32 survey respondents
Location: 101 Fifth Street East, St Paul, 55101 MN
EIN: 41-6017815
63%
37%
20 hours
Median
78%
22%
56%
44%
2017 Deadlines:
Types of Grants Awarded:
Geographic Focus:
For Fiscal Year
Total Assets:
Total Grants:
Change in Assets FY :
Amount of Grants to Minnesota Nonprofits:
Largest Grant:
Smallest Grant:
Average Grant:
Grant Applicant - applied in 2017
Our organization has applied four times to this funder, and never made it past the first round. Each proposal - prep/discussion/ideation, writing, reviewing, re-writing - takes at least 25 hours, and probably more when adding other peoples' time. The staff there is very accessible, but the amount of human capital that goes into each application process, with low probability of return (although big return for a lucky few), raises many questions to me about meta cost-benefit to our sector.
Minnesota
Applied and not funded
2017
Good
Average
See earlier response. They make big investments and offer opportunities for engagement, but their process causes many to expend hours of limited resources (e.g. time) into development & writing, with low return for the majority of applicants. I think it's problematic.
Consider your funding model and the amount of human capital - and opportunity costs - that are spent without return.
Offers time to debrief on denials. Provides scholarships for professional development opportunities (and the fellowship programs seem great). The team seems open and generous with their time.
25
Thanks for your feedback. We appreciate your time and will share this information with staff for consideration.
Grant Applicant - applied in 2015
Contact staff ahead of time. They will be honest and open with you about your idea. They have not been great in my experience for ongoing support for programs or gen op, but they are pretty good about having accurate guidelines available and supporting projects that are a fit.
Culturally sensitive, Openminded, Responsive
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for lesser amount
2015
Good
Good
More sustaining funds would be helpful.
Read the guidelines closely.
They communicate well so that grantees do not end up submitting applications for projects that aren't a great fit.
5
Thanks for your review!
Reviewer 836 - Professional in the field
I have always found the Bush Foundation to be incredibly approachable. They have a great staff who are willing to have conversations through out the application process.
Positive leader in the field, Gives more than money, Risk taker, Friendly, Builds relationships, Openminded, Responsive
Minnesota
Professional in the field
Funded for amount requested
2017
Good
The Bush Foundation portal is easy to navigate and they are helpful when questions arise.
Good
They are great. If their goal is to support innovation and build leaders, I would say they do just that. They have given numerous grants towards emerging ideas and their fellowship program allows people to focus on what the community needs.
Funds emerging people/organizations (and allows such orgs to apply using a fiscal sponsor).
Less than 5
Thank you! We appreciate the positivity and we're grateful to know about your experience.
Reviewer 625 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2016
Bush Foundation really knows what it is doing and is VERY thorough indeed. Impressed by their understanding of non-profits and the work the Foundation does.
Positive leader in the field, Gives more than money, Risk taker, Culturally sensitive, Insightful, Builds relationships, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded
Minnesota
Applied and not funded
2016
Good
Good
We did not get funded for a grant, so asked for feedback. The Foundation said they'd contact us, but didn't. It took three attempts before we got the requested feedback. Although the feedback was excellent and very helpful, it was a little frustrating to have to keep asking.
Takes risks.
More than 15
Thank you!
Reviewer 827 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2016
The Community Innovation grant program is NOT a great way to try to secure funds for your existing work - either general operating or program. No matter how skilled you are at making your existing work look like the hottest new thing, they'll see through it. They're really looking to fund new ideas that are shared by multiple groups within a community. If you're serious about this grant opportunity, get ready to split the grant amount with at least one another nonprofit/group.
Risk taker, Culturally sensitive, Friendly, Builds relationships, Likes site visits, Openminded
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2016
Good
The program officers are incredibly accessible and value open, honest conversations.
Average
It's still unclear to me what "success" looks like in community innovation.
With the changing landscape a lot of nonprofits will be negatively affected by loss of government revenue and won't have the luxury to pilot new, innovative ideas in partnership with communities. I'd suggest allocating a good chunk of your community innovation dollars toward the ecosystem grants.
The foundation is generally very accessible and straightforward.
True, we are looking for applicants who collaborate and innovate in order to solve problems in their community. We hope grant-seekers will set up an inquiry call with our staff to find out if their program/idea is a good fit for this grant before applying. Learn more about our Community Innovation program and how to set up an inquiry call that works with your schedule on our website: https://www.bushfoundation.org/grants/community-innovation-grants
Grant Applicant - applied before 2014
Bush is very much into their jargon and logic-models. They play favorites and tend to be more supportive of organizations they like rather than taking a consistent view of program quality or effectiveness.
Culturally sensitive
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for greater amount
Before 2014
Average
Bad
Worry less about "innovation" and more about supporting organizations that have a proven track record of doing good work, even if it's not sexy or new.
Supporting diverse communities and first nations within the tri-state area.
Thanks for your feedback.
In 2017 we set a strategic goal to simplify our language and make it accessible, relevant and consistent. This is a work-in-progress and we hope it will clarify our funding opportunities even more.
In 2016 we launched a Grantee Database to share the grants we award and the range of grantees who receive them: https://www.bushfoundation.org/grantees
We’re always trying to expand our audience and reach new potential grantees. Feel free to contact us if you’d like more information about opportunities we offer: https://www.bushfoundation.org/contact-us
Grant Applicant - applied in 2016
They try hard to be open and accountable but in all their efforts, their decisionmaking still seems very opaque.
Reasonable character restrictions, Culturally sensitive
Applied for funding
100
2016
Not so much
Not so much
No
General operating
Thank you for the feedback.
Grant Applicant - applied in 2015
...it was really hard to navigate the process.
Applied for funding
15
2015
Not so much
We’re sorry to hear you felt this way. Please contact us with any questions about process or if there is anything you find difficult to navigate. You’ll find contact information on the staff listing on our website, direct email addresses for each program team on the programs web page, or you can always submit a question on our contact form: https://www.bushfoundation.org/contact-us
Grant Applicant - applied in 2016
It feels a bit overwhelming, but I like their ideology and direction. I hope they recognize the potential of smaller and newer organizations.
Worth the time to pitch
Applied for funding
35
2016
Yes
Thanks!
Grant Applicant - applied in 2015
they aren't willing to "take risks" on small community based organizations led by people of color.
Unclear objectives
Applied for funding
20
2015
Not so much
Check out b Magazine or our Grantee Database to get a better idea of the people and ideas we fund.
http://bmag.bushfoundation.org/
https://www.bushfoundation.org/grantees
