Making sense of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Minnesota's nonprofits
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law on February 13 and we are now beginning to understand how some of this $11.4 billion is going to flow into Minnesota. The State of Minnesota has set up an official Web site to coordinate efforts related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At this Web site you can find a very detailed description of each of the funding streams, anticipated amounts, the state agency responsible for administering the funds and contact people at each of the state agencies. The summary table "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Estimated Allocation for Minnesota" does not include the details of how the funds will be distributed at the state agency level, so we have provided what we know as of this date here.

Be aware that not all of the funding programs are in place at this time and for many of the categories the amounts listed are anticipated amounts. The vast majority of resources flowing to Minnesota will be disbursed through a formula process, but there will be some competitive grant programs. When you click on the links below to particular competitive grant opportunities, it will take you to the beginning of the summary document. You will need to scroll through the bookmarks on the left hand side of the document to find the detailed explanation of the opportunity.

As the process for distributing these funds continues to evolve, MCN will keep you updated by providing information in this e-mail newsletter and is also planning to hold a public briefing for nonprofits in mid-April on the Recovery and Reinvestment Act and what it means for Minnesota's nonprofits.

We are also interested in hearing your experiences about accessing these resources. Please let me know if there are particular information sources that you have found helpful, state agency heads or staff that have provided you with useful guidance as well as any frustrating experiences that would be instructive to others. You can email me your stories at: leslie@mncn.org.

Education - Total funding in this area as of today with more anticipated $1,222,139,000
Competitive grants in education include:
School Improvement Funds ($27 million)
Educational Technology State grants ($6.1 million estimated with 50% being awarded through a competitive process)
McKinney-Vento ($612,000 estimated to be distributed to local districts on a competitive basis)
National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance ($1.7 million estimated to be distributed on a competitive basis to districts)
State Incentive grants (50% of a currently unknown amount will be distributed through a competitive sub-granting process)

Health, Human Services and Other Support - Total funding in this area as of today with more anticipated $1,948,226,800
Immunization (the total amount is unknown but there will be a small portion of funds that will likely be competitive to be used for demonstration projects in two areas: school-based vaccinations and adult vaccination)
Emergency Shelter grant Program ($11 million)

Energy and Environment - Total funding in this area as of today with more anticipated $382,031,000
EPA Brownfields ($3,400,000)
Water Quality Management Planning Grants ($700,000 - $1 million with a portion of the funds to be used directly by the MPCA for assessment and monitoring and the other portion used for competitive grants)
Wildland Fire Management: State and Private Grants ($2 - $5 million there are 21 specific projects submitted some will utilize state contracts while others will sub-grant to nonprofits and local units of government)

Labor, Housing and Economic Development - Total funding in this area as of today with more anticipated $7,247,930,000
Vocational Rehabilitation ($6,344,891)
Public Housing Capital Fund ($1 billion nationally on a competitive basis for "priority investments")
Assisted Housing Stability and Energy and Green Retrofit Investments (Minnesota's share of $2.25 billion is unknown, but there could be some competitive grants in this area)
Housing Tax Credit Exchange Program (The amount in this area is unknown at this time, but there will be competitive grants to finance the contruction or acquisition/rehab of rental housing projects.)
Native American Block Grants (The amount for Minnesota is unknown at this time, but competitive funds will be available to tribal organizations for new construction, rehab, acquisition and infrastructure development.)
Neighborhood Stabilization Program (The amount is unknown at this time but competitive grants will be available for the purchase and rehabilitation of foreclosed and vacant properties in order to create more affordable housing and reduce neighborhood blight.)

Transportation and Public Safety - Total funding in this area as of today with more anticipated $655,700,000
Surface Transportation Program Urban Guarantee ($75 million) and Transportation Enhancement Funding ($7.5 million)
Federal Railroad Administration Capital Assistance for High Speed Rail Corridors and Intercity Passenger Rail Service ($8 billion nationally with the amount in Minnesota to be determined)