An Overview
Community Reinvestment Program
Guided by the Cannabis Advisory Board, the Community Reinvestment Program seeks to address the harms of past drug policies by reinvesting adult-use cannabis tax revenue into communities that faced disproportion enforcement of prior drug laws.
It is anticipated that applications for Round 2 of the Community Reinvestment Program will open in early-2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to sign up for OCM email alerts to be informed when the Request for Applications is publishes. All interested applicants should be aware that to apply for New York State grants you must be prequalified in New York’s Statewide Financial System (SFS)! Interested applicants are encouraged to start the prequalification process today or if you have previously prequalified, check that your prequalification status is still up to date.
Getting Ready for Future Funding Opportunities
What New Yorkers Need to Know
The Community Reinvestment Program issues grants to communities disproportionately affected by prior federal and state drug policies in order to redress a wide range of community needs—from housing to childcare to job skills training and many areas in between. The grants are not limited to activities related to cannabis.
Taxes from legal adult-use cannabis sales in New York State go into the Cannabis Revenue Fund. Per the Cannabis Law (§ 99-ii), 40% of Cannabis Tax Revenue goes back to the communities disproportionately affected by prior drug policies in the form of grants overseen by the Cannabis Advisory Board (CAB) via the Community Grants Reinvestment Fund.
Through these grants, 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. The future programmatic focus of the Community Reinvestment Program can change according to the guidance provided by the Cannabis Advisory Board.
Who can apply?
501(c)3 non-profit organization providing youth services in New York State with a minimum operating expenditure of $50,000 or more. Organizations do not have to be affiliated with any cannabis-related businesses or activities to apply.
Applications must propose youth-serving programs (targeting populations 0 to 24 years old) in the areas of mental health, harm reduction & substance use disorder, workforce development, and housing for communities disproportionately affected by prior federal and state drug policies.
How will applications be submitted?
It is anticipated that applications for Round 2 of the Community Reinvestment Program will open in early-2026. Applications will be submitted online in OCM’s eGrants system. Instructions for submission in eGrants will be included in the RFA. Sign up for email alerts for updates on registering and applying within OCM eGrants.
How much funding will be distributed?
The total available funding for the second grant opportunity is $5,000,000. To promote greater access, individual grant awards can range between $25,000 and $100,000 depending on the size of the origination. The RFA will provide specific details on the eligibility requirements for different grant amounts.
What can I do now before the RFA is released to get ready to apply?
Get prequalified in the Statewide Financial System (SFS)!
All nonprofit organizations must prequalify in SFS to compete for New York State grants and do business with State agencies. Applicants who are not prequalified in SFS at the time an application is 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.
Note: Your organization must first register in the Statewide Financial System before you can complete the prequalification process. To learn how to register your organization in SFS, visit: https://grantsmanagement.ny.gov/Register-your-organization-sfs.
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 here: https://grantsmanagement.ny.gov/get-prequalified.
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).