The Bush Foundation was established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife, Edyth. Inspired by the Bushes’ desire to build their community and encourage innovation, the Foundation has invested nearly one billion dollars in grants to thousands of organizations and individuals.
The Bush Foundation invests in great ideas and the people who power them. We encourage individuals and organizations to think bigger and think differently about what is possible in communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native nations that share the same geographic area.
Established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife, Edyth, the Foundation has invested nearly $1 billion in more than 2,300 Fellows and Native Nation Rebuilders, and 1,700 grantees.
What They Do
Community Innovation
They seek to inspire and support communities to create innovative solutions to their challenges.
Communications & Convenings
They share stories of the people and organizations they invest in; they create and support events that inspire, equip and connect people across the region they serve.
Education
They seek to close the education achievement gap by improving teacher preparation programs and building a stronger ecosystem for studying and sharing best practices in education.
Leadership
They seek to inspire, equip and connect leaders through our Bush Fellowship and Native Nation Rebuilders progams and by investing in other organizations developing leaders across our region.
Native Nations
They support Native nations that are trying to redesign their core governance systems in ways that work better for their unique needs.
Fellowships
Through their Fellowship programs they invest in building the leadership capacity of people in the region working on issues that are important to their community and key to advancing work in their focus areas. They currently have three Fellowship programs.
Their Leadership program manages the Bush Fellowship Program. The Bush Fellowship Program is distinctive in its flexibility, allowing individuals to articulate what they need to become better leaders and providing them with the resources and guidance to make it happen.
The Ron McKinley Philanthropy Fellowship Program brings their long-time focus on leadership development into their own Foundation operations. They’ve partnered with Minnesota Council on Foundations to create a program for individuals from communities underrepresented in foundation leadership to work in staff roles at the Foundation.
Their Native Nations team manages the Native Nation Rebuilder Program, which is designed for emerging and existing Native leaders who want to strengthen their nation building knowledge and learn how to implement positive changes at their Native nations.
