The Bush Foundation will accept applications for its Community Innovation grant program starting Tuesday, September 8. Community Innovation grants support efforts to develop breakthrough solutions to challenges faced by communities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the 23 Native nations that share the same geography. Eligible organizations can apply for grants between $10,000 and $200,000. The application deadline is Thursday, November 5 at noon Central.
Launched in 2013, the Community Innovation grant program is unique in its focus on the problem-solving process. Molly Matheson Gruen, one of the Foundation’s Community Innovation Directors, said she likes to think of the program as a form of “civic R&D,” a way to give communities the support they need to develop breakthrough solutions to community challenges. The Foundation defines a breakthrough solution as one that is more effective, equitable and sustainable than the status quo. And while there are a number of ways a community can work toward a breakthrough solution, Matheson Gruen said Community Innovation grants support communities working in way that is inclusive, collaborative and resourceful.
“When our team sits down to review Community Innovation grant applications we focus on how a community plans to pursue its breakthrough solution. Are all of the key stakeholders included in the process? Is it a true collaboration, one where all partners share ownership? Do they make the most of the assets and resources at hand? We’re really looking to see if the process is inclusive, collaborative and resourceful,” Matheson Gruen said.
Community Innovation grants support projects at all phases of the problem-solving process, from early stage efforts to identify or better understand a problem, to the late stage work necessary to test or implement a potential breakthrough solution. They are available to all types of communities and issue areas. Matheson Gruen said that no matter who comes together to solve a problem, what type of problem they want to solve, or where they are in that process, all applicants should clearly describe the impact a breakthrough solution will have on their community.
The Foundation’s Community Innovation team is available to answer questions and offer support throughout the application period. Anyone with questions is encouraged to call the team at 651-379-2249 or email staff@bushfoundation.org. The team will also host an informational webinar at on Tuesday, October 6. Additional details, including time and registration instructions, will be available soon. Follow the Bush Foundation on Twitter and Facebook for all of the latest news about Community Innovation grants.
Another way applicants can get a better sense of the work supported through the Community Innovation Grant Program is to learn more about its current grantees, Matheson Gruen added. That is why, she said, the Foundation now publishes “Learning Logs,” reports from Community Innovation grantees that documents their effort to achieve a breakthrough solution and what they have learned along the way.