St. Paul’s Springboard for the Arts, which is in the process of remodeling a former car dealership on University Avenue to become its new home, is one of six organizations to receive substantial awards from the Bush Foundation.

Springboard, which has offices in St. Paul and Fergus Falls, will receive a $440,000 Bush Prize for Community Innovation. The money, announced Tuesday, goes to organizations “with a track record of successful community problem solving.”

Springboard executive director Laura Zabel says the grant, which will be applied to the building project, “feels like perfect timing for us.”

Springboard has about $1 million in committed funds, Zabel says and another $2 million to $2.5 million out in requests.

Springboard hopes to start construction in the spring and leave its home of 27 years in Lowertown’s Northern Warehouse Building for 262 University Ave. in Frogtown by 2020. The project was launched with a $500,000 commitment to the capital fund from the St. Paul, F.R. Bigelow and Mardag foundations.

The University Avenue building will be a community, event, workshop and market space and has already been used for some workshops and a poetry reading, Zabel says. There are six art installations in the storefront windows, she adds.

The early use of the building helps Springboard determine what people want from the space, Zabel says. “It’s informing the way it will look.”

Springboard just started tours of the new location last week for potential funders and those who might use the facility.

“This support is really great and puts us over our next milestone,” Zabel says.

Tours are available anytime through the Springboard website, springboardforthearts.org. There will be an open house at the new location from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday.

This was the third time Springboard was a finalist for the Bush grant, Zabel says. It starts with an application and includes references and interviews. Winning this year, with the project underway, “feels like serendipity.”

Originally called Resources and Counselling for the Arts when it started as part of United Arts in the late 1970s, Springboard helps artists and arts organization build their business skills. Health insurance, marketing, business skills for artists. Springboard, which has offices in St. Paul and Fergus Falls, has worked with 250-some programs along those lines, Zabel says.

The Bush Prize, now in its sixth year, is awarded annually in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native nations that share the same geography.

In addition to Springboard, the 2018 Bush Prize winners are:

MINNESOTA

Nexus Community Partners, Minneapolis/St. Paul ($495,000)

Northwest Indian Community Development Center, Bemidji ($500,000)

NORTH DAKOTA

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

SOUTH DAKOTA

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

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

Bush Prize winners receive a package that includes promotional support and materials, and an unrestricted grant equal to 25 percent of the organization’s prior fiscal year budget, up to $500,000. The Bush Foundation received 110 applications for the 2018 Bush Prize. Three panels of community members chose the winners from their respective states.

For more info: BushFoundation.org/CommunityInnovation.

The Bush Foundation was established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife, Edyth, and today works in communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native nations that share the same geographic area. More information is available at BushFoundation.org.

SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS OPEN HOUSE