Item Description:
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Neg four Green Partners environmental grants, 09/01/23-08/31/24, total combined NTE $96,700
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that the County Administrator be authorized to negotiate the following Green Partners environmental grant agreements, during the period September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024:
• Agreement PR00005496 with EMERGE Community Development, with the amount not to exceed $30,000
• Agreement PR00005497 with Pillsbury United Communities, with an amount not to exceed $29,700
• Agreement PR00005505 with Young Men’s Christian Association of the North, with an amount not to exceed $12,000
• Agreement PR00005507 with Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, with the amount not to exceed $25,000; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that following review and approval by the County Attorney’s Office, the County Administrator be authorized to sign the agreements on behalf of the county; and that the Controller be authorized to disburse funds as directed.
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Background:
The Green Partners grant program provides support and funding to organizations to implement projects that engage residents to protect and improve the environment. Since the program was established in 2012, the county has awarded 231 grants totaling more than $2.8 million. Funding for the program comes from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund.
The program offers three types of grants: Environmental Action grants for projects that focus on motivating adults to take environmentally friendly actions, Youth Environmental Education grants for projects engaging young people in environmental education and stewardship, and a pilot grant program for Youth Green Jobs.
Eligible organizations include registered nonprofit organizations such as community groups, youth programs and congregations; park districts; and private and public schools and school districts, including community education programs such as early childhood family education.
The county released a request for proposals in March 2023. A total of 54 applications were received. Of the 27 Youth Environmental Education grant applications received, 14 are recommended for funding. Of the 17 Environmental Action grant applications received, nine are recommended for funding. Of the 10 Youth Green Jobs applications received, five are recommended for funding. A total of 28 grants are recommended, for a total amount of $707,550.
Of these 28 grants recommended for funding, 24 will be approved through administrative processes. Agreements PR00005507, PR00005496, PR00005505, and PR00005497 require board approval because the organizations have executed contracts with the county that exceed $100,000.
The following 24 agreements will be approved through administrative processes:
Youth Environmental Education grants
• PR00005501 with Appetite for Change’s Urban Agriculture ($11,700)
• PR00005502 with Bancroft Neighborhood Association’s Beloved Community Mpls ($50,000, 2-year grant)
• PR00005500 with MIGIZI’s Indigenous Pathways - Green Tech Institute ($50,000, 2-year grant)
• PR00005506 with Northside Residents Redevelopment Council’s NRRC Youth Green Team ($23,700)
• PR00005509 with Pollinate Minnesota’s Expansive Pollinator Education and Pollinate Minnesota and Minneapolis Public Schools ($20,000)
• Hennepin-University Partnership ‘s Work Order for Environmental Educator Capacity Building ($25,000)
• PR00005508 with Reuse Minnesota’s Youth curriculum: Reuse for the future ($23,500)
• PR00005499 with Riverside Plaza Tenants & Community’s RPTA Green Partners Education ($12,000)
• PR00005504 with Spark Y’s Spark-Y Urban Ag as Youth Environmental Education at PYC Arts ($22,900)
• PR00005503 with The Highpoint Center for Printmaking’s Creative Clean Water Stewards Project ($37,400; 2-year grant)
• PR00005498 with We All Need Food and Water’s Green Puppets - Red Light, Green Light ($10,000)
• PR00005519 with Wilderness Inquiry’s Canoemobile: Connecting Minneapolis Youth to Nature-based Education and Exploration ($5,000)
Environmental Action grants
• PR00005511 with Center for Community Services’ Educate, Replace and Reuse ($10,000)
• PR00005516 with Clean Water Fund’s Healthy Homes: reducing hazardous waste and plastic ($22,500)
• PR00005512 with Community Power’s Community-owned Affordable Solar & Efficiency ($25,000)
• PR00005520 with Minnesota Swahili Christian Congregation’s Project Reduce-Reuse-Recycle ($12,000)
• PR00005518 with Mississippi Park Connection’s BIPOC in the Outdoors project ($50,000; 2-year grant)
• PR00005513 with Resilient Cities and Communities’ Friends of Lake Hiawatha Adopt-a-Drain and Neighborhood Clean-ups ($25,000)
• PR00005514 with Somali America Women Action Center’s Dambiil Challenge ($20,500)
• PR00005517 with Tangletown Neighborhood Association’s Managing Electronic, Appliance, and Tech Waste Responsibly ($14,650)
• PR00005510 with The Richfield Foundation’s Creating Habitat with Sustainable Landscaping ($50,000; 2-year grant)
Youth Green Jobs grants
• PR00005494 with Environmental Initiative’s Northside Safety NET ($30,000)
• PR00005495 with Metro Blooms’ Environmental Justice and Social Justice Youth Employees ($30,000)
• PR00005493 with Urban Strategies’ Green Garden Bakery ($30,000)
Current Request: This request is to authorize the County Administrator to negotiate the following Green Partners environmental grant agreements, during the period September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024:
• Agreement PR00005496 with EMERGE Community Development, with the amount not to exceed $30,000
• Agreement PR00005497 with Pillsbury United Communities, with an amount not to exceed $29,700
• Agreement PR00005505 with Young Men’s Christian Association of the North, with an amount not to exceed $12,000
• Agreement PR00005507 with Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, with the amount not to exceed $25,000
Impact/Outcomes: The Green Partners projects support the county’s goals of promoting environmental stewardship, engaging communities, enhancing quality of life, and protecting the environment for current and future generations.
EMERGE’s Youth Internships in Solar Installation and Urban Farming project will engage up to 12 youth and hire eight (8) youth from north Minneapolis who face disparities in engaging in green jobs training in solar installation and practice in urban farming. (Agreement PR00005496; $30,000; 1-year Youth Green Jobs grant)
Pillsbury United Communities’ Ladders to Leadership Green Jobs project will hire five (5) youth from Minneapolis who face disparities in learning about green jobs and receiving training in urban farming, food systems, and waste management. (Agreement PR00005497; $29,700; 1-year Youth Green Jobs grant)
Young Men’s Christian Association of the North’s Camp Ihduhapi Farm and Garden Program project will engage 4,000 Pre-school, Elementary, and Middle school youth in exploring and studying nature and learning about sustainable and environmentally responsible farming, water protection, local ecosystems, renewable energy, tree care, and more at Camp Ihduhapi. (Agreement PR00005505; $12,000; 1-year Youth Environmental Education grant)
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Nature from the Inside Out at Kroening Nature Center will support a partnership between the park board and Jenny Lind, Cityview, and Bethune elementary schools in north Minneapolis to create an innovative curriculum that will engage 300 to 600 youth in experiential outdoor, nature-based environmental education that meets Minnesota state education standards. (Agreement PR00005507; $25,000; 1-year Youth Environmental Education grant)
Eight of the applicants are first-time grantees with the Green Partners program. Of the 28 projects, 27 projects focus on engaging audiences that face disparities.
Organizations listed in this request will engage more than 9,500 people, including more than 7,500 youth, in becoming environmental stewards and taking action to protect the environment. More than 50 youth will be hired for green jobs exploration and training. These projects are expected to reach more than 220,000 people with environmental messages.
Hennepin County prioritizes environmental education and engagement with audiences that experience disparities and those audiences that contribute most to environmental problems that result in disparities. The Green Partners program also helps meet the county’s goals outlined in the Climate Action Plan by engaging with the public and supporting community driven solutions.
Organizations are required to report project outcomes. Research has shown that these models of environmental engagement are effective in motivating participants to take actions that have a positive impact on the environment.
recommendation
Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval