Bush Foundation launches new program

The Bush Foundation has launched the Bush Fellowship Program. The program will began accepting applications on Dec. 1, with a Feb. 25, 2011, deadline.

The broader Bush Fellowship Program replaces three current programs that were more narrowly focused on specific communities — the Bush Leadership Fellows Program, the Bush Artist Fellowships and the Enduring Vision Awards. In 2009, the foundation also ended the Bush Medical Fellowships and Dakota Creative Connections, two other programs for individuals. Between 1965 and 2010, nearly 2,200 individuals participated in these programs and received more than $72 million in foundation support.

“Over the 45 years the foundation has been investing in individuals through fellowships, we’ve seen the tremendous impact impassioned leaders can have on their communities,” said Pamela Wheelock, Bush Foundation vice president. “We’ve created this new program because we live in a time when people and communities face tough, persistent problems. We believe the leadership to solve those problems exists within those communities. Through the Bush Fellowship Program, we will foster the leadership to mobilize those communities to find sustainable solutions that ensure their future vitality.”

The foundation seeks applicants from across all fields and disciplines. Applicants will propose their own fellowship plan, including the community they want to work in, the problem they want to work on and their method for mobilizing the community toward solution. Fellows will partner with people from all sides of the problem, seeking creative, innovative solutions that go beyond the status quo. They will spend the majority of their time inside the communities; the learning opportunities they pursue through the fellowship will be experiential.

U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are 24 years of age or older and who have lived for one year in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota or the 23 Native nations that share the same geography are eligible to apply. Fellowships will range from $25,000 to $75,000, based on the fellowship plan the applicant proposes.

More information about the Bush Fellowship Program’s vision for building the leadership capacity of individuals, as well as complete details about the application process, are available at www.bushfoundation.org.

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