Expanded Policy & Affordable Housing Program Development Grants

Match amount: None

Award limit: $50,000 per city 

Application limit: One per city

Grant term: Two years

Extension: Up to one year
 

Round 2 (July 21, 2025 application deadline): $800,000 available with an award limit of $50,000 per city; at least $200,000 of total available funds will be awarded to cities in Ramsey and Hennepin Counties

The Metropolitan Council may use federal funds to fulfill all or part of grant requests, which may have different reporting and record keeping requirements than other Council grants.

The Policy & Program Development grant program supports creating locally adopted programs and partnerships and enforceable policies that have an impact on physical development city-wide or in a specific defined area, for example a station area. Grant funds can only pay for activities that occur after the grant is awarded. Any work completed prior to the award is not eligible. The funds are reimbursed to the grantee for work completed.

Eligible Activities

• Consultant services to develop a policy, program, or partnership that will further LCA and Imagine 2050 goals
• Staff time directly related to developing an eligible policy, program, or partnership that will further LCA and Imagaine 2050 goals
• Materials necessary to launch a program or partnership (i.e. printed materials)

Ineligible Activities

• Work done before the grant was awarded
• General staff time not directly related to policy, program, or partnership development
• Seed funding for new resources (i.e. initial investment in an affordable housing trust fund or downpayment assistance program)
• Program or partnership operating costs
• Costs related to an existing policy or program
• Administrative or enforcement costs of a policy

Policy & Program Development applications are scored by a review panel of staff at the Metropolitan Council. The review panel assesses how the Policy & Program Development grant activities will meet Livable Communities and Imagine 2050 goals, as well as the process for developing the policy, program, or partnership.

Download a Word Document of the narrative application questions.

View the Program Essentials PDF that includes detailed information on application scoring.

Policy & Program Development Scoring Table
While we recognize there are different types of inequities based on identity and circumstance, LCA is focused on addressing racial inequity in the region given race is the largest predictor of inequitable outcomes in jobs, housing, and other LCA goals. Projects addressing racial equity will be prioritized in scoring. Projects addressing other inequities will earn points towards how they address those inequities but will not receive full points unless they also consider the intersection of racial inequity.
Category	Criteria	Points
What: Outcomes
The goals and vision of the proposed policy, program, or partnership would meet one or more of the following LCA and/or Imagine 2050 goals:
LCA and Imagine 2050 Goals	Remove barriers to producing or preserving affordable housing, with priority given to efforts that focus on housing affordable to households living at 30% of the area median income and/or prevent displacement in areas receiving new investment. Support wealth building and economic opportunity for communities who have experienced historic wealth extraction Minimizing climate impact by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving natural resources Support more equitable development outcomes in physical developments and/or through city process to approve physical developments	30
How: Process
Process	The process will include analysis of who will benefit most from the policy and in what ways, and use findings to influence equitable development strategies and outcomes	10
Who: Development Team
Who is Involved	The project team has a defined scope of work with tangible goals	10
City Capacity	Of seven county Twin Cities region cities and townships, if net tax capacity falls within the: Top 25%: 2 points 50%-75% Percentile: 6 points Below 50% Percentile: 10 points (View Scores by City in Appendix)	10
Total Possible Points		60
Applications must score at least 25 of the possible 60 points

Visit the Apply for LCA Grants page for details on how to apply.

Required Documents
Saving Documents Please save all documents as compressed PDF files with the naming format: [Applicant_Project_AttachmentName]. For example, a site plan from City Y for their Downtown Development would be named City Y_Downtown Development_Site Plan.

• A resolution of support from your City Council is required for application to the program.
• Scope of Work that will guide the consultant you intend to hire

Grantees submit semi-annual reports outlining ongoing project progress. These progress reports are supplemented by details provided in each payment request. Depending on the activities included in your grant award, there may be additional reporting requirements. These will be included in the grant agreement.

In addition to bringing the policy, program, or partnership through your city's approval and launch process, a final report is required with the last payment request. The final report will ask about project successes, the impact of the grant funding, and any challenges in completing the project.

As a grantee you are responsible for alerting the LCA grants administration team of any changes to the project. The grant administrator will work with you to decide if there needs to be an amendment to your grant agreement based on the project changes.
 
Contact LCA Grants Administrator with questions regarding reporting requirements and grant follow-up
Kelly Nezworski, LCA Grants Administrator, (651)-602-1757 [email protected]