New Clarifications and Updates Made Within the Application
The following clarifications and updates have been made within the application that is available through the online application portal.
Submitted work plans and budgets that use other formatting besides those provided on the MDA templates must include the same elements included on the MDA templates.
Submitted work plans and budgets that use other formatting besides those provided on the MDA templates must include the same elements included on the MDA templates.
A question within the eligibility section of the application originally read as follows: “No one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA. Y/N.” This language has been updated for clarity.
Updated language: I confirm that no one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
- Yes, I confirm that no one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
- No, I can’t confirm that no one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
A question within the eligibility section of the application originally read as follows: “No one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA. Y/N.” This language has been updated for clarity.
Updated language: I confirm that no one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
- Yes, I confirm that no one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
- No, I can’t confirm that no one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
Submitted work plans and budgets that use other formatting besides those provided on the MDA templates must include the same elements included on the MDA templates.
A question within the eligibility section of the application originally read as follows: “No one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA. Y/N.” This language has been updated for clarity.
Updated language: I confirm that no one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
- Yes, I confirm that no one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
- No, I can’t confirm that no one involved in the project or the application for the grant is an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
A new required text field has been added within the "Contact Information" section of the online application, for applicants to provide their Unique Entity IDs. Unique Entity IDs are assigned by the federal System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and are a 12-character alphanumeric value. The text field that originally asked for the applicant's Unique Entity ID was not formatted to accept alphanumeric values. That original text field is still included in the application but is no longer a required question and should be left blank.
The language regarding legal eligibility for applicants that are applying as individuals has been updated. As noted in version 2.0 of the Request for Applications, if applying as an individual, the applicant must not have been convicted of a criminal offense such as theft, embezzlement, or forgery related to a federal grant agreement within the past three years, or to a state grant agreement at any point in time.
In the online application, applicants that have indicated in the "Eligibility" section that they are applying as an individual are now asked to confirm if the following statement is true:
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If applying as an individual, I attest that I have not been convicted of a criminal offense such as theft, embezzlement, or forgery related to a federal grant agreement within the past three years, or to a state grant agreement at any point in time.
The grant does not set limits on prices. Because grantees have a Federal subaward, they must follow the general procurement standards in 2 CFR 200.318. This includes having and using their own documented procurement procedures which follow applicable state and local law and regulations. These procedures must conform to applicable federal law and the standards found in 2 CFR 200.302-325. Additionally, your organization must follow the same policies and procedures for procurements from non-federal sources.
For your reference, the procurement (i.e. contracting and bidding) standards that the state requires for Non-Governmental Organizations are available in Section 4.3 of the Competitive Grant Agreement for Non-Governmental Organizations (Microsoft Word, updated June 2020). These standards should conform to most Federal law and standards for most non-profit or for-profit grantee organizations for typical MN LFPA grant project procurement purchases.
The grant does not set limits on prices. Because grantees have a Federal subaward, they must follow the general procurement standards in 2 CFR 200.318. This includes having and using their own documented procurement procedures which follow applicable state and local law and regulations. These procedures must conform to applicable federal law and the standards found in 2 CFR 200.302-325. Additionally, your organization must follow the same policies and procedures for procurements from non-federal sources.
For your reference, the procurement (i.e. contracting and bidding) standards that the state requires for Non-Governmental Organizations are available in Section 4.3 of the Competitive Grant Agreement for Non-Governmental Organizations (Microsoft Word, updated June 2020). These standards should conform to most Federal law and standards for most non-profit or for-profit grantee organizations for typical MN LFPA grant project procurement purchases.
If LFPA funds are used to purchase food through a food hub the price of the food can be marked up following the hub’s standard practices. This can include markups to cover costs associated with aggregation. An organization cannot, however, charge a markup and charge expenses (e.g. an hourly staff rate) to LFPA for the same services that the mark up is intended to address. Food aggregation services should be aware of what expenses their mark up is intended to cover and be sure that other services billed to LFPA do not duplicate these expenses.
If LFPA funds are used to purchase food through a food hub the price of the food can be marked up following the hub’s standard practices. This can include markups to cover costs associated with aggregation. An organization cannot, however, charge a markup and charge expenses (e.g. an hourly staff rate) to LFPA for the same services that the mark up is intended to address. Food aggregation services should be aware of what expenses their mark up is intended to cover and be sure that other services billed to LFPA do not duplicate these expenses.
