A Discussion of Supplement vs. Supplant

Why Supplement vs. Supplant Matters

Supplement vs. supplant matters because the Minnesota Constitution states that these funds must supplement and not substitute existing funds. 

The County Fair Arts Access and Cultural Heritage grants are funded by revenue raised by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, commonly known as the “Legacy Amendment.” Article XI, Section 15 of the Minnesota Constitution states: The dedicated money under this section must supplement traditional sources of funding for these purposes and may not be used as a substitute.

What Supplement Means

Supplement can be defined as: to complete, to add, to extend, to augment. Supplement, in general terms, means something that is added to complete a thing or something added to overcome a deficiency. This means grant money adds to existing budgets and funds and can augment regular programming. Grant money may allow a fair to take on a project that goes above and beyond what traditional financial sources would allow.

When determining whether a proposal’s expenditures are supplements and not supplants, you can ask yourself a few questions:

• Were funds used in the past to pay for this program or activity? If no, move on to the next question.
• Would this activity have happened without the grant? If no, move on to the next question.
• Is the program or activity that the fair wants to fund required under state, local, or federal law? If no, your proposal is supplementing.

What Supplant Means

In general terms, supplant means to take the place of something, to replace, to substitute.

Grant money may NOT be used on general expenditures, general operating expenses, or regular programming.

List of Unacceptable Projects

• Activities that do not have arts/culture/history as primary focus.
• Fundraising events.
• Facility improvements which had already been in the fair’s plan and budget.
• To compensate ongoing personnel in full or in part.
• To pay an artist, historical organization, educator, to provide essentially the same service that has been featured at the fair in the past.
• Payment of debts incurred before grant application is approved.
• General entertainment.

MDA Contact

Emily Murphy, State Program Administrator
Emily.Murphy@state.mn.us, 651-201-6648