Minnesota Statutes 116J.9922 – Central Minnesota Opportunity Grant Program
Subdivision 1.Definitions.
(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given.
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 116J.9922
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of employment and economic development. See Minnesota Statutes 116J.03
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Minority: means with respect to an individual the period of time during which the individual is a minor. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Small business: means a business entity organized for profit, including but not limited to any individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, association or cooperative, which entity:
(1) is not an affiliate or subsidiary of a business dominant in its field of operation; and
(2) has 20 or fewer full-time employees; or
(3) in the preceding fiscal year has not had more than the equivalent of $1,000,000 in annual gross revenues; or
(4) if the business is a technical or professional service, shall not have had more than the equivalent of $2,500,000 in annual gross revenues in the preceding fiscal year. See Minnesota Statutes 645.445
(b) “Commissioner” means the commissioner of employment and economic development.
(c) “Community initiative” means a nonprofit organization which provides services to central Minnesota communities of color in one or more of the program areas listed in subdivision 4, paragraph (a).
(d) “Foundation” means the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.
Subd. 2.Establishment.
The commissioner shall establish a central Minnesota opportunity grant program, administered by the foundation, to identify and support community initiatives in the St. Cloud area that enhance long-term economic self-sufficiency by improving education, housing, and economic outcomes for central Minnesota communities of color.
Subd. 3.Grant to the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.
The commissioner shall award all grant funds to the foundation, which shall administer the central Minnesota opportunity grant program. The foundation may use up to five percent of grant funds for administrative costs.
Subd. 4.Grants to community initiatives.
(a) The foundation must award funds through a competitive grant process to community initiatives that will provide services, either alone or in partnership with another nonprofit organization, in one or more of the following areas:
(1) economic development, including but not limited to programs to foster entrepreneurship or small business development;
(2) education, including but not limited to programs to encourage civic engagement or provide youth after-school or recreation programs; or
(3) housing, including but not limited to, programs to prevent and respond to homelessness or to provide access to loans or grants for housing stability and affordability.
(b) To receive grant funds, a community initiative must submit a written application to the foundation, using a form developed by the foundation. This grant application must include:
(1) a description of the activities that will be funded by the grant;
(2) an estimate of the cost of each grant activity;
(3) the total cost of the project;
(4) the sources and amounts of nonstate funds supplementing the grant;
(5) how the project aims to achieve stated outcomes in areas including improved job training; workforce development; small business support; early childhood, kindergarten through grade 12, and higher education achievement; and access to housing, including loans; and
(6) any additional information requested by the foundation.
(c) In awarding grants under this subdivision, the foundation shall give weight to applications from organizations that demonstrate:
(1) a history of successful provision of the services listed in paragraph (a); and
(2) a history of successful fundraising from private sources for such services.
(d) In evaluating grant applications, the foundation shall not consider the composition of a community initiative’s governing board.
(e) Grant funds may be used by a community initiative for the following purposes:
(1) operating costs, including but not limited to staff, office space, computers, software, and web development and maintenance services;
(2) program costs;
(3) travel within Minnesota;
(4) consultants directly related to and necessary for delivering services listed in paragraph (a); and
(5) capacity building.
Subd. 5.Reports to the legislature.
By January 15, 2019, and each January 15 thereafter through 2022, the commissioner must submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the house of representatives and the senate committees with jurisdiction over economic development that details the use of grant funds. This report must include data on the number of individuals served and, to the extent practical, measures of progress toward achieving the outcomes stated in subdivision 4, paragraph (b), clause (5).