In 2021, the Bush Foundation offered something North Dakota had not really seen before. They asked organizations across the region to step forward and help design how community innovation funding would work on the ground. The opportunity was significant, multi-year, and rooted in trust. For our state, where funding had historically been smaller and more restrictive, it marked a real shift.
Strengthen ND stepped into that moment with purpose. Creative Community Solutions was not built to be another grant program. It was built to change how this work happens. From the start, the focus was clear. We were not funding operations. We were not maintaining the status quo. We were investing in ideas that could be developed, tested, and spread to solve real community problems.
That clarity has shaped everything.
We simplified the application. We removed unnecessary barriers. We asked communities to focus on the problem and the solution, not pages of background. And we held firm to the expectation that this work needed to be innovative. That was not always easy. Many applicants were used to traditional grant structures. It took time, repetition, and some hard conversations. But over time, the shift has happened. The ideas coming forward today are stronger, more focused, and more grounded in real community need.
What matters most is what has come from it.
Across North Dakota, communities are stepping forward with solutions that are practical, local, and built to last. In Sheyenne, a community took control of its own future through a locally driven financing tool. On the Turtle Mountain Reservation, work is underway to advance culturally grounded healing in ways that could influence broader systems. In Watford City, new cultural connections are strengthening a rapidly changing community. In Minot and across rural areas, food access for seniors is being rethought in ways that are both efficient and humane.
These are not ideas sitting on paper. They are active, evolving, and in many cases already spreading.
By the end of 2025, more than 5.8 million dollars has been invested across communities of all sizes, with a significant share reaching rural areas and a growing portion supporting BIPOC led work.
That matters. Who receives funding matters. Who gets trusted to lead matters.
One of the strongest parts of this work has been the decision to keep it grounded in North Dakota. The advisory committee is made up entirely of North Dakotans. They bring different backgrounds, different perspectives, and a shared commitment to the state. Over time, they have become more confident in their decisions, more aware of the challenges in front of us, and more optimistic about what is possible.
That kind of growth does not happen by accident. It happens when people are given the responsibility to lead.
Alongside the grant-making, the Bush Prize has added another layer to this work. It is not a grant. It is an award that recognizes organizations that are already doing exceptional work. It allows us to step back and say clearly that these efforts matter, that they are worth lifting up, and that others can learn from them.
The process has strengthened over time. Site visits, community conversations, and more thoughtful approaches to due diligence have helped us better understand the real impact of each honoree. It has made the recognition more meaningful and more grounded in the communities themselves.
As we move into our fifth year, there is a clear sense of direction.
We are seeing organizations move further along the path from developing to testing to spreading their ideas. We are seeing stronger proposals, more collaboration, and a growing willingness to think differently about how problems can be solved. We are also seeing something harder to measure but just as important. Confidence is growing. People believe they can do this work.
That is not a small thing.
There is still work ahead. Innovation requires discipline. It requires staying focused on what matters and continuing to push for better ideas and better outcomes. But the foundation is there.
Creative Community Solutions has become a signal across North Dakota. It says that local ideas matter. It says that communities do not have to wait for someone else to solve their problems. And it says that with the right support, those solutions can take hold and grow.
The Bush Foundation made a decision to trust local leadership and to share power in a meaningful way. That decision continues to shape what is possible here.
Five years in, that trust is still showing up in communities across the state.
