The Bush Foundation, in St. Paul, will focus its giving on developing leaders, supporting local areas in solving problems, assisting Native Americans, and increasing educational achievement, reports MinnPost.com.

The foundation gave $40.2-million in grants in 2006, making it the fifth largest grant maker in Minnesota, the news agency reports. The organization has worked to retool its priorities since 2006.

The new priorities come with specific goals the foundation wants to reach by 2018, including having 75 percent of the population of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota say that their cities or towns are effective at solving problems and improving quality of life. Another goal is to see the percentage of students in the three states who earn a degree after high school increase by 50 percent.

The foundation held a Webcast this week with its president, Peter Hutchinson, and board chair, Kathy Tunheim, to answer questions about the new direction of the organization.