Planning Grants — Awarded Projects

Planning Grants of up to $10,000 are awarded to complete planning in order to develop a full application for a Stewardship Fund Action Grant or a significant project with another funder.

Planning Grants are intended to assist organizations to prepare for eventual implementation of a more complex project. The outcome of the Planning Grant is to be "project ready" when applying for an Action Grant or other source of funding for implementation. A completed Planning Grant will result in the following: detailed technical designs, lists of materials, a project budget, a maintenance plan, and a clearly defined plan for educational and outreach activities.

2009
In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre - Stormwater Best Management Practice Installation and Water Quality Education Activities
Lyndale Neighborhood Association - Lyndale Clean Water Project
Midtown Greenway Coalition - Stormwater Public Art Feature
Southeast Como Improvement Association - Rainwater Catchment System Como Corner Community Garden
St. Anthony Park Community Council - Hampden Park Master Plan
University Lutheran Church of Hope - Stormwater Best Management Practice Design

2010
2615 Park Avenue Association/ Phillips West Neighborhood Organization - Raingarden Design and Water Quality Education Activities
Do It Green! Minnesota - The Rain Drop Project
Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota - The Together Renewing Our Urban People's Environment (TROUPE) Project
Seward Child Care Center - Stormwater Best Management Practice Planning
Seward Redesign, Inc. - Seward Commons Stormwater Best Management Practices Master Plan

2011
Excelen Center for Bone and Joint Research and Education - Stormwater Management Plan
Highpoint Center for Printmaking - Stormwater Management Plan
Kroening Interpretive Center - Interpretive Framework for Mississippi River and Stormwater Exhibit and Outdoor Feature
Minnesota Erosion Control Association - Development of Erosion Control for Small Sites Professional Development Workshops
Mother Earth Gardens/Longfellow Business Association - Stormwater Management Plan
Northeast Lutheran Ministry Center - Stormwater Management Plan for Grace Center for Community Life Campus
West Broadway Business and Area Coalition - West Broadway Watershed Management Master Plan

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Awarded Mini Grants
Awarded Action Grants

Planning Grant Project Descriptions

Lyndale Neighborhood Association - Lyndale Clean Water Project
The Lyndale Neighborhood Association will create a long-term neighborhood plan to improve water quality, called the Lyndale Clean Water Project. Two key planning areas include: 1) a prioritized list of five to ten opportunities for improving water quality in the Lyndale neighborhood in the next three to five years; and 2) detailed plans for implementing stormwater best management practices (BMPs) at two neighborhood properties - Zion Lutheran Church and the Lyndale Neighborhood Building.

Midtown Greenway Coalition - Stormwater Public Art Feature
The Midtown Greenway Coalition (MGC) will create a plan for a public art and water feature that manages, harvests, and uses stormwater as a resource in a highly visible location on the Midtown Greenway. This plan will be done in partnership with the MGC, community and business groups, and the MWMO.

Southeast Como Improvement Association - Rainwater Catchment System Como Corner Community Garden
The Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA) will create a plan for a rainwater catchment system at the Como Corner Community Garden at Como and 22nd Avenues SE in Minneapolis. The rainwater catchment system has two primary purposes: to collect, store, and use rainwater to water the gardens at Como Corner; and to develop a raingarden to contain and use any overflow from the cistern and runoff from the adjacent railroad embankment slope.

St. Anthony Park Community Council - Hampden Park Master Plan
The St. Anthony Park Community Council, in partnership with St. Paul Parks and Recreation, will create a master plan for Hampden Park that includes planning and design work for stormwater best management practices (BMPs). Stormwater BMPs are expected to include: rain gardens with curb cuts around the perimeter of the park planted with Minnesota native species, a tree management plan that incorporates stormwater management in its scope, and the use of permeable materials in public gathering spaces.

University Lutheran Church of Hope - Stormwater Best Management Practice Design
The University Lutheran Church of Hope (ULCH) will create a plan for stormwater management at the ULCH property that results in detailed design work for stormwater best management practices (BMPs), such as bioretention through raingardens, infiltration trenches or living walls; porous pavement; and the use of cisterns. The stormwater BMPs will significantly reduce stormwater runoff from ~37,000 square feet of impervious surfaces on the property. Stormwater Management Designs

Do It Green! Minnesota - The Rain Drop Project
Do It Green! Minnesota will create a plan for the Rain Drop Project, a project that will promote the use of rainwater catchment systems, such as rainbarrels and cisterns, as a stormwater best management practice as well as water conservation. They will work with local artists to determine feasible methods to create public art rain catchment systems that both function to capture stormwater runoff and educate MWMO constituents about water quality issues.

Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota - The Together Renewing Our Urban People's Environment (TROUPE) Project
EJAM will create a plan for the Together Renewing Our Urban People's Environment (TROUPE) Project, a project that will promote long term community stewardship of the land and water in North Minneapolis and focus specifically on the Near North and Camden neighborhoods. A planning team comprised of members representing schools, cultural-based organizations, conservation groups, environmental education organizations, businesses, and government agencies as well as community elders will be formed and conduct planning for a water quality education and stewardship program that provides opportunity for North Minneapolis youth to participate in a process of prioritizing, designing, and implementing local water stewardship projects.

Seward Child Care Center - Stormwater Best Management Practice Planning
Seward Child Care Center will create a plan for stormwater management utilizing best management practices (BMPs) that will capture over 90% of stormwater on the site. They will research various stormwater BMPs to determine feasibility, select appropriate approaches, and create an implementation plan as well as create an education and outreach plan for water quality education, using the stormwater BMPs to be installed on the site as a context.

Seward Redesign, Inc. - Seward Commons Stormwater Best Management Practices Master Plan
Seward Redesign, Inc. will create a master plan for stormwater management guidelines utilizing best management practices (BMPs) for the four-acre Seward Commons site to be redeveloped in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis. The guidelines will express a vision of stormwater BMPs as a core element of redevelopment and emphasis will be placed on BMPs and strategies that will be visible and accessible to the public.

Highpoint Center for Printmaking - Stormwater Management Plan
Highpoint Center for Printmaking (HP) will conduct planning and design work for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to be installed at HP's site. The resulting BMPs will capture stormwater runoff from 2/3 of the 10,500 square feet of the building's rooftop. HP will also create an education and outreach plan that includes permanent interpretive signage, water quality education activities for HP's visitors and community neighbors, and public tours of the site.

Kroening Interpretive Center - Interpretive Framework for Mississippi River and Stormwater Exhibit and Outdoor Feature
Kroening Interpretive Center will conduct planning to redevelop the Center's major exhibition to 1) focus interpretation more explicitly on the Mississippi River and its watershed, 2) make the exhibit more accessible and engaging to its primary audience - families with young children, and 3) integrate the exhibit with an outdoor component that extends the interpretive messages surrounding water quality issues and stormwater best management practices. The resulting plan will be an interpretive framework for the exhibition and outdoor component and a plan of action for implementation.

Minnesota Erosion Control Association - Development of Erosion Control for Small Sites Professional Development Workshops
The Minnesota Erosion Control Association (MECA) will conduct planning for two Erosion Control for Small Sites professional development training courses. MECA will work with stakeholders in the MWMO watershed - including City Public Works and Parks staff, landscapers, and building contractors - to create professional trainings that are customized for two audiences - city staff and independent contractors.

Mother Earth Gardens/Longfellow Business Association - Stormwater Management Plan
Longfellow Business Association (LBA) will partner with Mother Earth Gardens (MEG) to conduct feasibility studies, planning, and design work for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to be installed at the Mother Earth Gardens property in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis. The resulting BMPs will include a water catchment system for reuse in daily nursery plant watering and will capture stormwater runoff from the building roof and other impervious surfaces on the site. LBA and MEG will also create an education and outreach plan that includes permanent interpretive signage and water quality education activities for the community.

Northeast Lutheran Ministry Center - Stormwater Management Plan for Grace Center for Community Life Campus
In this project, Northeast Lutheran Ministry Center (NELMC) will conduct feasibility studies, planning, and design work for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to be installed at the Grace Center for Community Life in Northeast Minneapolis. The resulting BMPs will remove impervious surfaces by a minimum of 25-30% and capture stormwater runoff from the 2.9 acre site. The Grantee will also partner with Sheridan Neighborhood Organization and Fraser Academy to create an education and outreach plan that includes permanent interpretive signage, water quality education activities for the community, and integration of the stormwater BMPs into Fraser Academy's curriculum.

West Broadway Business and Area Coalition - West Broadway Watershed Management Master Plan
West Broadway Coalition will create a Watershed Management Master Plan for the West Broadway corridor between the Mississippi River and Oliver Avenue North. The master plan will identify measurable runoff reduction goals for the targeted area and serve as an implementation guide for local property owners and neighborhood groups to develop and install water quality focused site improvements. Planning will also include developing water quality themed educational activities and workshops for the area as well as the West Broadway Sustainable Businesses Program to be implemented as part of the master plan.

For questions or more information, please contact:
Erica Sniegowski, Education & Outreach Specialist, esniegowski@mwmo.org, (612) 465-8780, ext. 206.