Bush Fellowship: Application & criteria

In this section, you will find information about eligibility, criteria we use to review applications and the application questions themselves.

We use an online form application and can work with you if that doesn’t meet your specific needs. Get in touch through the contact hub.

Eligibility

You are eligible if:

• You are at least 24 years old at the time of the application deadline.
• You are a resident of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota or one of the 23 Native nations that share the same geography.
• You have lived in the region for at least one (1) continuous year before applying.

You are not eligible if:

• You previously received a Bush Fellowship, Bush Artist Fellowship, Bush Leadership Fellowship, Bush Medical Fellowship or Enduring Vision Award.
• You are a family member of a current Bush Foundation staff member or board member. Family members include a spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, great grandparent, child, grandchild, great grandchild and spouses of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

There are no specific citizenship requirements to be eligible for the Bush Fellowship. If a Fellow is not a U.S. citizen, we might be required to withhold income taxes on Fellowship payments and report such payments and withholdings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Selection criteria

Your impact as a leader

Track record: You make the most of opportunities and consistently find ways to have more impact. You don’t let obstacles get in the way because you are an experienced problem solver, able to get results. You bring a wide range of perspectives to help inform and make decisions.

Outstanding character: You are a leader that is admired and respected within your community. You demonstrate integrity and generosity of spirit. You value and demonstrate inclusive and equitable leadership.

Always learning: You operate with curiosity. You actively seek new experiences and knowledge to increase your effectiveness. You value multiple perspectives and welcome feedback that challenges your point of view to build broader understanding.

Your vision for change

Big ideas for big change: You dream big about what’s possible. You have a vision to create equitable, large-scale change in your community. You are committed to working to benefit people and communities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native nations that share the geography.

Your role in creating change: You demonstrate the vision and drive to be extraordinary in your leadership. You have a clear understanding of how you will be uniquely positioned to lead your vision for change.

Your plan for the Fellowship

Trajectory changing: You clearly identify your leadership goals. You know what experiences you need that will change the trajectory of your leadership and are ready to invest the time and energy it will take to achieve this goal.

How you will use your Fellowship: Your plan for the Fellowship pushes your leadership growth in ways that would not be possible without the Fellowship. You think big! You know what you need to have even more impact as a leader. You clearly explain how your plan will help you lead in more equitable and sustainable ways.

Application questions

These are the same questions that appear in the online form. We include some prompts to help you think about how best to answer each question, as well as word counts.

We recommend working offline on your application, but if you prefer to work online, you will be able to save your progress as you go. Scroll down for a link to download a copy of the criteria and questions.

We encourage folks to share a draft of their application with others to get helpful feedback before submitting.

1. Tell us about who you are and key aspects of your leadership within your community.

We want to understand your journey to leadership, your work and experiences over time that have helped shape who you are as a leader today.

Max: 1,500 characters or roughly 300 words OR use the provided platform to record a short video or audio response (max: 3 minutes). Select just one option. You cannot do both.

2. Tell us about your track record as a leader and how you have used your influence to create change. Be clear about your specific role in making change happen.

We want to understand the change you’ve helped to create through your leadership over time, including how you have brought people together to work on solutions to problems in your community and how you have used obstacles as an opportunity for growth.

Max: 1,500 characters or roughly 300 words

3. Tell us about your vision for the large-scale equitable change you want to help make happen—and why that change is needed in your community.

We want to understand your vision for transformational change—your big ideas and how you remain open to new ways of seeing problems and solutions.

Max: 2,500 characters or roughly 500 words

4. Tell us how your leadership can bring your vision to life, including why you are uniquely positioned to lead this change

We want to understand your connection with your community and how your experiences and perspectives will help bring about the change you envision.

Max: 2,000 characters or roughly 400 words

5. Tell us about your overall leadership goals (think 5, 10 or 15 years ahead) and what you need to be a more effective leader in order to accomplish your vision.

We want to understand how you are thinking about your goals to grow as a leader. What do you need for you to become a stronger leader with increased impact?

Max: 2,000 characters or roughly 400 words

6. Tell us about the specific skills, experiences and connections you need to grow your capacity to lead and how it will change the trajectory of your leadership?

We want to understand more about how you will use your Fellowship to accomplish key leadership development goals through this transformational experience—goals that would not be possible without a Fellowship. This should be clearly defined and include what you will do, why you want to do it and how you will do it. We do not need a calendar of activities.

Max: 2,500 characters or roughly 500 words