Stanislaus County groups to share $750k in cannabis grants. After these awards, well is dry
Stanislaus County is distributing $750,000 in legal cannabis fee revenue to nonprofit groups, mostly to support youth activities.
The grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 are a one-time infusion of cash from the county’s beleaguered cannabis permit program.
City Ministry Network is one of two organizations awarded $50,000. According to a county report, City Ministry will use the funds to support the efforts of the Hispanic Youth Leadership Council.
Able Works, an economic justice group, also is receiving $50,000 after requesting the funds to maintain core programs, staff and organizational capacity. The organization says it equips underresourced young adults with financial education and life skills, enabling them to live free from poverty and oppression.
Jessica Godden, executive director of Stanislaus Partners in Education, said a $45,000 grant for the organization will boost efforts to support young people preparing for jobs and careers in a trade or local industry. The nonprofit group is building a scholarship fund for high school seniors who hope to enter vocations closer to home after graduation.
“We want to help out those students who may not be going to a two- or four-year college,” Godden said.
She said a new program will include resume writing, interview skills and job shadowing for young people going into manufacturing, health care, construction or other industries in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
The State Theatre of Modesto, which also received a $45,000 grant, has indicated the funding will help create a poetry slam academy and start a film school for students.
Last year, county leaders stopped collection of what was called the “community benefit contribution” from commercial cannabis businesses because the owners were struggling to make required fee payments.
The county’s legal marijuana industry is getting crushed by competition from illegal growers, who don’t have the same overhead costs and sell their products at much cheaper prices, local officials say.
The $750,000, distributed to 25 nonprofit groups, is part of $1 million in fees that were collected until May 3, 2022, before the community contributions were terminated, said Damian Martinez, a senior management consultant who oversees the county cannabis program.
Martinez said 25% of the fee revenue was devoted to county parks and recreation for youth activities.
Legal marijuana shops and cultivators continue to pay general cannabis fees to the county under their development agreements.
The county contracted with the Stanislaus Community Foundation to review grant applications from community groups. Twenty-five of the 42 applicants were funded.
In a news release Thursday, the foundation said many of the groups awarded funding were part of Stanislaus Youth Empowerment Alliance, which brings together organizations, government and youth to promote leadership and change in the community.
Martinez said one criteria for the funding was a focus on youth and another expectation was being aligned with the principles and values of the youth alliance.
Eight other nonprofit groups were awarded $45,000, including Center for Human Services, Invest In Me, HAVEN (Healthy Alternatives to Violent Environments, formerly Haven Women’s Center), Tuolumne River Trust, Youth For Christ Central Valley, Legacy Alliance Outreach, Ceres Unified School District’s Project YES and Boys & Girls Club of Stanislaus County.
Opera Modesto is getting $35,000, and $30,000 is going to Improve Your Tomorrow to support college-bound young men of color.
Other funding recipients are: Cricket’s Hope ($23,000), West Stanislaus Fire Explorer Post 935 ($15,000), Valley Improvement Projects ($15,000), She Became ($12,000), Camp Taylor ($10,000), Modesto Sound ($10,000), Stanislaus County Office of Education’s Leadership Academy ($10,000), The Men’s Group ($10,000), Carnegie Arts Center Foundation ($10,000), First Tee Central Valley ($10,000) and Prodigal Sons & Daughters ($10,000).
Martinez said the county is working on a new program for licensed cannabis businesses to contribute to the community. Under a new structure, business owners might be able to choose options to donate equipment or volunteer their time to youth programs.
There is no timetable for bringing a set of options to the county Board of Supervisors for approval.
Stanislaus County intended to issue up to 61 permits to commercial cannabis operators in unincorporated areas when it launched the permit program in December 2017.
The Board of Supervisors approved 26 permits. Of those, 18 businesses are operating, one is in the development stage and seven have been canceled due to permit issues or they ceased operations, Martinez said.
