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Frequently Asked Questions
Below are questions and answers about the Bush Foundation’s
new goals and strategic direction as well as answers to specific questions the Foundation received following the July 29 webcast. Additional questions can be emailed to newdirection@bushfoundation.org.
Future Grantmaking
Existing Grants and Programs
Fellowships
Transition Funding
The Planning Process
Future Communication and Next Steps
Questions and Answers from the July 29 Webcast
(published 8/07/2008)
Future Grantmaking
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Will there still be grants awarded in November, and if so, what is the deadline for submitting a proposal?
For the rest of 2008, we will focus our work to transition to our new strategy. Our remaining 2008 budget will be used for transition grants and to fund continuing programs. During this time, we will not be accepting any new letters of inquiry or grant proposals.
We will continue to accept applications for our three Bush fellowship programs.
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We noticed that most program guidelines have been removed from your website. Does this mean these programs are gone?
Yes. We have introduced three new goals that we plan to pursue for the next 10 years. We will be focusing our resources on strategies that move us toward achieving these goals. As part of this process, we will be identifying organizations with whom we can partner. We expect to initiate more work and more often invite proposals, rather than reviewing and approving grant requests using a traditional guidelines-based approach. This isn’t to say we will never publish guidelines, but we anticipate that if we do, it will be for requests in specific areas from certain types of organizations.
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How will nonprofits apply for grants in the future?
Our grantmaking in the future will be directed to organizations that can best support achieving the goals we have set. Our grantmaking may take many forms. In some cases, we will issue RFPs (request for proposals) asking organizations to contribute to the outcomes in specific ways. In other cases, we will invite nonprofits to collaborate with us in creating or carrying out specific initiatives. In still other cases, we will help create organizations where there are gaps.
We will discontinue the LOI (letter of inquiry) and proposal process we have used in the past. Our website will be the main place where we post information about our progress and invite participation from across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. One prominent feature of our website will be a point of contact to share your feedback, insights, ideas or concerns. We hope you will use it. We do not and cannot know everything – certainly not more than the collective knowledge and imagination of the thousands of nonprofit organizations, Bush fellows and governments across these three states.
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Existing Grants and Programs
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We have a multi-year grant from the Bush Foundation, will that be affected?
No. All multi-year grants previously awarded will be honored.
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Will the Bush Foundation continue to fund arts and cultural organizations?
Yes. As part of our goal to develop courageous leaders and engage communities, we will continue to support arts and cultural organizations through our Regional Arts Development Program II (RADP II) and Large Cultural Organizations Development Fund II (LCODF II). While we will adjust these programs over time to enhance current community engagement review criteria and program components, we will honor commitments to current participants in these two programs. As provided in our current guidelines, we also will continue to accept new applications for RADP II through 2014 and for LCODF through 2015.
Refer to the RADP II and LCODF II guidelines for more information as well as
Frequently Asked Questions about RADP and LCODF.
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Does the Bush Foundation plan to continue its commitment to the recently announced ArtsLAB?
Yes. We will continue to participate as part of the multi-funder collaborative to support the ArtsLAB program. Details are available at www.artslabonline.org.
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Fellowships
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How does this change affect the fellowship programs?
We will continue to fund our fellowship programs in arts, leadership and medicine. These programs are a core part of our strategy and tie directly to our goal of developing courageous leaders. Over time, we plan to purposefully expand and introduce new aspects to these vital programs and will invite all of our fellows to help advance the outcomes of the Foundation.
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Transition Funding
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Our organization has long relied on the Bush Foundation as a primary source of funding. Will you be supplying us with any resources while we develop other funding sources?
The Bush Foundation has set aside a substantial amount for transition grants. The Foundation staff recently conducted an intensive review of current and past grantees and will be inviting the selected organizations to apply for these transition grants. Our decisions were guided by the following criteria:
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Organizations that have received a substantial number of Bush Foundation grants in the past 10 years (excluding those participating in defined multi-year programs with a specified beginning and end date).
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Organizations that have become highly reliant on the Bush Foundation for their initiatives or annual operating budget.
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Organizations being invited to apply for a transition grant will receive a separate packet of information directly from us.
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If our organization doesn’t get an invitation to submit a proposal for a transition grant, is there a process by which we can be considered?
Our staff went through an intensive review of all our current and past grantees to determine eligibility for transition grants. We have already communicated with the selected organizations.
