Procedure 1.06.01

Part 1. Purpose

This procedure establishes uniform guidelines to aid Minneapolis College staff and faculty in the pursuit of grant funding and the management of grant awards, including the identification and application thereof. The College's Mission, Vision, Values, and stated priorities should help determine the guidelines for the suitability of any grant proposal. All external funding sources and proposals will also be reviewed initially for:

• Eligibility
• Quality
• Priority
• Compliance
• Appropriateness Projected and Future Costs (funded and unfunded)

Part 2. Pre-Proposal Requirements

Subpart A. Step by Step: Grant Process for Grant Development

All College grant proposals and requests to solicit funds must follow the steps outlined in this subpart. These steps are:

1. The grant initiator receives approval of grant viability from their immediate supervisor.
2. Grant initiator identifies who the Project Manager for the project will be if funded, with acknowledgment by the identified Project Manager. This may or may not be the same person as the grant initiator.
3. Grant initiator submits electronic proposal through designated college workflow to the College Advancement Office.
4. For grants of $25,000 or more, approval from the Grant Management Workgroup and President’s Council is required before grant proposal submission. Once approved, the grant proposal may be submitted to the proper granting agency.
5. For grants under $25,000, the proposals must be approved by the Grants Management Workgroup and an individual member of the President’s Council before submission.
6. Grant proposals will be signed by the appropriate designee with the appropriate college delegation of authority.
7. The individual who submits the grant proposal is responsible for providing a copy of the final grant submission to the College Advancement Office and the Grants Accounting Office after it has been submitted to the granting agency.

Proposals for subgrants at the College shall also follow this process, except for training subgrants/contracts received by the Continuing Education and Workforce Development unit solely to provide training funded by external partners.

Subpart B. Grant Requests $25,000 or More

For all College grant proposals and requests to solicit funds of \$25,000 or more, the grant initiator must submit an electronic proposal to the College Advancement Office, which will be reviewed by the Grants Management Workgroup, Grants Accounting Office, and President’s Council. The grant proposals and requests to solicit funds of \$25,000 or more must first be brought to the Grants Management Workgroup for review and approval.  Secondarily, the grant proposal or request must be reviewed and approved by the President’s Council before submission.

The grant initiator will submit:

• The Grant Proposal and Funding Request Form.
• A one-page grant summary and a one-page grant budget summary for the President's Council to review.

No funding solicitations of \$25,000 or more will be made on behalf of the College or Foundation without prior approval of the President's Council.

Funding solicitations/grant requests of \$25,000 or more made on behalf of the College or the Foundation must have prior approval from the President’s Council before submission of the grant to the granting agency.

Subpart C. Grant Requests Under $25,000

Grant proposals under $25,000 must be reviewed and approved by the Grants Management Workgroup and a member of the College’s President’s Council.
The grant initiator must submit an electronic proposal to the College Advancement Office to begin the review and approval process.

Upon satisfactory review and approval from the Grants Management Workgroup and the individual member of the President’s Council, the grant proposal for under $25,000 can be submitted to the granting agency on behalf of the College. 

Subpart D. Grant Financial Management

Whenever possible, the College will receive interest on grant funds. The College will make every reasonable effort to apply interest income to efforts related to the grant.

Whenever possible, the College will attempt to be reimbursed for overhead at the federally approved indirect rate.

Before submission, all grant initiators must attest to their understanding of the Minnesota State procedure 1C.0.1 subpart A, “Conflicts of Interest” and Minneapolis College policy 6.01 subpart C “Conflicts of Interest.” Whereupon a granting agency requires additional terms in their conflict of interest guidance, it is incumbent upon the grant initiator to gain a full understanding of them.

Part 3. Post-Award Requirements

Once the College or Foundation is awarded a grant on behalf of the College, the grant agreement with the funder may only be signed by an officer of the College with the appropriate delegation of authority to do so. The grant initiator is responsible for providing a copy of the grant agreement to the College Advancement Office and the Grants Accounting Office after it has been signed by all parties.

The Project Manager, in conjunction with the Project Sponsor and Grants Accounting Office, will oversee the monitoring of the grant, including review of budgets, personnel time/hours charged to the grants, reporting requirements, project and budget revisions, grant continuation or extension requests, and to ensure procurement procedures are followed.

The Grants Accounting Officer will periodically review expenditures and cash management reports for each grant. Copies of all such reviews will be made available to applicable parties.

Depending on the grant’s origin, the Grants Accounting Office or the Foundation will house the official files for all grants awarded.

The Project Manager will be responsible for all matters of program performance and will supply any narrative and qualitative inputs required. The Project Manager, in concert with the Grants Accounting Office, will oversee the closeout of each grant at the end of its funding cycle which shall include a final report submitted to the appropriate granting agency.

The Project Manager will document and complete annual time and effort reporting for governmental grants. The Foundation will document and complete annual time and effort reporting for private grants it receives. An audit of time and effort reporting will be conducted annually by the Grants Accounting Office.

Pursuant to Minnesota State Board of Trustees Policy 7.7, Part 4 “Accountability/Reporting”, the Office of College Advancement shall assume responsibility for reporting any gifts or grants of more than \$100,000 to the system office.

Owner(s) Title: Vice President of Finance and Operations

Date of Adoption: 3/17/2022

Date of Implementation (if different from adoption date): N/A

Date Last Amended: 4/22/2024 (Limited Review)

History and Subject of Revisions: 4/22/2024 (Limited Review)

Regulatory Authority (e.g. Minnesota State policy, federal or state law): Minnesota State Board Policy 7.7 Gifts and Grants Acceptance; Minnesota State Board Procedure 7.7.1 Gifts and Grants Acceptance Reporting Form; Minnesota Statute 136F.46, Non-profit Foundation Payroll Deductions; Minnesota Statute 136F.80, Grants, Gifts, Bequests, Devises, and Endowments; Minnesota Statute 136F.81, Transfer of Gifts