Minnesota Community-Based Suicide Prevention Coalition Grant RFP Q&A

Questions and answers regarding the Minnesota Community-Based Suicide Prevention Coalition Grant Request for Proposals will be posted below within two business days of submission.

Q: Am I eligible as a current grantee?

A: Current MDH grantees are eligible to apply. Applicants awarded funding under multiple MDH grant programs will be responsible for maintaining compliance with and completing all required activities, deliverables, and reporting obligations for each grant.

Q: Is this grant seen as a continuation of the current Community-Based Suicide Prevention grants?

A: No, this funding opportunity is not a continuation of the previous grant. This is a new opportunity for communities to initiate a planning process from the ground up, including assessing local needs, identifying partnerships, and developing localized suicide prevention strategies. Applicants should approach this opportunity as a new planning process rather than an extension of activities funded under the previous grant. 

Q: Are organizations eligible to submit applications for multiple open funding opportunities through the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Unit?

A: Yes, organizations may apply for multiple open grant opportunities. 

Q: Is this a reimbursement grant?

A: Yes, awarded applicants can decide to invoice on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Q: Is it possible to receive funding upfront?

A: No, this is a reimbursement grant.

Q: Can the 1.0 FTE requirement be met with a 0.5 FTE internally and contract 0.5 FTE for part of the coordination?

A: Applicants should clearly define how they will fulfill the 1.0 FTE requirement, including in the required position description. 

Q: Can the same priority population be used from a current grant if the need is still present?

A: Yes. Applicants may identify the same priority population in their application. 

Q: If coalition building and suicide prevention work were written into the staff’s job descriptions, could a combination of two staff at 0.5 FTE each satisfactorily meet the requirement to have a 1.0 FTE for the work?

A: Applicants should describe their proposed staffing structure, including how responsibilities will be distributed, coordinated, and fulfilled to meet the 1.0 FTE requirement.

Q: Applicants are responsible for ensuring that personnel costs are appropriately allocated across funding sources and are not charged to multiple grants for the same work. Organizations receiving multiple awards must also maintain compliance with the requirements, activities, deliverables, and reporting obligations of each grant.

Q: Could we combine two grant sources to support our staff member’s full FTE?

A: Organizations may receive funding through multiple MDH grant programs. However, the 1.0 FTE requirement for this grant is specific to coordinating and facilitating activities and community coalition supported by this funding opportunity. Time spent completing other activities for another grant cannot also be counted toward the 1.0 FTE requirement for this grant. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that personnel costs are appropriately allocated across funding sources and are not charged to multiple grants for the same work. Organizations receiving multiple awards must also maintain compliance with the requirements, activities, deliverables, and reporting obligations of each grant.

Q: Can we use this money to implement a strategic plan that was already created during the last iteration of this community coalition grant? Can we use funding for implementation rather than FTE coverage?

A: No. This is a new funding opportunity that requires communities to initiate a planning process from the ground up, including assessing local needs, identifying partnerships, and developing localized suicide prevention strategies. While implementation is an important component of this grant, applicants must still demonstrate the capacity and infrastructure to hire and supervise a 1.0 FTE to coordinate and facilitate grant activities and the community coalition. An existing strategic plan may provide useful context for the new planning process, but it does not replace the planning activities and staffing requirements outlined in the RFP.

Q: Can we submit more than one application from different agencies to focus on different priority populations?

A: Yes, applicants may submit separate applications for different priority populations, provided each application independently meets the eligibility requirements and expectations outlined in the RFP. Organizations awarded funding through multiple grant programs are responsible for meeting all required activities, deliverables, and reporting obligations for each grant. 

Q: Can a coalition define its priority community by cultural or ethnic identity rather than geographic boundaries?

A: Grantees should define priority communities by multiple factors including geographic boundaries and can include cultural or ethnic identities.

Q: Can I use a fiscal host?

A: Organizations may apply through a fiscal host if the arrangement allows the applicant to meet the eligibility requirements and demonstrate the organizational capacity to administer the grant. Applicants should clearly identify the fiscal host and describe the roles and responsibilities of each organization, including fiscal and administrative oversight and supervision of the 1.0 FTE position.

Q: How should applicants establish need for a culturally specific population when publicly available suicide-related data are not disaggregated by ethnicity?  

A: Applicants are not expected to rely solely on publicly available suicide-related data to establish need. The RFP encourages the use of multiple forms of quantitative and qualitative data, community voice, and existing community strengths to understand local needs and opportunities.  

Q: Would MDH accept a combination of school-level indicators, community assessments, partner observations, and qualitative information to demonstrate disparities and identify priorities?

A: Yes.

Q: Will you send out or post slides after the meeting? Will there be a video I can access later?

A: No, but all content in this presentation is in the RFP.

Q: Are stipends, honoraria, transportation, interpretation, and other participation supports allowable for youth, parents, elders, and individuals with lived experience who participate in coalition planning and community assessment?

