ifornia’s Cannabis Tax Revenue Community Investments:
The Golden State’s Green Gold: California’s Cannabis Tax Revenue Community Investments
Attention all hipsters and cannabis enthusiasts! The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) has just announced a major investment in the state’s cannabis industry. On May 31, GO-Biz revealed a whopping $46.6 million in grants for fiscal year 2023-2024, distributed among 30 lucky organizations through the California Community Reinvestment Grants program (CalCRG).
But don’t think it’s easy to get your hands on this green gold. The CalCRG program has strict criteria for applicants, including being organized and in good standing for at least six months, maintaining tax-exempt status, and having a physical address in California. Only the most dedicated and legit organizations need apply.
The latest round of grants includes a diverse mix of organizations from all over the state, with a strong presence in counties like Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz. And for the first time, six applicants have residences in multiple counties, showing the widespread impact of the cannabis industry in California.
Among the lucky recipients, four organizations received a whopping $3 million each, including Poverello House in Fresno County, Downtown Women’s Health Center and Get Lit-Words Ignite, Inc. in Los Angeles County, and PRC in the city and county of San Francisco. On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest granted amount was $600,000, awarded to Monument Impact in Contra Costa County.
This is not the first time GO-Biz has dished out cannabis tax revenue for community investments. In fact, the program has been accepting applications since 2018, with a steady increase in funds awarded each year. In 2020, $30 million was distributed among 54 organizations, followed by $15 million for 59 organizations in 2021, $35.5 million for 78 organizations in 2022, and $50 million for 31 organizations in 2023. And now, in 2024, we have a total of $46.6 million going to 30 lucky recipients.
It’s clear that the cannabis industry is booming in California, with a total of $5.7 billion generated since legalization began in 2018. And the numbers keep growing, with $397 million in 2018, $638 million in 2019, $1.11 billion in 2020, $1.4 billion in 2021, $1.1 billion in 2022, and another $1.1 billion in 2023. That’s a lot of green, my friends.
So, for all you budding entrepreneurs and community leaders, mark your calendars for August when GO-Biz will reopen the application window for the next round of grants. Who knows, maybe you could be one of the lucky recipients in spring 2025. Keep blazing, California!
