Bush Fellowship program

The Bush Fellowship is a self-designed leadership program that gives individuals the flexibility they need to develop their own capacity to lead effectively.

Bush Fellows are people who makes things happen—and oftentimes, change wouldn’t have happened without them. They also are at a point in their lives where they know what they need to grow their capacity to lead, and they have a plan for how to do it. A Bush Fellowship provides them with the time and resources to put their Fellowship plan into action.

Up to 30 Bush Fellows are selected each year to receive up to $150,000 to support their self-designed leadership plan. Fellowships are for up to 2 years. We welcome leaders from any sector—including business, nonprofit and government.

Get ready! Applications for the 2026 Bush Fellowship program open on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, and close on Tuesday, October 7, 2025. Find all the information you need to apply on this page.

Learn more about the 2025 Bush Fellows (pictured below).

What we fund

We’re looking for people who have a track record of impact. Bush Fellows are problem solvers who get things done. They lead with outstanding character and an openness to learning with and from others.

We’re looking for people who have a vision for the change they want to make happen. Bush Fellows dream big about what’s possible. They have a vision to create equitable, large-scale change and know how they are uniquely positioned to lead.

We’re looking for people who have a plan for their own development. Bush Fellows have clear goals for how they will use the time and resources that a Fellowship provides. that is you, we support lots of other fellowships and resources that are a fit for all those things.

Our region is filled with talented people, and there are far more inspiring leaders than there are Fellowships available. This program is highly competitive. We received a total of 1,000 applications for the 2025 Bush Fellowships.

But don’t let that stop you from considering the opportunity. Many applicants have told us that the process itself is valuable in helping them think about their leadership journey and what they need to create change, so we try to make the experience of applying useful in that way.

Additional resources to support your leadership

The Bush Fellowship is not the right opportunity for everyone. It’s not a good fit if you want to create, expand or complete a project. It’s not a good fit for someone looking to fund a business.

If you’re looking to do those things or for other ways to grow as a leaders, we support lots of other fellowships and programs that can help. Be a more effective leader contains information about partner-operated programs and Bush-supported programs for individuals.

Keep reading below to learn how a Bush Fellowship can help you invest in your own growth as a leader.

We sometimes hear that people don’t always think of themselves as leaders. If you’re someone who makes things happen—and they wouldn’t have happened without you—you’re a leader!

We also hear that some people have a hard time thinking about investing in themselves, and not in their community. Lots of Fellows struggle with this at first. We find that Fellows come to believe that this investment in themselves really does translate into an investment in their community.

Think big: Your Bush Fellowship plan

We want you to think big—like, really big—about how you will use your Bush Fellowship to totally transform your leadership journey. And being clear about how and why you need to grow your capacity to lead is the first step.

To be a Bush Fellow, you need a plan. That plan is the foundation of your Bush Fellowship.

What we look for in the Bush Fellowship application and plan are things that help you grow yourself to think bigger and differently in ways that change the trajectory of your leadership journey and inspire others to be part of that vision for change.

There is no one way to design your plan. We provide the examples below as a guide to help you think bigger about what you could do.

Here are a few examples of plans that can be a good fit for a Bush Fellowship:

• You want to learn with other leaders working in other communities or sectors who have developed innovative ways to bring people together across sectors to work on a shared solution to a problem. Spending time with them (which might mean travel) could inspire new ideas for you to bring back and get others excited to try them in more communities.
• You want to expand what you know about a particular field of knowledge and apply those learnings to your vision for change. You plan to get a master’s or doctorate degree to do that, which also helps you raise your visibility and credibility as a leader in that field, and gives you a bigger platform to share with others and create change in the community.
• You have big plans to do something really significant and grow yourself as a leader so you can make your vision for change happen. The Fellowship allows you to consider reducing your work commitments or step away from your current role to activate that vision. You use the time to do something big!

Everything you need to know to apply

Key dates

• Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025: Applications open at 8:00 a.m. CT
• Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025: Applications close at noon CT
• Wednesday, December 2 through Monday, December 7, 2025: Semifinalists notified
• Wednesday March 11 through Monday, March 16, 2026: Finalists notified
• Thursday, April 16, Monday, April 20 and Thursday, April 23, 2026: Finalist interviews

Live Q&As: We offer 2 live sessions where you can get some general info and ask us questions.

