Grantor gets a first-hand look at ND |’s needs News, Sports, Jobs

The 13 Bush Foundation Board members, who live in Minnesota and the Dakotas, and foundation staff arrived in Minot on Monday and left on Wednesday.

Foundation President Jen Ford Reedy said the board is holding tours that rotate between the three states, with a retreat session in its fourth year. This year, the tour brought the plaque to Minot, with a side trip to the Turtle Mountain Preserve and International Peace Garden.

“We tried to get to know Minot a little bit and paid a visit to Turtle Mountain. But Bush’s work that we looked at is at the state level.” said Ford Reedy. “Everything is like, ‘What are we doing in North Dakota? How do we see the impact Bush is having in North Dakota? Where do we want to do better in North Dakota?’”

The board and staff received a brief introduction to Minot from Mayor Tom Ross, who talked about positive activities in the community, from the first year of curbside recycling to a new city hall, hospital and children’s discovery center. In addition, millions of dollars in private investment have been made in Minot, he said.

“People don’t invest in the community if they don’t believe in the future.” he said.

The Turtle Mountain segment of the tour included stops at the casino and resort, the indoor water park, the addiction treatment center and Turtle Mountain College, where Bush representatives heard from students affected by educational opportunities and learned about the college’s name change. Founded as Turtle Mountain Community College more than 50 years ago to offer certificate programs, the college began offering two-year associate degree programs and now offers several bachelor’s level programs and started its first master’s program this year, according to TMC President Dr. Donna Brown . The college is open to native and non-native students.

The chance to bring the Bush Foundation Council to the Turtle Mountain Reservation and North Dakota is a huge plus, said Les Thomas, vice president of the North Dakota Native Tourism Alliance, a former foundation grantee.

“We didn’t just show them our facilities that we’re developing for economic development and what some of our programs are.” he said. “We could show them what was needed and it was well received.”

Those needs, he said, include air-conditioned buildings to preserve heritage elements, more family-friendly recreation facilities, continuing educational advancement at the college and transition facilities to improve work at the treatment center.

The foundation board met with other representatives of the beneficiary organizations at meetings and events in Minot.

Ford Reedy said the board has an ongoing process of reviewing grant applications, and by sitting in a boardroom, members do their best to understand the realities of organizations and communities.

“But you can’t come close to the experience of actually being out there and seeing different types of communities in different parts of the region. So the board members like it and I think they get that feeling every time that it makes them better at their job as a board member to have a different perspective and to be able to imagine something more.” she said. “Starting to work in philanthropy is really happy because you get to spend time with and support people who really believe that something better is possible in some way and are willing to work for it. These people are great to be around. So I think to a certain extent, we’re taking advantage of a wonderful aspect of this work, which is actually coming to spend time with people who live with optimism.”

Ford Reedy said North Dakota has fewer private foundations than South Dakota or Minnesota, which can influence mindsets about the availability of grant funds.

“People in North Dakota are less likely to think, ‘Oh, I could get a grant for that.’ So I think part of our work in reaching North Dakota is to help people see more of what’s possible, to know that we’re available and that you can get not just a small grant, but you can get a lots of money – millions of dollars – to come and do something big. Because it’s not as common here for that to happen, I think we need to work harder here to make sure people know what’s possible.”