Overview
Review the guidance and resources that will help your organization navigate prequalification in the Statewide Financial System (SFS) and the CGRF application process.
Guided by the Cannabis Advisory Board (CAB), the Community Reinvestment Program reinvests adult-use cannabis tax revenue into communities that experienced disproportionate enforcement of prior drug laws—advancing restorative justice and long-term community well-being.
The 2026 Community Reinvestment Program funding opportunity is open and applications are due May 13, 2026 at 5:00pm EST. As detailed in the RFA and below, applications are submitted online in OCM’s eGrants system. Detailed eligibility criteria, application requirements, and submission instructions are included in the RFA.
In accordance with State Finance Law §99-ii, 40% of cannabis tax revenues after the cost of implementing the law are transferred into the CGRF and awarded by the CAB in accordance with the statue and procurement policies established by the Office of the State Comptroller. The monies in the CGRF are administered and disbursed by OCM’s Community Reinvestment Program to provide grants to qualified community-based organizations.
All interested organizations should be aware that to apply for New York State grants you must be prequalified in New York’s Statewide Financial System (SFS)! Please start the prequalification process today or if you have previously prequalified, check that your prequalification status is still up to date. Interested organizations are strongly encouraged to begin the prequalification process now, or if previously completed, to confirm that their status remains current.
To make sure you are informed of upcoming funding opportunities, please sign up for OCM email updates.
The Office is hosting a series of Grant Readiness sessions across New York State to inform organizations about program updates and prequalification requirements. Please check OCM’s events page for upcoming Grant Readiness Sessions.
If you are unable to join in person, organizations are encouraged to watch the Grant Readiness 101 webinar below to learn more about this round of CGRF funding and general information on applying for grants with New York State:
This virtual session is part of the Office of Cannabis Management’s Grant Readiness 101 series, designed to support nonprofits and community-based organizations preparing to apply for the next round of funding through New York State’s Community Grants Reinvestment Program (CGRP), expected to open in early 2026. Get an overview of the State grant application process, eligibility requirements, pre-qualification challenges, and key resources to strengthen your application.
2026 Funding Opportunity
Through the Community Reinvestment Program, OCM and the CAB aim to promote restorative justice, strengthen community institutions, and invest in organizations that have supported resilience and healing despite the challenges of past drug laws.
The available funding for the second grant opportunity is a minimum of $5,000,000 and up to $15,000,000 subject to the Fiscal Year 2026/2027 Enacted Budget. To promote greater access, individual grant awards can range between $50,000 and $200,000 depending on the size of your organization. Organizational size is determined by your organization’s total operating expenditure reflected on your most current IRS tax filing.
For the 2025–2026 grant cycle, the CAB will award grants to 501(c)(3) community-based organizations serving youth, defined as individuals aged 0–24. This year’s funding focuses on five program areas:
Mental Health
Harm Reduction
Substance Use Disorder
Housing
Workforce Development
CDA Priority Service Area Map
It is the goal of OCM and the CAB to distribute impactful funding to areas of the state that have been historically under-resourced, underserved, and over-policed. To support this goal, OCM will utilize the Communities Disproportionally Affected (CDA) Priority Service Area Map to elevate programming taking place in neighborhoods that faced inequitable harms. Applicants should use this map to identify the CDA census tracts where your project may impact.
Applicant can utilize the CDA Zip Code Lookup Tool below to search the database by zip code to identify the corresponding priority service area census tracts.
If applicants want additional guidance on CDA Priority Area census tracts, how to utilize the CDA Priority Area Map or the CDA Zip Code Lookup Tool, please review the tutorial below.
NOTE: Applicants are not required to identify specific CDA Priority Service Area census tracts to be eligible for funding but are requested to detail how their proposed project will serve communities disproportionally affected by prior drug policies using available data, community indictors, historical analysis or other information.
The 2026 funding opportunity was shaped by useful feedback received from applicants through a post-application survey. OCM has substantially revamped the applicant questions for the RFA Round 2 to better address clarity, consistency, and alignment with the purpose of the Community Reinvestment Program. We are committed to streamlining the processes, reducing barriers to entry, and ensuring that community voice continues to drive program evolution.
Prequalification in the Statewide Financial System (SFS)
Not-for-profit organizations must be prequalified in SFS before they can compete for State grants. Applications received from not-for-profits that do not meet the above requirement at the date and time applications are due will not be considered for funding.
Organizations that have previously prequalified are encouraged to check their status to make sure it has not expired. Once prequalified, it is the responsibility of nonprofits to maintain prequalification.
Your organization must first register with the Statewide Financial System before you can complete the prequalification process. Organizations with existing SFS Vendor IDs do not need to register again.
Nonprofit organizations must complete and submit their prequalification application in SFS. A wide range of resources about completing the prequalification process are available below.
Note: As part of the prequalification process, applicants will be asked to choose a State Agency. A Prequalification Specialist from the chosen Agency will evaluate the prequalification application. The Office of Cannabis Management is not one of the Agency choices; please choose the Agency that most closely aligns with your mission.
Due to the length of time it can take to complete the SFS registration process (typically 5-10 business days after a complete submission) and attain prequalification (typically 5-10 days from receipt of a complete prequalification application), it is advised that interested nonprofits register in SFS and complete a prequalification application as soon as possible.
To access the SFS Vendor portal directly, visit: https://www.sfs.ny.gov/. For SFS support, once logged in, click the SFS Coach tile on “My Homepage.” There, applicants will find a Grantee handbook with screenshots of SFS and step-by-step guidance on how to use SFS.
Questions about working in SFS can also be sent any time to the SFS Help Desk at [email protected] or by phone at (518) 457-7717 or (855) 233-8363 (toll free).
Register and Submit your Application in OCM eGrants
Not-for-profits must register, initiate, complete, and submit responses to the 2026 Request for Applications in the OCM eGrants system by the date and time the application is due.
The Head of Organization for the applicant must register on its behalf. The Head of Organization is an individual that serves in a leadership role and will ultimately be responsible for managing the organization’s OCM eGrants system profile and user pool.
To begin the registration process, the Head of Organization should click on the “Head of Organization? Register Here!” link on the OCM eGrants system login screen, complete the online Registration form, and click the Register button to submit their request.
The Head of Organization will be asked to provide their organization’s NYS Statewide Financial System (SFS) Supplier ID. If your organization does not yet have an SFS Supplier ID, assistance in obtaining one will be provided through the OCM eGrants system registration process. Please submit your eGrants registration form with the SFS Supplier ID field blank. A member of the ITS Grants Management team will contact you regarding next steps.
Grants Management reserves 3 to 5 days to process registration requests and additional time may be required to obtain an SFS Supplier ID if necessary. Please plan accordingly.
Resources
This section provides a collection of resources and tutorials created to inform and equip interested organizations.
Contact
All OCM eGrants system registration questions should be directed to ITS Grants Management at: [email protected]
Questions regarding Prequalification should be sent to the SFS Helpdesk at: [email protected]