Creative Community Solutions Grant Program

The Creative Community Solutions Grant Program, launched by the Bush Foundation in partnership with Strengthen ND, seeks innovative solutions to community challenges in North Dakota. Grants up to $300,000 are available for projects that develop, test, and spread impactful ideas. This initiative empowers diverse local voices through a Grantmaking Committee, ensuring funds are allocated to initiatives that enhance community well-being. Importantly, it focuses on collaborative efforts and does not provide operational support for organizations.

BACKGROUND
In early 2022, the Bush Foundation announced Strengthen ND as one of its four partners to develop, implement, and evaluate a new funding initiative: Community-Based Grantmaking Programs. Strengthen ND’s approach is to simplify the application, utilize discussion, and offer a North Dakota-attuned program that focuses on the Bush Foundation’s definition of community innovation.
Creative Community Solutions funds the most promising ideas, across issue areas, that have the potential to make our state better for everyone. Through this program, we aim to develop, test and spread great ideas. Creative Community Solutions grants invest in efforts to develop and test ideas to solve problems and create opportunity, and then spread the best ideas across communities. Importantly the program allows a Grantmaking Committee of diverse North Dakotans to make decisions about how the funds will be invested.
Creative Community Solutions is a program that supports solutions to community problems or issues, it does not support organizational operating support. General operating support is the working capital nonprofits need to sustain their day-to-day operations. This is obviously an important need; however, it is not supported through Creative Community Solutions.
The Creative Community Solutions grantmaking program is a flexible program that invests in great ideas and the people who power them across North Dakota and the Native Nations sharing our geography. Creative Community Solutions grants fund the most promising ideas, across issue areas that have the potential to make North Dakota better for everyone. Through this program, we aim to:
Develop, test, and spread great ideas: Creative Community Solutions grants invest in efforts to develop and test ideas to solve problems and create opportunity, and then spread the best ideas across communities.
FUNDING REQUESTS
We are seeking innovative, creative solutions to problems or issues; a solution that might be created, tested, evaluated, and then disseminated to others across the state as a model. This is a new and unique opportunity for North Dakota nonprofits and communities to develop their own solutions and receive the necessary funding to support them. In addition to funding, Strengthen ND will provide connections to short term expertise and grantee convenings.
The Creative Community Solutions Grantmaking Committee will entertain financial requests of up to $300,000 for up to a six-year timeframe. Grant requests for less than $300,000 and on a timeframe shorter than six-years will also be considered.

Eligibility

Religious institutions for non-religious purposes501(c)(3) organizationsGovernment agenciesStrengthen ND will support any interested individuals and/or organizations without tax-exempt status to build collaborative partnerships with tax-exempt entities in order to apply.

Ineligibility

Because of our 501(c)3 status and IRS regulations, Strengthen ND will not make grants to individuals or organizations that are not tax-exempt.Requests for projects that support beneficiaries outside of North Dakota and the Native Nations that share our geography
K-12 core curriculum and related in-school resources
Religious programs for the purpose of religious education or proselytization
Municipal infrastructure projects, for example: Fire trucksAmbulancesRelated emergency-response equipment
Sponsorships for events
Servicing or paying off previously incurred debt or expenses
One-time experiences, including conferences, convenings, trips, etc
To bring a building or program into government compliance
Any program or project that discriminates on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, or national origin