State lottery dollars were renewed by voters. What comes next?

In November, Minnesotans voted overwhelmingly to extend the dedication of state lottery dollars for the environment for another 25 years. This important funding source invests in projects that protect air, land, water, and wildlife across the state.

More than 1,700 projects have been supported since lottery funds were first dedicated to the environment more than 30 years ago. Two exciting things will happen now that the ballot initiative has passed:

The existing grant program will continue

The lottery will continue to fund the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), which has grown to provide roughly $80 million per year in projects.

The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), a 17-member group of legislators and appointed citizens, issued the 2026 Request for Proposals on Jan. 8. Proposals are due on Mar. 15.

Once proposals are received the LCCMR reviews, evaluates, and ranks them. A selection of the highest ranked proposals are invited to be presented before the LCCMR. Finally, a subset of the proposals are chosen to recommend to the legislature.

LCCMR’s funding recommendations go before the Minnesota House and Senate in the form of a bill, and upon passage the bill goes to the Governor to be signed into law. Funding becomes available to projects beginning July 1 of the next fiscal year.

A new community grants program begins

Thanks to work done by legislative champions Senator Foung Hawj and Representative Athena Hollins, BIPOC leaders, mainstream environmental groups, and Environmental Initiative during the 2023 legislative session, the yes vote also triggers the creation of a new ENRTF community grants program. The grant program will be funded by an additional 1.5% of lottery funds dedicated to the environment; an estimated $20 million in new grant dollars. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will house and administer the new grant program.

Securing lottery funding is a lengthy, complex, time-consuming, and resource-intensive process, meaning grant awardees are mainly large, well-established organizations. This creates barriers for rural communities, tribes, small nonprofits, and BIPOC-led organizations from accessing state conservation dollars.

The purpose of the new grant program is to expand the number and diversity of recipients who benefit from the ENRTF, especially in communities that have been adversely affected by pollution and environmental degradation. Communities in every corner of the state stand to benefit, and we’re working to ensure projects touch down statewide.

Next steps

Here’s what we know (so far) about the new grant program:

• At least 11 and up to 19 Minnesota residents will have the opportunity to serve on an advisory council to help oversee the grant program. We are encouraging DNR to appoint advisory council members beyond what is required in the 2023 legislation to ensure a wide range of perspectives from across the state. Applications for the advisory council will open in early 2025.
• The Minnesota Legislature will have to authorize the additional 1.5% in spending from the ENRTF and direct dollars to the DNR during the 2025 legislative session.
• The DNR will need to develop a plan to increase awareness of the new grant program and encourage organizations to apply.
• The earliest grant dollars could be made available is July 2025, but timing of the first round of grant applications has not been announced.

Environmental Initiative and Rainbow Research are convening regular conversations with the coalition of BIPOC environmental leaders and environmental groups who advocated for creating this new grant program.

We are grateful that Minnesotan’s agreed to continue and expand the ENRTF. This is a critical and stable funding source for important conservation projects across the state. Regardless of political affiliation or geography, Minnesota has shown we are committed to the great outdoors and that is something to celebrate.