Who We've Funded

Minneapolis, MN — To build and implement a dramatically redesigned teacher preparation program that will develop and guarantee the effectiveness of 375 teachers annually

Vermillion, SD — For the Bush Foundation Teacher Preparation and Effectiveness Initiative - Phase I

Minneapolis, MN — Support the 'Expanding Rules of Engagement with Artists and Audiences and Fostering Creative Capital in our Community' initiative through continued participation in the Large Cultural Organization Development Fund II (LCODF II)

Winona, MN — For the Bush Foundation Teacher Preparation and Effectiveness Initiative - Phase I

Minneapolis, MN — Implement a three-year capacity building plan, including the launch of a development and marketing program, that is directed toward securing a strong and long-term stream of contributions and earned revenues

Minneapolis, MN — One thousand high school students who face high risk of dropping out will increase their engagement and a higher percentage of them will graduate or be on track to graduate as a result of intensive support services from Check & Connect staff

Fargo, ND — Strengthen the nonprofit sector in North Dakota by building the organizational capacity of organizations to meet their mission

Minneapolis, MN — More effective mental and chemical health treatment to 3,000 African Americans by providing clients access to dual diagnosis services; train 15 staff and mental health professionals at four community-based organizations to implement protocols/practices

Brooklyn Center, MN — Prepare 50 African immigrant and refugee young adults, ages 16-24, to enter the workforce with the necessary remedial education and vocational skills to earn a living wage through participation in the Youth Enrichment Program

Minneapolis, MN — To prevent recently arrived African families from becoming involved with the child protection system through continued support of a full-time family advocate position

Saint Paul, MN — Provide two years of support toward implementation of a three-year strategic plan focused on strengthening the long-term financial stability of the organization

Saint Paul, MN — Increased artistic opportunities for composers and more effective partnerships that engage broader audiences in contemporary music, stimulate artistic entrepreneurship and collaboration, and promote musical creativity, as part of the Regional Arts Development Program II (RADP II)

Washington, DC — To improve water quality and support farmers for providing environmental benefits on working lands through development and implementation of a water quality credit trading program in the Sauk River (Minnesota) watershed, and for support of state rule making

Saint Paul, MN — For executive search consultant expenses

Build the capacity of six Asian American-Pacific Islander organizations in Minnesota to effectively serve their communities through in-depth technical assistance and grantmaking as part of the National Gender and Equity Campaign

Minneapolis, MN — To serve at-risk Asian and Pacific Islander girls

To increase Bedlam's support and revenue base, and to expand staff

Saint Paul, MN — Toward construction of a new University Commons student center

Minneapolis, MN — Help former felons re-enter society and avoid re-incarceration through a social enterprise approach to housing, healthcare, employment, and community service

Minneapolis, MN — Improve performance management, mentor/mentee matching, and the development of financial resources for the organization

Windom, MN — Continued support for a part-time education/events position and publicity expense seeded by a prior Bush grant. The organization will sustain the position with increased earned and contributed income for diverse cultural and educational programming

Minneapolis, MN — Successful partnership with Project for Pride in Living sharing services and resources to keep a minimum of 85 residents with a history of mental illness, chemical dependency, and long-term homelessness permanently housed and receiving supportive services

Bismarck, ND — For consultants to complete an organizational cost analysis, create a marketing and fundraising strategy for programs and services, and train staff and collaborative Board members in fund development

Owatonna, MN — For a consultant to complete a development plan and for professional training for the executive director

Minneapolis, MN — To reduce the effects of long-term trauma among Latino children/families who have witnessed violence by implementing the Childhood Trauma Reduction Project, to hire/train staff therapists in evidence-based therapies, and to disseminate practices

Bismarck, ND — Add full-time and part-time staff to improve the sustainability of the organization's finances and programming

Saint Paul, MN — To assist working families to apply for work support programs for which they are eligible in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota

Montevideo, MN — To improve economic conditions and strengthen cultural assets in communities of the Upper Minnesota River Valley through community organizing and civic engagement

Minneapolis, MN — Increased access to diverse literary voices through Entry Year support in the Regional Arts Development Program II, and for one-time moving expenses

Support operating expenses in FY2009 and 2010, and the implementation of the 2008-11 strategic plan to increase the value and impact of collaboration programs for higher education institutions

Saint Paul, MN — For organizational development

Mandan, ND — Provide multi-family housing for 525 low-income residents in rural communities and reservations through a new community loan fund and increased housing development skills in nonprofit organizations

