Grants Quarterly: October 2025

Inside this Issue:

Important Upcoming Dates
Office of Grants Management (OGM) Updates and Reminders
Reminder SWCD Audits
Grants Fall Cleanup!
Watershed Based Implementation Funding Request Open for FY26
Keep it Clean Open RFP
Multipurpose Drainage Management Open RFP
Upcoming Grant Trainings at BWSR Academy
Water Quality and Storage Grants RFP Opens 10/30/2025
Clean Water Legacy Partners Competitive Request Summary
Prioritize Measure Application (PTMApp) Program Updates
Tip of the Quarter

Important Upcoming Dates

Sept. 29: Keep it Clean RFP opened

Oct. 6: Multipurpose Drainage Management RFP opened

Oct. 21-23: BWSR Academy - Cragun's, Brainerd, MN 

Oct. 29: Keep it Clean RFP closes

Oct. 30: Water Quality and Storage RFP opens

Dec. 15: Deadline to return grant amendments to BWSR for grants expiring 12/31/25

Dec. 23: Water Quality and Storage RFP closes

Dec. 31: Many grants expire

Feb. 1: Annual grant reporting deadline   

Office of Grants Management (OGM) Updates and Reminders

Updates to Statewide Grant Agreements

At the beginning of each fiscal year, OGM releases new statewide base grant agreement templates with updates and additions to boilerplate language and new clauses. Those updates will be reflected in BWSR's grant agreements. Please review your grant agreements for updated language. More guidance will be coming soon for any new requirements.

Reminder from OGM on Subgrantee/Subrecipient Misrepresentation

To avoid subgrantee/subrecipients misrepresenting themselves in order to receive funds, it is critical that grantees verify the identity and legitimacy of any entities or individuals they plan to fund as subrecipients. As part of their due diligence, grantees should be expected to:

• Confirm the identity and physical location of the entity applying for funds.
• Review applicants for consistency and compare with publicly available records.
• Verify business registration with the Secretary of State, ensuring the entity:
  • Is actively and validly registered
  • Is in good standing
• Verify the entity is not suspended or debarred. Check both the Minnesota list and the federal list.

Reminder SWCD Audits

Draft copies of the annual audited financial statements are due to the Office of the State Auditor (OSA). Grantees please email your copies to the OSA contact (Lisa Young lisa.young@osa.state.mn.us) by October 31, following the year ended December 31. OSA will review one-third of the draft SWCD audited financial statements each year. However, review of a district’s financials could occur more often if requested by BWSR (i.e. significant deficiencies identified by the CPA firm during the audit process).

Final copies of the annual audited financial statements are due and shall be sent to the OSA contact (Lisa Young lisa.young@osa.state.mn.us), BWSR’s Chief Financial Officer (Amie Wunderlich amie.wunderlich@state.mn.us), and other parties having an interest in the SWCD operations by December 31, following the year ended the previous December 31.

Grants Fall Cleanup! 

Fall Cleanup Reminder: Don’t Forget Your Grants!

It’s that time of year — the leaves are falling, and reporting season is just around the corner. As you're raking up sticks and brush, take a few minutes to clean up your grant files, too!

• Report your expenditures
• Submit amendments
• Send in payment requests

Getting ahead now helps prevent delays later. Let’s wrap up the year strong!

Reminder: Grant agreements and amendments are distributed via DocuSign

If you are having difficulties or have any questions, please visit BWSR's website page Accessing your Grant Agreement or Amendment for guidance. 

IMPORTANT: Please review the "NEW" updates that have been made to the Grant Agreements see Office of Grants Management (OGM) Updates and Reminders

How do I update the Day-to-Day Contact for my organization?

If you need to update the D2DC, or aren't sure who your D2DC is, send an email to elinksupport@state.mn.us. Please provide the name of your organization, the name of the person to be removed as the D2DC, and the name of the new D2DC. Please make sure to notify BWSR when the D2DC — or any staff with an eLINK account — leave the organization so that we can ensure permissions are up to date and that critical grant communications reach your organization.

When should a grantee submit their amendment for grants expiring 12/31/25?

Now is the time! Are you on track to complete projects and close out grants that will expire at the end of this year? Now is a good time to assess progress on any grants expiring at the end of 2025, and begin the conversation within your organization and with your Board Conservationist about whether an extension may be needed.