• Thursday, September 4, 9-10 am CT: Register here
• Tuesday, September 16, 12-1 pm CT: Register here

Questions? We’re here to answer any questions you might have. Use this link to schedule a call with us.

Eligibility, applications questions and criteria

The Bush Fellowship is open for applications each year in the fall.

We encourage you to review all the application information provided. Everything can be downloaded or printed if you prefer to work offline.

Our selection process

Bush staff and board members, past Bush Fellows and community leaders help us select new Bush Fellows each year. We base our decisions on:

• Your application responses
• Your references (semifinalists)
• Your in-person interview (finalists)

Here’s what you can expect as you move through the process:

• Bush Fellow alumni review all applications and choose roughly 75 semifinalists.
• Bush staff members conduct reference checks as they choose up to 48 finalists. If we learn something during the formal background checks that could be an issue in your selection, we will reach out to you to understand the situation.
• Finalists interview with panels of community reviewers who are leaders from across the region.
• Community reviewers choose the next class of Bush Fellows.
• New class of Bush Fellows gather for celebration and kick-off retreat!
• Bush Fellows are publicly announced.

Limitations on how funds can be used

The Bush Fellowship is a self-designed program. Bush Fellows determine how best to use the resources based on their Fellowship plan—and we have specific limits to follow:

• No portion of the Fellowship can be directed to another person or organization.
• Fellowship funds cannot be used to fund a business or program.
• Fellowship funds cannot be used to pay off debt.

For government and elected officials

There are additional specific limits per IRS regulations for government and elected officials:

• You may only use a Fellowship in a degree granting program.
• Learn more about what is or is not considered self-dealing: Exceptions: Self-dealing by private foundations: Certain payments to government officials.

Federal employees and officials are defined as:

• Individuals who hold elective office in the executive or legislative branch or are presidentially appointed to an office in the executive or judicial branch.
• Individuals who hold positions in the executive, legislative or judicial branch of the federal government positions listed in Schedule C of Rule VI of the Civil Service Rules (positions of a confidential or policy-determining character that are exempt from competitive civil service examination, as determined by the Office of Personnel Management), or individuals who hold positions in the executive, legislative or judicial branch receiving compensation at or above the lowest rate of basic pay (excluding locality pay adjustments) for the Senior Executive Service GS 16.
• Individuals who hold positions in the U.S. House or Senate with annual compensation of $15,000 or more.
• Individuals who are personal or executive assistants or secretaries to any of the foregoing.

Tribal, state and local employees and officials are defined as:

• Individuals who hold elective or appointive public office in the executive, legislative or judicial branch with independent policymaking ability and annual compensation of $20,000 or more.
• Individuals who are personal or executive assistants or secretaries to any of the foregoing.

You plan to take a series of courses to develop a specific skill set that you’re missing. Great! But you don’t need a Bush Fellowship to do that. There are lots of other leadership resources available to help you. We list many of them on our website.

You plan to use the time and resources to step away from your job and other demanding responsibilities to focus on your health and wellness, which ultimately helps you better serve the community in the long run. So important! But you don’t need a Bush Fellowship for that. If a sabbatical to rest and recharge is what you need, we support a great program for that.

Watch our webinars

Overview of the Bush Fellowship program

Developing your Bush Fellowship plan

Selection criteria

Leadership reflection guide: For anyone

Leadership reflection guide PDFs (print version or fillable version): Based on feedback we’ve heard from Fellows and applicants, we put together this reflection guide as a tool to help anyone exploring their leadership journey. This can be helpful if you decide to apply for a Fellowship, or it can just help you think about the impact you want to have as a leader.

Bush Fellows through the years

We have invested in 2,000+ Fellows since the program began in the 1960s. (Worth the read: 50 Years of the Bush Fellowship!)

You can find all the Bush Fellows—past and present—by searching our grants database.

Bush jargon and definitions

Jargon is tricky. The words themselves aren’t necessarily bad. The problem is when we assume that we all interpret them the same way. Sometimes, jargon can be useful and familiar.

When we use jargon, we provide the context and definition for what we mean.