However, if you meet the criteria defined above and believe you have a strong case for why your organization should be considered for a transition grant, you may contact us via e-mail at newdirection@bushfoundation.org.
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Is there a way I can find out if our organization is eligible to receive a transition grant?
All nonprofit organizations being invited to apply for transition grants were called by a member of our program staff on Wednesday, July 23. We are also mailing a follow-up letter to these organizations. If you have not been contacted, but believe you may be eligible for a transition grant based on our criteria, please contact us at newdirection@bushfoundation.org. We will respond to all emails within 24 hours.
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The Planning Process
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Why is the Bush Foundation going in this new direction and why now?
In 2006, our Board of Directors began looking carefully at the past and future of the Bush Foundation. As we looked to the future, we concluded that we needed to focus our energies on fewer goals in order to have even greater impact. As part of the planning process, we embraced a new strategic vision: “To be a catalyst to shape vibrant communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. We will invest in courageous and effective leadership that significantly strengthens and improves the well-being of the people in these three states.”
How we achieve that vision and how we make the biggest difference over the next 10 years are questions we wrestled with for the last six months. We concluded that we can have the most impact by focusing our efforts. We chose three ambitious goals:
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Develop courageous leaders and engage entire communities in solving problems
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Support the self-determination of Native nations
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Increase educational achievement
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We readily admit that we don’t have all the answers.
Our intent is to pursue these goals by listening, learning, partnering and doing.
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What process did the Bush Foundation use to arrive at its new goals?
The Board of Directors initiated the planning process in 2006. In the initial phases, we tapped a number of resources and outside experts to analyze potential goals and ways to approach them. After a year of planning, which included adopting a new vision, the Board hired Peter Hutchinson as its new president in October 2007. Peter led the last stages of the planning effort, during which we finalized the goals and began strategizing our new approach.
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Did the Bush Foundation consider other areas of focus?
Yes. In the end, however, the three goals that we selected were the areas in which we believe the Bush Foundation can make the most impact given our history, our strengths and our unique position as an independent foundation. These goals also allow us to partner with and learn from others who are engaged in innovative work in improving the quality of life of people in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
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When will the Bush Foundation be announcing specific initiatives and programs geared toward achieving its new goals?
We plan to announce some specific initiatives later this year, although in many cases, we are just beginning the dialogue with potential partners who can help us define and implement those initiatives. We will be providing regular updates on our website to keep you informed.
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Will the Bush Foundation change how it works with nonprofit organizations in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota?
Yes. For at least the next six months we will be in a period of continued planning as we identify partner organizations and further define specific initiatives. During this time, we will not publish guidelines or accept any new letters or inquiry. Longer term, achieving our goals will require changes in the way the Bush Foundation works with grantees. For example:
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We will initiate more work and will more often invite proposals, rather than reviewing and approving grant requests under our traditional program areas. This isn’t to say we will never publish guidelines, but we anticipate that if we do, it will be for requests in specific areas and from certain types of organizations.
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Our grants will likely involve larger commitments of resources over longer periods of time, to fewer entities.
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We will be more intentional about working with outside partners to define and implement strategies to achieve our goals. These partners may include other foundations, higher education institutions, all levels of government, associations, and community, cultural and other nonprofit organizations.
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If we determine there are specific areas in which nonprofit organizations can apply for grants, we will communicate those decisions via our website and email. |
Future Communication and Next Steps
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How does the Bush Foundation plan to measure and share its progress?
We have selected specific and measurable goals. We plan to develop independent assessments, as well as tap into ongoing research and findings that are produced by the government and nonprofit, nonpartisan research organizations. We will provide updates on our progress at least on an annual basis on our website and direct communication to our stakeholders.
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If you don’t have published guidelines and deadlines that give nonprofit organizations the opportunity to submit proposals, how will we know what you’re working on and how we may be able to contribute to the long-term goals?
Our website will be the main resource for us to share our progress and to learn from others. We will also keep all current Bush fellows, grantees and nonprofit organizations on our mailing list.
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If our organization has something relevant to contribute to the Bush Foundation during the continuing planning phase, is the Foundation open to individual conversations or input? Whom should we contact or how should we submit our feedback?
We welcome your feedback, input and ideas. The goals we’ve set out are big, and we know we can’t achieve them alone.
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For now, if you have questions or suggestions, we encourage you to contact us via email at newdirection@bushfoundation.org. We will respond to emails within 24 hours. Over time, we will have more specific ways for engaging nonprofit organizations in conversations and initiatives.
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