2019 Events
Building and strengthening connections among people working to make the region better for everyone
bushCONNECT On The Road
The Bush Foundation partners with national events to support scholarships for people from our region to participate as a cohort. In 2019, we hosted cohorts at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Independent Sector’s Upswell, SOCAP and PopTech.
,
Aspen Ideas Festival
Leaders from across our region attended the Aspen Ideas Festival in June 2019. The festival is one of the world’s premier gatherings of leaders and thinkers to discuss the ideas and issues shaping our time.
Aspen Ideas Festival
The 25 members of the Bush Foundation cohort at the Aspen Ideas Festival gathered to connect during the multi-day event in June 2019.
POPTECH
Participants from the region traveled to beautiful Northport, Maine, to attend PopTech in October 2019. (Photo by Adriana Alejandro Osorio)
Independent Sector’s Upswell
The Bush Foundation hosted 50 people from our region at a dinner at the Chicago Center for Arts & Technology (ChiCAT) during Upswell 2019. Upswell brings together changemakers from across the country and across sectors.
Upswell Session
The Bush Foundation and our event planning partner, Events by Lady K, presented a session at Upswell about planning inclusive events.
PopTech
Fifty regional leaders attended PopTech at Point Lookout in Northport, Maine. They interacted with a wide array of speakers and artists during presentations, fireside chats and meals together. (Photo by Adriana Alejandro Osorio)
PopTech
PopTech participant James Bergman of Fargo, North Dakota, was invited onstage to perform an impromptu spoken word recap of the event. (Photo by Adriana Alejandro Osorio)
POPTECH
Participants from the region got to know each other well while traveling together to PopTech. Pictured here are Cam Yang and Adriana Alejandro Osorio, both from the Twin Cities. (Photo by Adriana Alejandro Osorio)
PopTech
PopTech participant Naima Dhore, of the Twin Cities, takes in the view during a session break. (Photo courtesy of Naima Dhore)
SOCAP
The Bush Foundation hosted 25 participants at SOCAP in San Francisco, California. The event brings people together around social entrepreneurship and impact investing. (Photo by Allison Barmann)
,
Event Sponsorship
The Bush Foundation sponsors events across the region that help people think bigger and differently about what’s possible in their communities, and build skills and relationships to lead more effectively.
,
Tribal Leaders Summit
Officials from many tribal and government entities share the stage during the opening ceremony of the Tribal Leaders Summit, which is hosted by the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota. (Photo courtesy of UTTC)
MIT Solve at Pine Ridge
Solve Fellow Burrell Jones (left) discusses his work during an MIT Solve at Pine Ridge working group at Thunder Valley Community Center. The program supports and connects social impact innovators. (Photo by Tara Rose Weston)
TEDxFargo
Emcee Greg Tehven welcomes more than 2,000 attendees to the 10th TEDxFargo event in Fargo, North Dakota. Fargo hosts one of the biggest TEDx events in the country. (Photo by J. Alan Paul Photography)
Pollen Live
Pollen Midwest brought stories they’ve published to life during Pollen Live | A Wild & Precious World. Here, writer Leigh Finke interviews Ben Passer and Janiece Watts, who both work on equity and social justice in the energy industry. (Photo by Emily Barrera)
ConnectUP
Entrepreneurs at the ConnectUP! Summit. (Photo by Pang Xiong)
Rural Arts and Culture Summit
Participants experience the Tiny School of Art & Design by artist Heidi Jeub during the Rural Arts & Culture Summit in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. (Photo by Holly Diestler)
University of Minnesota International Women’s Day
Janice Bad Moccasin of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community leads an opening prayer at the Indigenous Women Have Always Been Leaders event hosted by the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy. (Photo by Lisa Miller)
National Indian Education Association
NIEA invited the first ever Native Congresswomen, Deb Haaland (D-NM), left, and Sharice Davids (D-KS), middle, to speak at the 50th Anniversary Convention. The conversation was moderated by former NIEA Board President Heather Shotten, right. (Photo courtesy of NIEA)
Main Street North Dakota
Gov. Doug Burgum addresses the Main Street ND Summit, which brought people together to learn and think about how to improve quality of life for all in North Dakota. (Photo courtesy of ND Department of Commerce)
Charities Review Council’s FORUM
Attendees connect at the Charities Review Council’s FORUM 2019: Breaking Patterns. (Photo by Bruce Silcox)
Charities Review Council’s FORUM
Attendees connect at the Charities Review Council’s FORUM 2019: Breaking Patterns. (Photo by Bruce Silcox)
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
Leah Goldstein Moses of The Improve Group speaks with a conference attendee at a pop-up evaluation station during the second day of the 2019 MCN Annual Conference. (Photo by John Wurm)
,
Bush Foundation Events
Bush Foundation staff and board members travel and host events across the region. In 2019, we hosted a reception in Bismarck, North Dakota and held our board retreat in Stillwater, Minnesota. We also hosted Office Hours around the region as well as program-specific gatherings for Bush Fellows, grantees and partners.
