Funding and assistance for natural resources projects

Good Steward Grants are primarily for smaller projects that improve water quality, enhance natural areas and promote environmental stewardship to the community. A typical grant amount is $10,000 to $20,000, with a maximum amount of $25,000.

Hennepin County also offers Opportunity Grants for larger projects seeking to leverage multiple funding sources with grant amounts ranging from $25,000-$50,000. Learn more about Opportunity Grants.

Eligible applicants

All landowners are eligible to apply, including:

• Individuals
• Nonprofit and non-governmental organizations
• Local government agencies
• Businesses

If you're a renter, we encourage you to still reach out to us. We'd be happy to work with you and the property's landowner to identify and refine any grant ideas you may have.

Funding guidelines

Funding may be used for environmental or engineering consulting fees, materials, supplies, labor and inspection fees.

• Ideal for smaller, community-based or single applicant projects. Typical projects include constructing rain gardens, stabilizing stream banks, restoring native vegetation, installing vegetated filter strips or implementing other best management projects.
• Typical funding amount of $10,000 to $20,000; maximum funding amount of $25,000
• Grant funding can cover up to 75 percent of the total eligible project cost. Landowners must contribute the remaining 25 percent of project costs, which can be cash or in-kind.

Applying for Good Steward Grants

Applications are now closed for 2025. 

If you're interested in learning more about grant eligibility and application requirements, please review the application, guidelines, and sample contract documents linked below.

• Good Steward Grant application 2025 (DOCX) 
• Good Steward Grant application guidelines 2025 (DOCX)
• Sample grant contract (PDF)

If you have any questions on the grant program or other funding opportunities, please contact Ellen Sones, ellen.sones@hennepin.us or 612-596-1173.

Good Steward Grants awarded in 2024

Hennepin County awarded eight Good Steward Grants totaling $146,969 in 2024.

Upstream MN

$14,550 to work with seven neighborhood organizations around Minneapolis’ Chain of Lakes to launch a multi-neighborhood Adopt-a-Drain initiative and reach 25% storm drain adoption in the Bde Maka Ska-Lake of the Isles communities.

Corcoran Pollinator Project

$16,219 to install four boulevard/yard bioswales, establish a native plant propagation operation, and work with residents to establish more native plantings in the community to increase neighborhood biodiversity, improve water quality, and educate residents about the benefits of stormwater infrastructure and native plants.

Aaron and Angelica Evens

$25,000 to address streambank erosion along the Crow River by restoring 78 linear feet of highly eroded streambank that has contributed approximately 150,000 cubic feet of sediment to the Crow River.

Great River Greening

$25,000 to enhance green space connected to the Division of Indian Works building on Lake Street. The project includes installation of a rainwater and ceremonial garden, removal of invasive species, and installation of stormwater swales and a retaining wall.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

$15,000 to create a 3,000 square foot entrance garden at Francis A. Gross Golf Course.  The garden will contain a variety of native pollinator plants and will serve as a public demonstration site.

Northside Residents Redevelopment Council

$20,000 to convert existing concrete walkways to permeable pavement and work with volunteers to establish native prairie habitat around the walkways at their Demonstration Site for Healthy Urban Living.

Wado

$25,000 to install a rain garden, rainwater capture cistern, work with a native artist to create a mural, and select culturally relevant plants to educate community members.  This project area is located adjacent to George Floyd Square.

Xcel

$6,200 to convert four acres of turf grass into native prairie habitat under electric transmission lines, building upon 19 acres of restored prairie already installed in this transmission corridor in 2017

Opportunity Grants are ideal for larger projects seeking to leverage multiple funding sources. These grants are intended to help partners take advantage of opportunities to implement large projects that improve water quality or preserve, establish or restore natural areas. Applicants are encouraged to use these funds as required match for other funding sources. A typical grant amount is $25,000, with a maximum amount of $50,000. A pre-application meeting to discuss project details is highly recommended.

Please contact ellen.sones@hennepin.us to determine application acceptance status for 2025.

Hennepin County also offers Good Steward Grants, which are meant for smaller projects with typical grant amounts ranging from $10,000-$25,000. Learn more about Good Steward Grants.

Eligible applicants

All landowners are eligible to apply, including:

• Individuals
• Nonprofit and non-governmental organizations
• Local government agencies
• Businesses

If you're a renter, we encourage you to still reach out to us. We'd be happy to work with you and the property's landowner to identify and refine any grant ideas you may have.

