In 2013, the Bush Foundation celebrated its 60th anniversary by reflecting with Bush Fellows, Rebuilders and grantees on how our investment of nearly $1 billion in grants and fellowships has made a difference in communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and 23 Native nations. That’s more than 2,300 Fellows and Rebuilders, and more than 1,700 grantees—a roll call that inspires us every day.

One thing nearly everyone shared with us last year was their desire to stay connected to the Foundation, to follow the continued progress of the remarkable individuals and organizations that we’ve intersected with over the years and to pass on some of the lessons they’ve learned.

We listened, and so we’re introducing b, a showcase for people who are thinking bigger and thinking differently about what’s possible in their communities. We’ve essentially repurposed our annual report, making it less about what the Foundation did in a single year and more about what is happening now because of investments we made, perhaps decades ago. We want to tell these stories in a way that doesn’t just describe our mission but actually advances it. We hope the information and stories help to inspire, equip and connect leaders across the region.

Our 2020 issue of bMagazine was the last printed version of this collection of stories. We shifted to an online format for all of our stories in 2021. You can download PDFs of past print issues, as well as view the individual stories online, in our Stories, Learnings and News section.