Be as open and accessible as possible
Why it’s important to us
All of our main funding opportunities are done through open application processes. This is part of our commitment to equity and making sure everyone in the region has the opportunity to (1) know about any funding opportunities we offer and (2) apply if they believe they have the skills and experience we are looking for. We want everyone in the region to have access to the Bush Foundation—no matter who they are or who they know.
We are also willing to consider funding to address any idea that can make the region better for everyone. We want to champion and grow ideas that come from the communities we serve, rather than imposing our own.
We do our best to be connected with communities—but we can’t possibly know everyone and everything happening in our region. We want to be radically open to help ensure the most promising ideas and people have the chance to be funded.
How we’re doing
In 2019, we set a goal of having 100% of our funding go out through open process. While we met this goal for all new grants we made in 2024, we are technically still at 99% in terms of the payments we made last year due to a few remaining legacy investments. To get to this point, we made big changes to all our grant programs and have expanded partner-based grantmaking through open processes too.
We know that open processes have their downsides. They are a lot of work for applicants and for Bush staff. We also believe that the value of being open and accessible outweighs the costs.
Beyond open process, we have worked to make it as easy as possible to connect with us through a single inquiry line. Through our contact hub, anyone can talk with Bush staff about any of our programs. And, even if an idea might not be a fit for funding with us, there might be other ways we can help.
What’s next
We know relationships with a broad range of community members and organizations are necessary to make open process grantmaking work. With this, we are continuing to build up our engagement efforts across the region including doing more program inquiry conversations and in-person events we call “office hours,” where we go to communities and offer one-to-one and group conversations with whoever wants to talk with us.