Funding guidelines

Funding may be used for environmental or engineering consulting fees, materials, supplies, labor, and inspection fees.

• Ideal for larger projects seeking to leverage multiple funding sources from more than one partner
• Ideal for projects identified as priorities in the applicant's management plans (such as a comprehensive plan or watershed management plan)
• Typical funding amount of $25,000 to $50,000; maximum funding amount of $50,000
• No match required. Funds are often used for required match for other funding sources.

Applying for Opportunity Grants

Opportunity Grants are currently closed. Check back for future updates.

If you're interested in learning more about grant eligibility and application requirements, please review the application, guidelines, and sample contract documents linked below.

• Opportunity Grant application 2025 (DOCX)
• Sample grant contract (PDF)

If you have any questions on the grant program or other funding opportunities, please contact Ellen Sones, ellen.sones@hennepin.us or 612-596-1173.

Opportunity Grants awarded in2024

Hennepin County awarded six Opportunity Grants totaling $353,031 in 2024.

Sustainable Balance HUB at LynLake

$50,000 to expand its health-focused commercial property into an urban sustainability education and demonstration hub. Project components include installing a rooftop conveyance and cistern, converting a portion of their parking lot into a converting into a raingarden, and offering a demonstration and education hub to disseminate information on sustainable practices.

City of Eden Prairie

$50,000 to enhance and protect a remnant native plant community and woodland along the overlook trail at RT Anderson West Bluff Park through the restoration of an existing stairwell, stabilization of a drainageway and construction of a pretreatment settling basin to protect a nearby stream.

Woodland Villas HOA

$50,000 improve water quality, restore a natural pond, and protect and restore wildlife habitat within a 7.32-acre Association common space. The project will create a native wetland plant buffer by the pond and enhance the upland area through increasing native plant diversity.

Creekside United Church of Christ

$29,100 to remove four parking stalls within their current lot and replace with a raingarden planted with native pollinator plants to capture and infiltrate remaining parking lot runoff. The project goal is to reduce pollution and sediment from entering Diamond Lake and ultimately Minnehaha Creek.

City of Plymouth

$30,000 to construct a large raingarden at Parkers Lake Park to capture, infiltrate, and treat stormwater runoff before it reaches Parkers Lake. The raingarden will recharge local groundwater, re-establish wildlife habitat, and provide an important demonstration raingarden in a highly visible area of the park.

St. Alban’s Mill Condo Assoc.

$50,000 to reconstruct two raingardens originally installed in 1987 but no longer function as effective water quality treatment practices. The raingardens will capture and treat a significant amount of stormwater runoff before entering Minnehaha Creek, an impaired waterway.

City of Shorewood

$50,000 to restore an eroding channel from Shorewood Lane to a downstream wetland while enhancing water quality in the wetland and nearby Lake Minnetonka. Stabilizing the channel will reduce the amount of sediment entering the downstream wetland by 150 cubic yards/year.

Prairieview Center

$43,931 to construct five raingardens totaling 5,458 square feet to manage stormwater runoff from rooftops and parking lots and plant with native plants within a large retail center complex. Proposed water quality and habitat improvements on the property will result in a water quality improvement to nearby Smetana and Bryant Lake and Riley Creek.

About the grants

Grants are available to help local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, public companies and institutions and private, for-profit companies implement projects that prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.

Eligible projects

Eligible project activities include:

• Early detection
• Pathway analysis
• Education
• Decontamination
• Water access re-design
• Research
• Management
• Other ideas that prevent the introduction or limit the spread of AIS

Learn more and apply

Applications are accepted once per year, typically in January. Learn more about aquatic invasive species prevention grants.

About the grants

Grants are available to cities, affordable housing properties, schools, and non-profit organizations to enhance the county’s tree canopy.

The goals of the program are to combat threats to trees from invasive insects and disease by funding tree planting, educate the public on tree care and the importance of trees, and increase the diversity and resiliency of the tree canopy.

Eligible project activities

Eligible project activities include:

• Collecting data with tree inventories and developing tree management plans
• Holding tree planting events and maintaining newly planted trees
• Removing and replacing ash trees
• Conducting tree-related education
• Hosting Arbor Day celebrations

Learn more and apply

Applications are accepted once per year. Learn more about the healthy tree canopy grants.