The Grant Agreement Amendments and Work Plan Revisions chapter of the BWSR Grants Administration Manual establishes the procedures for requesting an amendment, which should begin now!

When should a grantee close out a BWSR Grant? 

Within thirty (30) calendar days of the end of the grant agreement period, or expenditure of all grant and match funds, whichever occurs first. Please reference Closing out a BWSR Grant guidance.

IMPORTANT!! Ensure your organization's information is up to date to prevent delays in grant execution or payment processing.

How do I verify my organization's current address in eLINK?

To update your address in eLINK, log in to eLINK and go to Contacts > Organizations. Find your organization and click on the adjacent Edit (pencil) icon. Update any address details as needed.

Please inform or contact BWSR regarding any address changes. If you have any further questions you can send an email to bwsr.grants@state.mn.us.

How do I verify my organization's current address in SWIFT?

To update your address in SWIFT:

1. Log in to the Supplier Portal by going to http://mn.gov/supplier and go to the Sign In tile. Log in with your User ID (not an email address) and Password.

*If you need help logging in, please reach out to the EFT Helpline at 651-201-8106 or efthelpline.mmb@state.mn.us. 

2. Once logged in, navigate to “Manage Profile” > “Update Account”. Then click the “Addresses” tab and EDIT (pencil icon) the address that you wish to change. Please provide a brief reason in the Comments field (i.e. change of address, moved, etc.). Then, go to the “Submit” tab to submit this request for approval. You will be prompted to confirm your Federal Tax ID (enter with no dashes).

• Please find additional instruction at the following link to make an address change: Update Supplier Profile and Information (mn.gov)

• If you get prompted with an error to answer the Company Profile questions upon submitting, you will need to answer the questions under the Company Profile tab. When answering, please don’t type anything into the field. Leave the field completely blank/empty. Instead, click on the “select” or magnifying glass icon to choose your response. Once all questions have been answered, proceed to the submit page to submit this request.

Grantees can also contact the EFT helpline at 651-201-8106 (M-F, 9-3) or efthelpline.mmb@state.mn.us. We will need your Federal Tax ID (EIN or SSN) to locate your SWIFT Supplier account. Additional resources can be found here: SWIFT Vendor Resources

Watershed Based Implementation Funding Request Open for FY26

On August 28, the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) approved distribution of over $83.5 million in Watershed Based Implementation Funding (WBIF) grants (Board Order 25-42). BWSR awards WBIF grants to partnerships with an approved comprehensive watershed management plan developed under BWSR’s One Watershed, One Plan Program and to 27 watershed allocations in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area under the metro surface water and groundwater frameworks. 

This page lists allocation amounts and the years each area can request funding. Watersheds listed as “2026” may request funding anytime in the biennium (before April 30, 2027); watersheds listed as “2027” may submit funding requests starting June 1, 2026. **Note: Funding requests are closed on April 30 and grant agreements must be executed in the fiscal year when the funding request was initiated. See WBIF Funding Request and Work Plan Guidance for the process steps to request funding and get an approved work plan and executed grant agreement.

New in FY26-27: 

• Program requirements will be attached to the grant agreement as “Exhibit A.”  
• Work plan guidance has been updated in two important ways:
  • Grantees should use standard language for “proposed measurable outcomes” in the funding request.
  • Activity descriptions must include key references to watershed/groundwater plans.
• If flat rate financial assistance will be provided using grant funds: prior to work plan approval, grant recipient policy (and subrecipient policies, if applicable) need to be attached to the grant in eLINK.

For more information, please visit the Watershed Based Implementation Funding Grant Program webpage.

Keep it Clean RFP Open Through October 29, 2025

The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is now accepting grant applications for the Keep it Clean Program, which works to protect Minnesota’s lakes by preventing water pollution from garbage and human waste left on the ice of state waters during winter use activities.  Local units of government are eligible to apply for this funding opportunity. 

A total appropriation of $185,000 is available: Grant requests must be between $10,000 and $40,000 and a non-state match of at least 10% is required. Match can be provided via cash or in-kind services. The grants can be used for a wide range of activities to prevent pollution from garbage and human waste associated with winter recreation activities.

