GO-Biz Releases Proposition 64 Community Reinvestment Grants Program Draft Solicitation

This morning, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) released their draft grant solicitation document for those interested in applying for a grant from the program.  As we’ve noted in the past, this funding from Prop 64 (Adult Use of Marijuana Act/Tier 2) is directed to local health departments and community-based organizations to provide grants to support activities such as job placement, system navigation services, and linkages to medical care, for communities disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies.

GO-Biz is seeking comments on the draft solicitation document from now through Friday, March 8, 2019, with plans to release the final grant solicitation on Monday, April 8, 2019.  Comments mayA technical assistance webinar will be held on Wednesday, April 17 (Time TBD) to assist applicants with questions about the application process.

Community Reinvestment Grant applications will be due on Friday, May 3, 2019, no later than 5:00 pm. From that date on, GO-Biz will evaluate applications and announce awards with all awards to be announced by Sunday, June 30, 2019.  A total of $9.6 million will be awarded during this grant cycle (FY 2018-19) with the draft solicitation setting a minimum award amount of $50,000 and a maximum award amount of $300,000 from a single organization.  For organizations applying as a collaborative, the minimum award amount is set at $100,000 and a maximum award amount of $650,000.  All grants awarded must be expended by June 30, 2021.

We were pleased to see that some of the CHEAC recommendations submitted to GO-Biz this past December were incorporated into the draft solicitation document including targeting funding to communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs using key indicators such as drug-related arrest rates, poverty rates, high incidence of single-parent households and low educational attainment rates.  GO-Biz also increased the award amounts and incorporated the opportunity for partnerships for applying for grant funds. CHEAC will continue to review the draft solicitation and encourage your comments to us by COB, Tuesday, February 26, 2019.