NCRP Honors Bush Foundation with its “Smashing Silos” Impact Award for Intersectional Grantmaking
WASHINGTON, DC – Since its origin in 1953, the Bush Foundation has held fast to the belief that “wealth should be used for the benefit of all humanity.” Now, with a historic $200 million commitment to addressing racial wealth gaps, the foundation is living that legacy in bold, transformative ways. Recently, the Bush Foundation entrusted two steward organizations to distribute funds directly to individuals for wealth-building efforts like homeownership and entrepreneurship. A radical reparative act, this initiative was paired with a pledge to invest another $50 million through regular grantmaking—more than doubling that goal in just two years. By centering local leadership and lived experience, the Bush Foundation set a new standard for equitable philanthropy.
That is why the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) is honoring the group with its 2025 “Smashing Silos” Award for Intersectional Grantmaking. Their model of radical generosity and radical collaboration invites other funders to practice addressing the systemic causes of wealth disparity.
“Our Selection Committee chose the Bush Foundation for their extraordinary work reimagining how to address racial wealth disparities – work that is rooted in listening to impacted communities – and designed to disburse funds to individuals across the region in alignment with the values of respective communities,” said NCRP President and CEO Aaron Dorfman.
The Bush Foundation is one of five honorees that will be honored October 29 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the 2025 IMPACT Awards. Past winners of NCRP’s “Smashing Silos” Award include the New York Women’s Foundation, Third Wave Fund, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, and the Groundswell Fund.
The “Smashing Silos” Award for Intersectional Grantmaking is given to a funder that worked in deep partnership with under-represented and vulnerable communities and supported multi-issue and cross-identity efforts to address systemic causes of social, economic or environmental challenges. Bush Foundation launched initiatives to seed two community trust funds to address wealth disparities in Black and Indigenous communities across regions of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and 23 Native nations.
“The Bush Foundation understands that philanthropy isn’t just about giving – it’s also about the shared legacies of history, responsibility and power that bind us together. From their uniquely high standards of transparency to their historic community trusts built alongside Black and Native communities, the Bush Foundation’s commitment to equity, accountability and repair truly shines,” said NCRP Field Director Ben Barge.
Click here to read more about the Bush Foundation and why they were chosen to be NCRP’s 2025 “Smashing Silos” Impact Award for Intersectional Grantmaking.
ABOUT THE 2025 IMPACT AWARDS
Since 2013, NCRP has awarded 34 IMPACT Awards to extraordinary grantmakers in recognition of support, leadership and partnership with grassroots organizations and community leaders around critical issues. In 2023, we added a fifth, the Pablo Eisenberg Memorial Prize for Philanthropy Criticism, in honor of NCRP’s founding board chair.
The IMPACT Awards ceremony takes place at the CHANGE Unity Summit. Click here for more information on the 2025 Unity Summit.
ABOUT NCRP
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) has served as philanthropy’s critical friend and independent watchdog since 1976. We partner with foundations, nonprofits and social movements to ensure that the philanthropic sector is accountable to communities with the least wealth, opportunity and power.
For nearly 50 years, NCRP’s storytelling, advocacy and research efforts have fostered transparency and accountability within the sector, and helped funders fulfill their moral and practical duty to build, share and wield power to serve the public.
