The Minnesota State Competitiveness Fund (SCF) Matching Funds Program is administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. This program was created by the Minnesota state legislature in 2023 through Minn. Stat. § 216C.391 and provides matching funds for eligible entities applying for approved federal funding opportunities requiring a match or whose federal application would benefit from matching funds. This legislatively created program is intended to increase the competitiveness of Minnesota organizations in securing federal funding.SCF map 060925

Previously restricted to only include funding from the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA, aka the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), as of June 2025 any pre-approved, eligible federal funding opportunity that helps to reach State of Minnesota Clean Energy and Climate Action Framework goals is eligible to apply for the SCF Matching Funds program. View the current list of eligible federal opportunities here; to request a federal grant opportunity to be added to this list, please complete this form.

The SCF Matching Fund program will be accepting new applications starting on October 27, 2025; approximately $34 million is available in unreserved funds. This next funding round will remain open until all remaining SCF Matching Funds are reserved. Please refer to the MN Commerce RFP page for more information and to apply.

Projects selected for the SCF Matching Funds program must demonstrate that the project will help meet the state's clean energy and energy-related climate goals through renewable energy development, energy conservation, efficiency or energy-related greenhouse gas reduction benefits.

The legislation stipulates:

  • No single entity may receive grants totaling more than $15,000,000; and,
  • At least $75,000,000 of the fund must be allocated for grant awards of less than $1,000,000.

Successful applicants to the SCF Matching Funds program receive a reservation for state funds to assist with costs of their federally funded project. The funds become available to awardees once MN Commerce receives confirmation the applicant  has received the federal award associated with their SCF Matching Funds application. As of the announcement of the Round 4 reservation recipients, more than $69 million has been reserved for 75 projects, with awards to reserve funds averaging over $800,000 and ranging from $29,000 to $10 million. The full list of entities selected can be found by clicking on the Legislative Advisory Commission (LAC) notification reports that are linked below.

SCF Matching Fund Awardees in the News