Saint Paul, MN — To test an interagency referral system for Latino families

Minneapolis, MN — Fund an executive assistant position, expand the East African Women's Center facility and programming by hiring a certified early childhood teacher, and receive consultant support to benefit the Women's Center as well as the organization as a whole

Minneapolis, MN — For communications strategies and tools that will increase the constituency for public policies that conserve the environment

Benson, MN — To improve the social and emotional development of children birth to age five in five southwest Minnesota counties through integration of services based on multiple agency planning to achieve common goals

Bismarck, ND — Build membership, strengthen emerging leaders, and diversify funding through continued support of the Responsible Energy Program

Brookings, SD — Help sustain and strengthen the financial and leadership capacity of this statewide grassroots organizing group

Minneapolis, MN — Fund an operations director position to ensure implementation of a succession and funding plan to achieve sustainability

Duluth, MN — To match $1 million in new gifts to the Duluth-Superior Community Foundation's unrestricted endowment funds, and to support enhanced community initiatives consulting and related expenses ($300,000)

Minneapolis, MN — To ensure the healthy development of children in communities of color by increasing the Center's capacity to train childcare providers and support leadership development

Grand Forks, ND — Increase community engagement in performing arts programs by hiring an additional full-time staff position to provide administrative support, coordinate volunteers, and assist the executive director in theater operations and membership/fundraising efforts

Minneapolis, MN — Complete a strategic plan to identify and take action on emerging environmental concerns in climate change, environmental health, and energy security in Minnesota

Chicago, IL — Help build sustained support to advance clean energy development and boost rural economic development in North and South Dakota

Fargo, ND — To sustain the theater's professional touring company

NOTE: The third payment is contingent on a 1:1 match of contributed income by June 30, 2009.

Fargo, ND — To provide new and upgraded staffing capacity

Jamestown, ND — To support the first full-time staff, which will double organizational capacity

Fergus Falls, MN — Increased artistic quality and focus, enhanced community partnerships and collaborations, and additional organizational capacity and planning for leadership transition through admission to the Regional Arts Development Program II (RADP II)

Saint Paul, MN — To implement 2007 Minnesota clean energy laws and facilitate policy development in Upper Midwest states aligned with regional clean energy accords by hiring two new senior policy staff, and to support communications

Bloomington, MN — Continue to reduce sedimentation and phosphorus pollution in order to improve watershed quality in the Lower Minnesota River Watershed while sustainable funding is sought

Saint Paul, MN — To protect and improve the health of the Mississippi River as it passes through the Twin Cities by working with landowners, municipal officials, and government agencies to implement policies and practices beneficial to the river, watersheds, and water quality

Bronx, NY — Planning and infrastructure upgrades in support of an executive leadership transition

Minneapolis, MN — Develop the internal capacity to diversify funding sources to continue implementing the Plains Roadmap and Midwestern Governors Association Accords

Houston, TX — Support, evaluate, and refine the Plains Youth InterACTION program; determine the next steps for GPRC; and expand the base of financial support of the organization

Winona, MN — To increase audiences, broaden financial support, expand community educational opportunities, and contribute to economic and cultural development in the Winona area through hiring a full-time, on-site operations manager

Minneapolis, MN — For operating expenses

Saint Paul, MN — To fund green materials and activities that meet statewide green building policies for affordable single-family housing projects and for substantial rehabilitation projects

Minneapolis, MN — Development of an Early Childhood Business Plan

Minneapolis, MN — Save 30.7 billion BTUs through the Clean Energy Resource Teams community-scale energy efficiency project

Minneapolis, MN — Increased educational opportunities and community engagement through the Guthrie Theater's Kushner Celebration, a new 'festival' model to be tested with support from the Large Cultural Organizations Development Fund II (LCODF II)

Saint Paul, MN — To hire consultants for strategic planning, board and HR development, and technology upgrades

Minneapolis, MN — Improve the health of low-income families and communities of color by increasing the effectiveness of organizations to reduce poor environmental conditions through grantmaking, technical assistance, and convening activities of Environmental Justice Fund

Minneapolis, MN — For initial operating support through the Regional Arts Development Program II

Little Falls, MN — Increased ability of HCP communities to affect long-term change in two to four identified trends through improved planning, training, measurement, and partnerships; Increased philanthropic investments in HCP communities

Takoma Park, MD — To increase the effectiveness of ecological health organizations in the Dakotas and Minnesota to meet their missions through customized technical assistance, training, and coaching

