Bush Foundation Ecosystem Grant

2022 Accomplishments: Bush Foundation - Ecosystem Grant

The Minnesota Design Center (MDC) is grateful for the support of the Bush Foundation, enabling us to hire a diversity of students and support a diversity of staff and affiliates to do community-engaged work in under-served neighborhoods, districts, and cities. This report summarizes the work that we have done with Bush Foundation funding. All of the work cited seeks to advance the purpose of the Ecosystem Grant program: spreading great ideas, building capacity, and growing leadership networks.

ABOUT THE GRANT

The Bush Foundation has given the Minnesota Design Center a three-year, $310,000 Ecosystem Grant, “to inspire and support creative problem-solving, within and across sectors….(and to) Provide critical data and analysis, Advance public awareness and policy, Spread great ideas and build capacity, (and) Build and support leadership networks.” We will be using some of these funds to support students of color working in the Center and we have given out a first round of funding to support a variety of projects led by our affiliates related to childcare, community-first housing, equitable development, and communing. The Bush funds provide seed grants to our affiliates to help them further important work and help attract additional external support.