SALIDA, COLO – Fourteen Chaffee County nonprofit organizations and public sector entities were awarded a total of $170,000 through the most recent Chaffee County marijuana excise tax-funded competitive grant cycle. This grant funding will help bolster programs and projects across the county that align with community priority focus areas of human services and youth programs, public health (including mental health), workforce housing, and the regulation of marijuana and other drugs. A seven member volunteer board, the Marijuana Excise Tax Advisory Board (METAB), is charged with evaluating the grant applications annually and providing funding recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The Chaffee County Commissioners approved this year’s recommendations during their March 19th meeting.
The METAB-advised grants are funded through an excise tax levied on the first sale or transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana in the County. The ballot referendum authorizing the excise tax was approved by Chaffee County voters in 2016 and became effective in January 2017. Over the past seven years, the marijuana excise tax-supported grants program has distributed almost $1,4 million dollars to local nonprofit organizations and public programs.
Chaffee County’s marijuana excise tax revenues were down for the second year in a row, just over $129,000 for this grant cycle, which reduced the amount of funding available for the grants. This is a decrease of 51% from the last cycle, and an almost 75% reduction in available funds compared to 2021. In order to to help the METAB grants reach more community organizations despite revenues being down, Monica Haskell, Chaffee County Department of Human Services (DHS) Director (who is a designated member of the METAB Board per its founding Resolution), contributed $50,000 of DHS reserves to supplement the METAB grant funds amount for 2023 grant cycle. This supplemental funding from DHS increased the amount available for 2023 METAB grants funding to $170,000.
METAB received 33 grant applications this year totalling $409,810 in requested funding, making this year’s grant cycle extremely competitive due to the limited funding available. Fourteen applications were ultimately recommended for funding through the METAB advisory Board’s rubric-based review process.
The Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the METAB’s 2023 revenues grant cycle recommendations at their December 6th regular meeting. Grant awards spanned the mission areas allowable within the METAB grant-making program, including:
- Youth-Focused Programs
- GARNA for middle school programming – $20,000
- elevateHER for outdoor youth programs – $20,000
- Ark Valley High Rollers for youth programs – $10,000
- Conservation Legacy for youth conservation corp – $15,000
- Salida Circus Outreach Foundation for staff support – $10,000
- Full Circle Restorative Justice for youth diversion program – $5,000
- Guidestone Colorado for Farmhands Education youth summer program – $5,000
- Boy Scouts Troop 60 for youth summer camp scholarships – $1,500
- Human Services
- Achieve, Inc. for 2024 operational and program support – $20,000
- The Alliance to expand domestic and sexual violence survivor programs – $12,000
- Public Health (including Mental Health)
- Chaffee County Public Health for Aging Well program – $20,000
- Chaffee County Hospitality for homeless sheltering services – $10,000
- Colorado Farm to Table for healthy produce program – $20,000
- A Church for senior engagement programs – $1,500
Programs supporting workforce and family housing and regulation of marijuana and enforcement of drug laws are also eligible for METAB grant funding, but no applications were received for these categories this year.
METAB’s next grant cycle will open in fall 2024. Community groups interested in learning more about METAB or getting on the list for future grant opportunities can connect with the METAB Grants Administrator, Ben Doon, at metabgrants@gmail.com.