Gaithersburg, MD — Secure stable funding to sustain activities of the Midwest Clean Air Campaign and Wilderness and Public Lands Program

Minneapolis, MN — Improved artistic quality of, enhanced audience access to, and increased sustainability for contemporary dance in the region through continued operating support in the Regional Arts Development Program I (RADP I)

Saint Paul, MN — Provide easier access for constituencies and generate new funding and fee-for-service opportunities by supporting the final production of three education products

Reduce delinquent behavior in 120 Latino students by providing mental health counseling at their schools through the In-School Student Support Services program

Pine Ridge, SD — Build the program and financial capacity of Lakota Oyate Wakanyeja Owicakiyapi, the first tribally chartered child and family welfare organization in the United States

Herrick, SD — 340 healthier Lakota youth through Lakota/Dakota Coming of Age Ceremonies, Cultural Camps, and Youth Societies. Of these, 75% will learn and practice Lakota systems and ways, and will reduce suicidal ideations, hopelessness, anger, drug and alcohol use

Minneapolis, MN — Complete an organizational transition

Fridley, MN — For a strategic planning and website development consultant

Bismarck, ND — To reduce preventable legal problems among elderly, rural poor, Native Americans, and immigrants and refugees through expanded community legal education

New York, NY — To revitalize communities and neighborhoods in Duluth by implementing the national Building Sustainable Communities Initiative

Fargo, ND — To achieve positive parenting, child health and development, and child abuse prevention outcomes in Burleigh and Morton Counties

Minneapolis, MN — To increase the diversity of MacPhail's faculty and student enrollment

Saint Paul, MN — Rebuild and stabilize the Job Bank program by hiring a full-time employment specialist to assist job seekers with resume writing, job searching, and contacting potential employers

Minneapolis, MN — Hire consultants and develop the capacities of staff and operating systems to strengthen the evaluation and reporting of program outcomes

Minneapolis, MN — To prepare 60 American Indian high school students over three years to enter post-secondary education with skills in digital media and knowledge in a media-related field

Minneapolis, MN — Capital support for remaining building renovation projects at the 47,000 square foot community facility

Minneapolis, MN — Sponsor the 2009 Minnesota Meeting

Minneapolis, MN — To develop a new strategic plan to guide its activities through 2011 as part of the organizational effectiveness component of the Regional Arts Development Program I

Saint Paul, MN — Build fundraising capacity to sustain the activities of the Environmental Public Health Program

Saint Paul, MN — Build sustainable systems that support very young children and their families, and improve professional practice in the field by deepening understanding of early child development among policy makers, foundations, and practitioners in MN, ND, and SD

Marine on St. Croix, MN — More than 200 immigrant farmers become independent farming entrepreneurs, the Big River Farms program establishes a robust local marketing and distribution network for their produce, and healthy local food is accessible to low-income families

Minneapolis, MN — To establish a model for developing new American operas for worldwide distribution on the stage and via new media

NOTE: Payments are matching contingent; increasing ratios per year.

Saint Paul, MN — To engage at least one million Minnesotans in learning from the state's past, reflecting on lessons from both its successes and failings, and planning for its future well-being

Woodbury, MN — Strengthen staff and organizational capacity to support 17 volunteer-led chapters in Minnesota and the Dakotas through broader public outreach and increased success in raising funds from donors, particularly individuals

Bozeman, MT — To expand and improve the Oweesta Collaborative (focused on fostering Native American entrepreneurship) and its Entrepreneurship Development System by adding members, documenting and disseminating lessons learned and creating a Best Practices Toolkit (with a youth and artist component), and for a funding plan

Minneapolis, MN — Increase audiences for contemporary art as it develops administrative and increased staffing capacity for additional programming and outreach, new fundraising activities, and a capital project

Grand Forks, ND — Increased artistic excellence, engagement, and sustainability of visual arts in North Dakota through entry-year support under the Regional Arts Development Program II

Grand Marais, MN — Increase access to and participation in traditional crafts in Northern Minnesota by renovating and expanding the North House Folk School

NOTE: The second payment is contingent.

Grand Forks, ND — For a consultant to create a feasibility study to start a prisoner re-entry program

Minneapolis, MN — Improved health outcomes and reduced health disparities for North Minneapolis residents, particularly in areas of mental health, youth development programs, prenatal care, and nutrition, through the work of the NorthPoint Innovation Center

Minneapolis, MN — Provide healthy meals to three times more people living with a chronic illness than currently being served as a result of building a state-of-the-art kitchen

NOTE: This grant is contingent on raising all funds for the project.