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A $500,000 prize: Bemidji's Northwest Indian Community Development Center earns award from Bush Foundation

BEMIDJI--An American Indian-centered nonprofit in Bemidji is set to receive a lucrative prize. The Northwest Indian Community Development Center won a $500,000 Bush Prize, an annual award given out by the St. Paul-based Bush Foundation that recog...

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The Northwest Indian Community Development Center recently received a 2018 Bush Prize for Community Innovation from the Bush Foundation, awarding them a $500,000 grant. Submitted photo.

BEMIDJI-An American Indian-centered nonprofit in Bemidji is set to receive a lucrative prize.

The Northwest Indian Community Development Center won a $500,000 Bush Prize, an annual award given out by the St. Paul-based Bush Foundation that recognizes organizations that work to make their communities better for all, foundation staff announced Tuesday.

The development center is designed to address economic disparities in the Bemidji area. It spends about $3 million each year on a bevy of services: GED tutoring, medical coding certifications, interview coaching, notary services, housing referrals, financial education, and more. The center's income primarily comes from a medley of government grants, staff there said.

But the $500,000 is closer to a gift-or a lifetime achievement award-than a grant. That means center staff didn't need to detail to the foundation how they'd intend to spend the prize money.

"The award is based on past accomplishments," said Erika Carter, a spokesperson for the foundation. "It's a recognition of a proven track record of impact in the community."

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Development center staff on Tuesday said they are still figuring out what they'd spend the new windfall on and weren't ready to announce anything official yet.

The Bush Foundation received 110 applications for this year's prize. Three panels of community members chose the winners from their respective states earlier this fall, foundation staff said. The foundation was founded in 1953 by a 3M executive. It doles out tens of millions dollars each year to philanthropic organizations.

The other Bush Prize winners this year, organized by state, are:

Minnesota

• Nexus Community Partners, Minneapolis/Saint Paul ($495,000)

• Springboard for the Arts, Saint Paul and Fergus Falls ($440,000)

North Dakota

• Mid-Dakota Education Cooperative, Minot ($288,000)

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South Dakota

• Capital Area Counseling Service, Pierre ($500,000)

• Native American Community Board, Yankton ($182,000)

Joe Bowen is former reporter for the Duluth News Tribune.

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