Grants Administration

The LCA grants administration team will work with grantees after funding recommendations have been approved to draft a grant agreement. The grant agreement includes the grant terms, a project summary, a list of requested activities, amount awarded for each activity, and expected deliverables. The grant requested activities and requested funding amounts for each activity make up this section of the grant agreement.  

After funding recommendations are approved by the Metropolitan Council the grants administration team will send a draft grant agreement to the grantee to review and negotiate any necessary changes. Once the agreement is finalized the grantee will sign the agreement and it will be saved with the grants administration team. 

Fair Housing Policy: In order to be eligible for funding, all projects that include housing need to have a locally adopted Fair Housing Policy (PDF). Contact LCA Housing Planner Hilary Lovelace (hilary.lovelace@metc.state.mn.us) with any questions about the Fair Housing Policy requirements. You can find a sample Fair Housing Policy and more information about creating a Fair Housing Policy in the LCA resource library.  

Using grants as loans: LCA Development (TBRA, LHIA, LCDA, TOD) grants can be used as loans for Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) projects, but there are additional requirements

• A loan agreement between the Grantee and the project owner must be executed
• The loan may not be forgivable
• The loan documents must be provided to the Council prior to funds being released for the grant 

You can indicate on your application if you will be using the grant as a loan. The grants administration team will work with you on finalizing the additional agreement for the loan during the grant agreement process. Reach out to Senior Grants Administrator Sam Johnson (samuel.johnson@metc.state.mn.us) if you have any questions about using the grant as a loan.

• Grant funds are awarded to the grantee, not directly to the developer or community organization. Project teams should work together to manage distributing the grant funds after payments are sent from the Council.
• The grant funds work as a reimbursement. In order to get the funding, the grantee will need to submit documentation of the grant requested activities being completed. It is best to submit payment requests as you have them rather than submitting bulk requests for multiple activities. The LCA grants administration team will review what kind of documentation you will need to submit and how to submit payment requests during your grant orientation. 
• All reimbursement requests are submitted through WebGrants, the same portal you use to sumbit your application. 
• The grantee will receive the reimbursement within 35 days of a payment request being submitted. The grants administration team will review the request when the documentation is submitted. If there are any errors, the grant administrator will notify the grantee within 10 days of receiving the request. The 35-day period will start again when the payment request is re-submitted. 

Status reports: Grantees are required to submit a report on the status of grant activities twice each year. Reports are due January 31 and July 31 each year until the completion of the grant. Additional reporting requirements may be included at the time of award depending on grant requested activities. For example, projects awarded funding for community engagement should document the engagement process and submit a final report with their final payment request. 

Final report: A final report is due with the last payment request or the grant has been closed for any reason. The final report will ask about project successes, the impact of the grant funding, and any challenges in completing the project. Projects receiving funding for community engagement will be required to document the engagement process and submit a final report with their final payment request. 

Amendments: The Grantee must monitor the project and notify the grant administrator if any changes to the scope, budget, or expiration date are required. If changes are needed, documentation will need to be collected to verify the changes still meet the original intention of the grant award. 

Deliverables: Grantees must supply a copy of the final work product funded by the grant award. Examples of final work products include site plans, market study reports, stormwater management plans, and community engagement process documentation, and cleanup or site investigation reports. Final deliverables will be listed in the grant agreement. 

Each program may have specific reporting requirements in addition to the status and final reports. Read the Reporting Requirements section on the program page for specific reporting requirements. 

Acknowledging LCA contributions to a project: You are required to acknowledge the grant support on all construction signage and promotional materials, press releases, and publications related to project activities. Contact the program manager for Council logos to use on your materials.  

Using application images: By submitting any renderings, images, perspectives, sections, diagrams, photos or other copyrightable materials (collectively, “copyrightable materials”) with an application, you certify that your organization is the owner of the copyrightable materials or is fully authorized to grant permissions regarding the copyrightable materials and that the copyrightable materials do not infringe upon the copyrights of others. Your organization also agrees that: 1) the Council has a nonexclusive royalty-free license and all necessary permissions to reproduce and publish any copyrightable materials for noncommercial purposes, including but not limited to press releases, presentations, reports, and on the internet; and 2) your organization will not hold the Council responsible for the unauthorized use of the copyrightable materials by third parties. If your organization desires attribution on the copyrightable materials, you may include a discreet transparent watermark.