Bush Prize for Minnesota Organizations

The Bush Prize: Minnesota is an initiative operated by the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation as a community grant partner of the Bush Foundation. This program aims to honor and support extraordinary nonprofit organizations located in Minnesota that demonstrate a sustained commitment to community-led, innovative solutions that result in transformational impact. Established as a successor to the former Bush Prize for Community Innovation, the Bush Prize: Minnesota was launched in 2024 under the management of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. The program complements other Bush Prize initiatives in surrounding regions managed by other community grant partners. This grant opportunity is designed to recognize two Minnesota-based organizations annually with unrestricted awards of $250,000 each. These funds can be used flexibly for any charitable purpose within the state of Minnesota, including but not limited to operating expenses, programmatic activities, and capital expenditures. In addition to the two main honorees, six additional organizations will be named as finalists and receive $10,000 awards each. The unrestricted nature of the funding allows grantees to strategically invest in what is most impactful to further their missions. To be eligible, organizations must be located in Minnesota and operate projects that also occur within the state. Applicants must be 501(c)(3) public charities, government entities such as schools or tribal governments, or programs with fiscal sponsorship from such entities. Coalitions and collaboratives may apply under a single organization’s name. Past Bush Prize recipients within the last 10 years are ineligible. The program also cross-references applications from eligible Native-led organizations with the Bush Prize: Native Nations, which is managed separately but shares aligned criteria. The program is grounded in several core values that define the selection criteria: a demonstrated history (at least three years) of employing creative solutions to community challenges; community-driven approaches where people served by the organization help inform and shape programs; a culture that embraces innovation and creatively leverages partnerships and community assets; and evidence of long-term, sustainable impact that challenges systemic inequities and inspires others. Applications are reviewed by a Community Selection Committee representing diverse regions and perspectives across Minnesota. The 2026 application cycle opens on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, and closes at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, 2026. All applications must be submitted through the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation’s GranteeView portal. Applicants must register in the portal prior to submission, and can begin, save, and return to applications before submitting them. Eight finalists—four from the Twin Cities Metro and four from Greater Minnesota—will be selected by early August. Honorees will be chosen from this pool in September 2026, with all recipients officially announced in October 2026. For further inquiries, applicants are encouraged to contact the Bush Prize: Minnesota team via email at bushprizeminnesota@spmcf.org or by phone at 651-325-4202. Registration for the GranteeView portal is currently open, and downloadable application instructions are available on the foundation’s website. This opportunity does not require any pre-application steps such as LOIs or concept papers and is designed to be accessible and equitable in process. The Bush Prize: Minnesota is a recurring annual opportunity.

Organizations should highlight at least three years of community-led innovation and transformational impact, and show how they center community voices in program design and implementation.