Ecosystem grants

Applications open in 2026.

• Organizations that are based in or support efforts in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota or the 23 Native nations that share the same geography.
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• 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or government entities, including schools; OR coalitions or collaboratives (only one organization may receive the grant); OR organizations working with a fiscal sponsor that has 501(c)(3) status; OR in very rare exceptions, other types of organizations.

Please contact us to discuss your situation if there is some reason that you do not meet the above eligibility requirements.

If you become a finalist in the grant selection process, we will learn more about your fiscal sponsor and ask for a fiscal sponsorship agreement.

We encourage you to review all the application information provided in this section.

We use an online form application and can work with you if that option doesn’t meet your needs. Just let us know as soon as you can at staff@bushfoundation.org.

When using the online form, we recommend Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Firefox as your web browser.

If you are applying with a fiscal sponsorship agreement, the fiscal sponsor is the applicant organization, and the group they are supporting should be listed as the fiscally sponsored organization in the online form.

We provide the application questions and criteria we use to select Ecosystem grantees for your reference.

This is based on the 2023 process for your reference and may change in the next application round.
 
Here’s what you can expect as you move through the process (based on past timelines):

• We review applications in April and May.
• We let you know if you are moving forward or not in late May.
• We schedule phone calls with finalists in June to gather more information about your organization, how it fits with this program and any financial materials needed.
• We conduct due diligence and reference calls for finalists in June and July to understand how your work is valued by others.
• We share decisions in early August.

As part of our due diligence, we ask for some financial information to understand the health and capacity of your organization so that we can better support you. Financial health is only one of many factors we consider. Mostly, we want to encourage an open conversation about any financial challenges or struggles you are facing so that we can be a resource to you.
 
Examples of the financial materials we might request include audits, IRS Form 990s or internal financial statements.

One of the primary reasons our Ecosystem grantees were selected is because others have told us that they are critical to supporting organizations and leaders in our region. When Ecosystem organizations see an extraordinary opportunity to support problem solvers in the region, we are open to providing additional funding in support of that opportunity.
 
What would an extraordinary opportunity look like?

• It is an unusual—likely one-time—activity. It is not part of the organization’s regular strategy and operations.
• It would significantly inspire and support creative problem solving that makes the region better for everyone – in ways that are consistent with the purpose of the Ecosystem grant program.
• Problem solvers in the region say they need or value it.
• It would have broad reach in our region—with lots of leaders and organizations benefiting from it.

We are picturing things like events, research, or other activities intended to inspire, equip and connect people to address challenges within and across communities. We know unexpected things come up every year. This potential additional funding is for truly unusual situations, where our support can help the organization do something extraordinarily useful for the region.
 
To apply, current Ecosystem grantees should reach out to their primary support staff if they would like us to consider funding an extraordinary opportunity.

Jargon is tricky. The words themselves aren’t necessarily bad. The problem is when we assume that we all interpret them the same way. Sometimes, jargon can be useful and familiar.

When we use jargon, we provide the context and definition for what we mean.