A: Applicants may include reasonable and necessary costs to support meaningful participation in coalition planning and community assessment activities. Applicants should clearly describe these expenses in their proposed budget, including how the costs support grant activities and promote meaningful participation from the communities they intend to engage.

Q: For Year 1, should applicants focus primarily on coalition development, community assessment, and strategic planning during the first year, or is implementation of prevention strategies expected before the community assessment and strategy-selection process is completed?

A: Yes, coalition development, community assessment and strategic planning are the focus of year 1, while implementation of prevention strategies will be a focus in subsequent years.

Q: What level of coalition formation is expected at the time of application? And, would commitments from identified multisector partners be sufficient if formal coalition governance, membership, and strategic planning processes are established during the first grant year?

A: Coalitions do not need to be fully formed to apply as that work is built into the first year of the grant.

Q: What are the hours per week? Is there a minimum number of hours?

A: The RFP requires applicants to demonstrate the capacity and infrastructure to hire and supervise a 1.0 FTE to coordinate and facilitate grant activities and the community coalition. The RFP does not specify a minimum number of hours per week. Applicants should clearly describe their proposed staffing arrangement and ensure it fulfills the 1.0 FTE requirement. Please include this information in the required position description.  

Q: Can a public charter school serve as the lead applicant and fiscal administrator for a coalition whose activities primarily benefit a broader community beyond its enrolled students and families?

A: Yes.

Q: Would MDH permit an applicant to budget for an additional contracted consultant with expertise in community assessment, coalition development, strategic planning, data analysis, and evaluation to work alongside the required 1.0 FTE Coalition Coordinator during Year 1? The consultant would provide specialized technical expertise and facilitate portions of the community assessment and strategic planning process, while the 1.0 FTE Coalition Coordinator would remain responsible for coordinating coalition activities, partner engagement, and overall grant implementation.

A: Yes. This should be outlined in the budget proposal.

Q: Are the in-person meetings going to be sent in advance? 

A: Yes, the dates for the in-person meetings for all four years of the grant are already published in the RFP.

Q: Are food, meals, etc., allowable expenses when provided as part of coalition meetings, community listening sessions, focus groups, etc.?

A: Yes, food, meals, and refreshments may be included as expenses when provided in connection with grant-funded activities. Applicants should ensure these expenses are reasonable, appropriate to the activity, and directly support participation and engagement in the grant-funded work. Please include anticipated food and meal expenses in the proposed budget and provide a brief justification describing how they support the planned activities.  

Q: Will grantees be permitted to carry forward unspent funds from one fiscal year to the next, or must all awarded funds be expended within each annual grant period?

A: We encourage all grantees to spend funds within the fiscal year as carry-over is not guaranteed.  

Q: Will there be an official list of allowable expenses posted?

A: No. But unallowable expenses are listed in the RFP.  

Q: If a recent Community Health Assessment (CHA) was completed will grantee be required to do another assessment?

A: Community assessment is part of planning in year 1 and can include data collected through a CHA.

Q: If I want to use a fiscal host, and the fiscal host is a nonprofit, but I am not a nonprofit is that allowed?

A: Organizations may apply through a fiscal host if the arrangement allows the applicant to meet the eligibility requirements and demonstrate the organizational capacity to administer the grant. Applicants should clearly identify the fiscal host and describe the roles and responsibilities of each organization, including fiscal and administrative oversight and supervision of the 1.0 FTE position. 

Q: Has there been a name change for the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention grant? Is this current funding opportunity similar to the comprehensive grant? Is participation in the Pathway to Care grant a requirement?

A: The Community-Based Suicide Prevention Coalition Grant is formerly known as the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Grant. This funding opportunity is similar in structure to the former Comprehensive Suicide Prevention grant in that it emphasizes an initial year of community coalition planning, followed by subsequent years focused on implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of localized suicide prevention strategies. However, this is a new funding opportunity with its own eligibility requirements and expectations. Previous participation in other grants is not a requirement to apply.  

Q: Can an existing suicide prevention coalition fulfill the requirements of the grant as long as the work is new?

A: Yes, applicants may utilize an existing suicide prevention coalition to fulfill the coalition requirements of this grant. Applicants should clearly describe how they will approach the required planning activities as new work rather than continuing existing coalition activities or implementing a previously developed strategic plan.

Q: Could an out-of-state-incorporated nonprofit qualify if it establishes a bona fide Minnesota operation and hires Minnesota-based staff before the grant period?

A: Organizations incorporated outside of Minnesota are not necessarily excluded from applying. However, they must meet the Minnesota-specific requirements, including evidence of good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State and possession of a Minnesota Tax ID at the time of applying. Applicants must also demonstrate their capacity and infrastructure to carry out the proposed grant activities in Minnesota.

Q: May an out-of-state nonprofit participate as a contracted or collaborating partner to a Minnesota-based lead applicant?

A: Awarded applicants may not contract with out-of-state partners but are not prohibited from collaborating with such partners.