The application period opened on September 29, 2025, and will close on October 29, 2025. How to apply

Multipurpose Drainage Management RFP Open for FY26

The Multipurpose Drainage Management (MDM) RFP will open with $900,000 for FY26. Awards will be made through quarterly batching periods until all funds are awarded with the first batching period closing on November 26, 2025. This competitive grant program funds multipurpose drainage management practices, targeting critical pollution source areas to reduce erosion and sedimentation, reduce peak flows and flooding, and improve water quality, while protecting drainage system efficiency and reducing drainage system maintenance for priority Chapter 103E drainage systems. For information on future batching dates and amount of available funding, please click MDM.

The application period for FY26 opened on October 6, 2025, and will close on February 26, 2026. FY27 grant applications will be made available in eLINK starting March 2, 2026. How to apply

Upcoming Grant Trainings at BWSR Academy

Connect with us at BWSR Academy! There are several grant management related trainings offered October 21-23 at Cragun’s Conference Center. Consider session options in the Fiscal & Programs Track like; eLINK Essentials, Grants Streamlining Process, Show Me the Numbers! BWSR Fiscal Grant Basics, and others. For information about these and other sessions, view the Academy session descriptions available on the BWSR Academy 2025 website.

Water Quality and Storage Grants RFP Opens October 30, 2025

This competitive grant program provides financial assistance to model, design, and construct projects and practices that will control water volume and rates to protect infrastructure, improve water quality and related public benefits, and mitigate climate change impacts. Eligible applicants are local units of government and tribal governments. Funding for this application period is $4,500,000, with up to $500,000 available for modeling and conceptual design applications. Please read the RFP and supplemental documents to understand changes to this program from previous years.

The application period opens on October 30, 2025, and will close on December 23, 2025. How to apply

Clean Water Legacy Partners Competitive Requests Summary 

The RFP for FY24-25 Round 1 Clean Water Legacy Partners grant program closed on January 7, 2025. BWSR received a total of 18 applications, with requests totaling $2,571,628. Ten awards were made totaling $1,633,975.

The RFP for FY24-25 Round 2 Clean Water Legacy Partners grant program closed on August 5, 2025.  BWSR received a total of 23 applications, with requests totaling $3,388,568. Seven awards were made totaling $1,066,025.

Prioritize Measure Application (PTMApp) Program Updates

The latest version of PTMApp Model is now optimized to use in Arc Pro 3.2 version of Geographic Information System software. ArcGIS Pro 3.0 version is still being supported but ArcGIS Pro 2.8, ArcGIS Version 10.8, and ArcGIS Version 10.7 are no longer being supported.

In person all day PTMApp training was organized and delivered on March 12, 2025, to Local Government Unit staff. The training was held at West Central Research and Outreach Center, 46352 State Highway 329 in Morris, Minnesota. Training was attended by 18 people from 11 LGUs and one BWSR staff. 

Four PTMApp training videos were created in the spring of 2025 to aid in reaching out to more LGU staff. Training Videos cover Reporting Outcomes Using PTMApp-Desktop:Methods and Tools. View and download the PTMApp training videos

Three PTMApp training office hours sessions are planned for the fall 2025. PTMApp training office hour sessions will provide an opportunity for users to ask questions and share their experience in using the PTMApp Desk Top, PTMApp Web Data Viewer, and associated tools to report outcomes in BWSR E-Link database. A training session at 2025 BWSR Academy is also planned. Folks interested in attending the PTMApp training office hour sessions can register here! 

In-person, all-day BWSR-Estimator Tool training will be held on November 19, 2025, for Technical Service Area 3 staff. Three pre-training office hours sessions are also being held prior to the in-person training. Folks interested in attending the BWSR-Estimator Tool training office hour sessions as well in person all day BWSR-Estimator Tool training. Register here!

For more information, contact Udai Singh, BWSR Modeling and Outcomes Coordinator, at udai.singh@state.mn.us or 507-766-5020.

Tip of the Quarter

Q. How can a grantee account for the payout of severance, vacation and sick leave when an employee leaves employment?

A. If accrued leave costs are included in the billing rate, severance pay cannot be included in facilities costs (not applicable to accrued leave). If actual leave costs were used in the billing rate, then pay-out of severance can be handled in one of two ways:
1. If the employee’s work was concentrated on a few grants and grant programs, the payout should be allocated across those grants.
2. If the employee was employed for a long period of time and worked on many grants and grant programs, the payout for vacation and sick leave may be included as a facilities cost and included in the billing rate or indirect cost allocation.