About the funding

Hennepin County supports the redevelopment of contaminated properties known as brownfields. A variety of funding is available to support the investigation and environmental assessment phase as well as managing known contamination.

Eligible recipients

Eligible recipients include for-profit businesses, developers, governmental organizations, and nonprofit organizations.

Learn more and apply

Learn more about funding available to clean up brownfields.

Hennepin County offers grants to seal wells that are no longer in use and have potential to contaminate groundwater resources. Unused and unsealed wells can pose a threat to our drinking water by acting as a channel between the surface and the aquifer below.

If you have a well on your property that is not in use, it must either be sealed or put back into service.

Funding availability and eligibility

Property owners can be reimbursed for up to 75 percent of the cost to seal wells that are no longer in use, up to a maximum reimbursement of $2,000 per well.

Wells must be located in a Wellhead Protection Area or Drinking Water Supply Management Area to be eligible for funding.

Properties that are currently listed for sale are not eligible for funding.

The county also considers disparity reduction efforts and equitable geographic distribution when awarding funding. The county reserves the right to refuse funding or to partially fund an application. 

2025 application timeline

Applications for the 2025 well sealing cost-share program are being accepted on a rolling basis through September 15.

Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted to determine if they meet minimum requirements of being located in a Wellhead Protection Area or Drinking Water Supply Management Area. You will be notified soon after your application is submitted if you do not meet these minimum requirements.

To make the best use of the limited funding available for this program, applications that meet minimum requirements will be considered quarterly.

The quarterly application periods will close on March 14, June 13, and September 15.

Applicants will be informed about the status of their application within three weeks of the quarterly review process (by mid-April, mid-July, and mid-October).

If your application meets the basic requirements but is not accepted in a round, it will be held over and considered in the next review round.

Application process

To apply:

• Get two bids from state-licensed contractors. List of contractors licensed with the Minnesota Department of Health.
• Complete the online well sealing cost-share funding application. You will be asked to attach your bids in the application.

Your application will be reviewed for minimum requirements. If you meet the minimum requirements, your application will be considered for funding during the next quarterly review. You will be notified about your application status and eligibility for financial assistance within three weeks of that review.

Habitat conservation

Hennepin County has funding to acquire conservation easements on the best remaining natural areas in the county and conduct habitat restoration on protected properties. Funding is also available to agricultural landowners to permanently remove certain environmentally sensitive lands from production in order to protect surface water and groundwater.

Learn more about funding available for habitat conservation.

Hennepin County cost-share grants

As part of our role as the Soil and Water Conservation District for Hennepin County, natural resources staff work directly with residents to improve water quality and prevent soil erosion.

Funding available to residents throughout the county

A small amount of funding is available each year to residents throughout the county for projects that improve water quality or reduce soil erosion.

Financial assistance of up to 75% of the cost of a project is available. All practices must be approved prior to construction. Landowners are reimbursed upon completion. Participating landowners receive technical assistance in planning and completing their project.

Funding available in priority areas

In some areas, the county and partners have secured grant funding to make financial assistance more widely available for residents completing projects to improve water quality. These priority areas are defined by subwatershed boundaries. In these areas, studies have identified projects that would be cost-effective and have significant impact on reducing pollution to downstream water bodies.

Learn more about subwatershed assessments and priority areas for management and restoration.

Current priorities for cost-share funding

Hennepin County is encouraging the use of practices that improve soil health, including planting cover crops and reducing tillage. Agricultural landowners or operators can receive funding and support to try effective practices that stabilize soil and make yields more consistent and sustainable over time.

Agricultural best management practices loans

Farmers, rural landowners and agricultural supply businesses can apply for low-interest loans through Hennepin County to make improvements or implement practices that will reduce or prevent nonpoint source pollution. The county works with local banks to provide these loans.

Eligible projects include:

• Animal waste control systems, such as runoff control structures and agricultural waste systems or pits
• Practices that reduce erosion from runoff, such as grass waterways, erosion and sediment control basins, and terraces
• Purchase of conservation tillage equipment, such as chisel plows, no-till drills, and no-till planters
• Upgrades and improvements to existing individual sewage treatment systems in rural areas

Participants are required to complete the Agricultural BMP (Best Management Practice) Loan Program application as well as complete a loan application with a bank of their choice.

Learn more about the agricultural best management practices loan.