,
Bush Fellows Launch Retreat
The 2019 Bush Fellows gathered for their Launch Retreat in April 2019 to learn together, connect and create plans for their paths forward. (Photo by Bruce Silcox)
Bush Fellows Launch Retreat
The 2019 Bush Fellows connected during their Launch Retreat in April 2019. (Photo by Bruce Silcox)
Bush Fellows Launch Retreat
The 2019 Bush Fellows learned together during their Launch Retreat in April 2019. (Photo by Bruce Silcox)
Board Retreat
The Bush Foundation board regularly travels to a new part of the region to connect with leaders and learn more about the community. In 2019, they visited Stillwater, Minnesota. (Photo by Jeff Achen)
Bismarck Reception
Bush Fellow Joseph McNeil (BF'19) spoke about his work and community during the Bush Foundation's reception in Bismarck, North Dakota, in September 2019. (Photo by Ben Gumeringer Photography)
Bismarck Reception
The Bush Foundation hosts receptions in the region to connect with community members and celebrate the work of grantees and Bush Fellows in the region. In 2019, we gathered in Bismarck, North Dakota. (Photo by Ben Gumeringer Photography)
Bismarck Reception
Bush Foundation President Jen Ford Reedy welcomed people to a reception in Bismarck, North Dakota, in 2019. (Photo by Ben Gumeringer Photography)
Community Creativity Cohort 2 Convening
Resmaa Menakem spoke during a gathering of the Community Creativity Cohort 2 about trauma-informed, body-centered psychology. The cohort supports organizations to make art and culture central to problem solving. (Photo by Rebecca Jean Lawrence Photography)
Community Creativity Cohort 2 Convening
Members of the Community Creativity Cohort 2 gathered in October 2019. CCC2 is a participant-led capacity building program that supports organizations to make art and culture central to problem solving. All 40 organizations are led by and serve communities of color/Indigenous communities and/or rural communities. (Photo by Rebecca Jean Lawrence Photography)
Education Event: Leading the Way Together
The Bush Foundation hosted its annual event for educators, policy makers and community members who are building the movement to offer more student-centered learning in schools across our region. Here, Jackie Statum Allen, education portfolio director, addresses the group. (Photo by Rebecca Jean Lawrence Photography)
Education Event: Leading the Way Together
Participants shared their own perspectives and experiences during the Bush Foundation's annual education event, co-hosted with The School Leadership Project, Education Evolving and others. (Photo by Rebecca Jean Lawrence Photography)
Education Event: Leading the Way Together
Students served as emcees during the Bush Foundation's annual education event, which brought together nearly 400 people for a day of learning and connection around the theme “Leading the Way Together. (Photo by Rebecca Jean Lawrence Photography)
Staff Volunteer Day
Bush Foundation staff volunteered together to help Habitat for Humanity build and rehabilitate homes in October 2019.
,
,
Continue reading
-
News
Opportunity to work with us
As part of our office move later this year, we are exploring possibilities for the build out of the ground floor of the building. We are in the early stages of this and considering different types of operating models and potential partnerships.
-
Staff note
Coordinating the work of our contact hub
We aim to be radically open in all that we do, and that includes being more accessible to more people and sharing what we learn along the way.
-
Staff note
Making every dollar work through impact investing
We have benefitted from the experience of other funders as we developed our impact investing approach. Now we are paying it forward and sharing what we have done and what we have learned.