best positioned to articulate and effectively respond to today’s challenges. Bush Prize: Native Nations finalists will show a consistent commitment to listen, engage and involve the community to ensure the people they serve benefit from the organization’s impact.

Culture of Creative Problem Solving

Bush Prize: Native Nations honors organizations that exemplify a culture of innovation and creative community problem solving. Bush Prize: Native Nations finalists will articulate how their organization’s values, policies, practices, people and partnerships allow them to innovate and utilize community assets and resources in creative ways to develop sustainable solutions to community issues.

Fiscal Sponsor Organization Information (if applicable)

If applying using a fiscal sponsor, an authorized representative of the fiscal sponsor is required to sign and upload a Fiscal Sponsor Agreement.

We highly encourage you to collect your documents and draft your answers prior to entering your information into the portal. We also encourage you to use the “save” button in the bottom right hand corner for the portal. An email with your saved work will be sent to you from [email protected].

Bush Prize: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota

Bush Prize: MN, ND, and SD are separate opportunities, but eligible applicants would be considered for and could be selected as honorees through both opportunities. Applications and selection criteria have been aligned to make dual applications as simple as possible.

• Bush Prize: Minnesota administered by St Paul Minnesota Foundation
• Bush Prize: North Dakota administered by Strengthen ND
• Bush Prize: South Dakota administered by South Dakota Community Foundation