Cannabis Grant awarded to 27 small Colorado businesses

Posted March 13, 2023 on Denver Gazette

Cannabis Business Grant aims to support equity and diversity in Colorado's marijuana industry.

For small business owners in the cannabis industry, it can often be difficult to find traditional funding sources due to the nature of the marijuana industry and its illegal federal status.

The Cannabis Business Office, within the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, announced Thursday 27 businesses were selected to receive $750,000 in Cannabis Business Grants.

The program was first launched last year as a pilot. It will continue permanently to support the growth of Colorado’s small cannabis industry businesses, according to a news release.

The program aims to create “equity and diversity within the state’s cannabis industry,” according to the release.

The Cannabis Business Grant offers two forms of funding, supported by the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund. One is $25,000 in foundational grants to support startup needs. The second is $50,000 growth grants to aid existing cannabis businesses that are either expanding or refining operations. All of the awards went to social equity licensed cannabis businesses that have been granted, or are actively seeking, a regulated business license from the Marijuana Enforcement Division, according to the release.

During the pilot program, there were 16 recipients.

“This important program will provide funding and resources that support Colorado’s cannabis businesses as they launch and as they grow,” Eve Lieberman, OEDIT Executive Director, said in the release. “The increased interest in Cannabis Business Office resources demonstrates the need for and the impact these opportunities will have, saving small business owners money and fostering a thriving and equitable cannabis industry.”

Kalyx Brands was in the pilot program and received a foundational grant last year and a growth grant this year. Krystina VanCleef, the owner and founder of Kalyx Brands, said the grant they received last year supported the company through times spent connecting with investors, launching new products and improving branding, according to the release.

“Aside from the grants we are completely self-funded and bootstrapped,” VanCleef said in the release. “Without the grants we have received we would not have made as much progress and would have gone out of business.”

The Colorado cannabis industry ended last year down in revenue from 2021. In 2022, the state of Colorado collected $325 million in cannabis tax revenue — a nearly $100 million decline. Businesses collected and paid $423 million in taxes in 2021. In 2020, that number was $387 million. These changes have affected the entire industry, not just dispensaries, according to previous reporting.

Sometime this spring, the office will begin a loan program to support Colorado’s social equity cannabis businesses as well.

Cannabis Business Grant recipients include:

Foundational Grants: