The Bush Foundation in St. Paul has announced grants totaling nearly $5 million to thirty organizations working to address community challenges such as domestic violence, food insecurity, and watershed preservation.

Grants ranging from $10,000 to $200,000 were awarded through the foundation's Community Innovation Grant program, which is designed to inspire and support community-based problem-solving efforts to address complex challenges. Grant recipients include African Immigrant Services in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, which was awarded $200,000 to organize action plans across five strategic focus areas, including board leadership, education equity, economic opportunity, civic engagement, and information sharing; Clay County Public Health in Moorhead, Minnesota, which will receive $200,000 to transform mental health services and address individual needs in the county through improved policies, systems, and partnerships; the First Peoples Fund in Rapid City, South Dakota, which was awarded $200,000 for a fully equipped mobile arts unit that will support artists on the Pine Ridge reservation; and the University of Minnesota, which will receive $109,000 in support of efforts to assemble a workgroup tasked with analyzing compliance shortcomings in the local food system and, based on its findings, recommend a new regulatory model for government regulators to use.

"This year's Community Innovation Grant recipients represent a growing network of organizations that are truly advocating for social change," said Bush Foundation community innovation director Molly Matheson. "It's impressive to see the depth and breadth of thoughtful and responsive processes these organizations have proposed, and I know the foundation is pleased to support such collaborative work."

For a complete list of this year's Community Innovation grantees, visit the Bush Foundation website.