Bush Prize: South Dakota
In partnership with the South Dakota Community Foundation and the Bush Foundation
The Bush Prize award celebrates organizations that are highly valued within their communities and have a track record of successful community problem solving.
Bush Prize: South Dakota grants are flexible and can be used to build up reserves or test that next big idea or whatever else would best support the organization's ongoing good work. Winners receive a package of recognition, including a flexible grant of 25 percent of the organization’s last fiscal year expenses, up to $500,000.
The Bush Prize: South Dakota is done in partnership between the Bush Foundation and the South Dakota Community Foundation. The South Dakota Community Foundation will select and announce the Bush Prize winners, as well as provide any support along the way.
- Bush Prize awards must be used for a charitable purpose.
- Organizations that are 501(c)(3) public charities or government entities (including schools) are eligible for the Bush Prize.
- SDCF will accept Bush Prize applications from fiscal sponsors. The fiscal sponsor organization must submit the award application and, if the award is approved, becomes the awardee and receives the funds.
- Prize winners must be located in South Dakota or one of the 9 Native nations that share the same geography. The specific community innovations highlighted in the Bush Prize application must also have occurred within that geography.
- Organizations that have received a Bush Prize in the last 10 years are not eligible to apply.
- The year of the award is counted as the first year.
1. Does the organization have a pattern of innovative solutions?
- Are these breakthroughs in addressing community needs more effective, equitable or sustainable than existing approaches?
- Did these innovative solutions make a significant difference?
- Could the organization inspire or inform others?
2. Does the organization have a pattern of using inclusive, collaborative and resourceful processes?
- Inclusive: meaningfully engaging key stakeholders, thoughtfully identifying those needed to create the intended change and, whenever possible, including those directly affected by the problem.
- Collaborative: a true joint effort, with partners willing to share ownership and decision-making as they pursue an innovation together.
- Resourceful: using existing resources and assets creatively to make the most of what a community already has.
3. Does the organizational leadership foster a culture of innovation?
- Is the organization stable and strong in terms of governance and finance?
Additional Considerations
Over time we seek a portfolio of Bush Prize winners that represents the full diversity of South Dakota, and includes a variety of:
- Applicant organization sizes
- Communities served (both in terms of size and demographics)
- Types of issues addressed
We also seek representation of community-led organizations—organizations that are led by people who come from the communities they serve.
Bush Prize: South Dakota will again be offered in 2025.
Ready to apply for the Bush Prize: South Dakota?
If you have not already done so, please click here to view our 2025 information packet to learn more about the Bush Prize: South Dakota application questions and to view frequently asked questions. It will show you what information you will need to apply.
Timelines for the 2025 Bush Prize: South Dakota will be announced soon.
2024 Bush Prize: South Dakota Winner
2024 Bush Prize: South Dakota Finalists
2023 Bush Prize: South Dakota Winners
2023 Bush Prize: South Dakota Finalists
Prior to 2022, the Bush Foundation awarded the Bush Prize For Community Innovation. Below are previous winners for the South Dakota region. A full list of past Bush Prize winners is available on the Bush Foundation website.
- South Dakota State University, Wokini Initiative - $500,000
- Capital Area Counseling Service - $500,000
- Native American Community Board - $182,000
- Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation - $500,000
- De Smet Community Foundation - $287,971
- South Dakota Symphony Orchestra - $443,682
- Cheyenne River Youth Project - $233,000
- Northeast South Dakota Community Action Program (GROW SD) - $471,000
- Rapid City Area School District #51-4, Partnership Rapid City - Teen Up - $153,000
- Face It TOGETHER Sioux Falls - $117,532
- First Peoples Fund - $313,068
- Main Street Square - $500,000
If the embedded video doesn't load, click here to view the Bush Prize: South Dakota Information Session that was held on May 15, 2023, on YouTube.
Click here to view the presentation from the meeting held on February 21, 2024. - which includes highlights of Bush Prize: South Dakota 2023 winners and considerations.
SDCF was unable to retain an audio/video recording of this meeting. Please reach out with any questions.
Have questions?
Contact our Grants Team Below
Ginger Niemann
Senior Program OfficerSince 1998, Ginger has been a member of the South Dakota Community Foundation team. Nearly a decade of her time at the Foundation has been spent overseeing the administration of grant programs.
Currently, Ginger works closely with the Grantmaking Committee to make distributions from the South Dakota Fund, Nonprofit Savings Account, Fairy Godmother's Fund, Beyond Idea Grant (BIG) and Bush Prize: South Dakota grant programs. BIG and Bush Prize: South Dakota are offered in partnership with the Bush Foundation.
Ginger is committed to connecting nonprofits with the funds they need to help South Dakotans. Traveling across the state, she meets with grant applicants, conducts grant recipient site visits and awards grant checks.