Grants Administration

Grantees work with the LCA grants administration team after funding recommendations have been approved by the Met Council. The LCA grants administration team will prepare and send grant agreements and other relevant documents to grantee contracts. The grant agreement lays out our programs’ terms, conditions, and administrative requirements. The grant agreement also includes the project summary approved by the Met Council. The project summary lists eligible activities, amount awarded for each activity, and required deliverables. You will have an opportunity to negotiate necessary changes, so please review it carefully for accuracy.

The grantee signs the agreement and returns it to the Met Council for execution. A copy of the executed agreement will be sent to the grantee for their records. Along with the agreement, grantees will complete a Designation of Signature Authority form, identifying the person who will sign reimbursement requests and submit other required reports.

• Designation of signing authority document (Microsoft Word)

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 Olivia Boerschinger ([email protected])
• 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 have 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 Met Council prior to funds being released for the grant 

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. Contact Senior Grants Administrator Sam Johnson ([email protected]) if you have any questions about using the grant as a loan.

Grant funds are awarded to the grantee. In turn, the grantee should work with the project team to set up their own agreements and financial processes.

Grant funds are paid as a reimbursement of costs. To receive reimbursement, the grantee works with the project team to collect financial documents demonstrating the costs incurred to complete grant-eligible activities. The grantee requests reimbursement by submitting a Payment Request form in WebGrants.

Payment request form (Microsoft Excel)

• Eligible costs: Grant funds can only be used for eligible activities that are components of a larger project. Each grant program maintains a list of eligible activities in the Program Details section of the grant program webpages and the Program Essentials document provided during application. Project-specific eligible activities are named in the grant’s project summary. Because grant program criteria can change annually, the grantee should keep the Program Essentials document related to their grant award’s funding round on file.
• Ineligible costs: Grantees are expected to exclude any costs related to ineligible activities. Each program maintains a list of ineligible activities in the Program Details section of grant program webpages and the Program Essentials documents of each funding round. Project-specific ineligible costs are occasionally named in the project summary. Because many necessary project costs are not named as eligible or ineligible, the LCA grants administration team maintains a general list of ineligible cost categories shared by all LCA grant programs. The list is available below for reference.

List of general ineligible costs (PDF)

Once a reimbursement request is submitted in WebGrants, the LCA grants administration team reviews the documentation. If there are issues that prevent approval of the request, a grant administrator notifies the grantee within 10 days of submittal and may negotiate changes.

The grantee will receive reimbursement within 35 days of submitting a complete payment request. For negotiated requests, the 35-day period begins once the request is re-submitted through WebGrants by the grantee.

Status reports: Grantees are required to submit a report on the status of project and grant activities twice annually. Reports are due January 31 and July 31 until the completion of the grant.

Final report: A final report must be submitted with the final payment request within the 120-day closeout period after the grant expires, or if the grant is closed for any reason. The form and content of the final grant report will be determined by the Met Council. Templates for final reports include:

• LCDA and TOD Development Final Report (Microsoft Word)
• LCDA and TOD Policy and Pre-development Final Report (Microsoft Word)
• LHIA Final Report (Microsoft Word)
• Investigation and SEED Final Report (Microsoft Word)
• TBRA Cleanup Final Report (Microsoft Word)

Additional reports: Each program may have specific reporting requirements in addition to status and final reports. These additional requirements may be included at the time of award depending on the program and grant activities. Examples include:

• Projects awarded funding for community engagement should document and report their engagement process.
• Projects awarded TBRA Cleanup grants must submit a Certificate of Completion provided by regulatory agencies.
• The TBRA Cleanup grant program requires annual reports for up to four years after a grant expires.

Reporting requirements can be found in the grant agreement. Reporting requirements can also be found in the program details section of each program page.

Grantees must supply evidence of the final work product funded by the grant award. Examples include site plans, market study reports, stormwater management plans, community engagement process documentation, certificates of occupancy for housing projects, and certificates of completion and/or site investigation reports for cleanup projects.

Final deliverables will be listed in the grant agreement and project summary.

The grantee must monitor the project for any changes that may affect the grant’s project description, grant-funded activities, deliverables, or expiration date. The grantee is responsible for alerting the LCA grants administration team of any changes to the project as soon as they become aware of changes, rather than waiting until status report. The LCA grant administration team will work with the grantee to decide if a formal amendment is necessary.

The LCA grants administration team works with the grantee to document the change for staff review and (if necessary) presents an amendment recommendation to the Community Development Committee for approval. Generally, amendments can be requested for the following:

• Extension to the term of the grant agreement
• Changes to grant-funded activities
• Changes to the project
• Changes to the deliverables

To be considered for a grant amendment:

• The request for an amendment must be submitted in writing to the LCA grants administration team no less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the grant agreement.
• The requested amendment must be consistent with the scope and intent of the original grant award approved by the Met Council.
• The amendment must be executed by both parties prior to the current grant agreement expiration date.

The Met Council approves amendments to grant agreements at its discretion.

The Livable Communities Act Grantee Amendment Process provides more specific details for each programs’ amendment requirements: LCA amendment process (PDF).

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 Metropolitan 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 Met 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.
2. Your organization will not hold the Met 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.