CanRenew Community Restoration Grant

OCM has created an interactive mapping tool that shows communities across the state with higher levels of poverty, SNAP utilization, and social vulnerability, as well as higher populations of military veterans and low-income farmers. If any of these are the target population for your project, referencing this tool is sufficient. The tool, however, does not include data related to policing or cannabis convictions. If your project is focused on serving these populations, please provide alternate data in your application. The data may be quantitative or qualitative and from formal research papers or informal community data gathering.

Under Minnesota Statutes, section 342.70, proposed CanRenew activities may occur in a geographic community of any size—within the state of Minnesota and Tribal lands within the geographic boundaries of the state of Minnesota—where long-term residents are eligible to be social equity applicants (SEAs) under one or more of the categories under Minnesota Statutes, section 342.17(a). Please note that an eligible community is one in which long-term residents are eligible to be SEAs and not that all persons served by the project are eligible to be SEAs. As such, community members being served need not have long-term residency or provide verification of their income, criminal background, or other eligibility related to SEA status. 

OCM intends to serve as many eligible communities as possible. As such, we will not consider multiple applications from one organization serving the same community. However, we recognize some organizations may span multiple regions of the state and may seek to implement multiple projects in multiple communities. It is expected that each project is tailored to the needs of the specific community with strong support from that community.

The fiscal sponsor would be the applicant and, if selected, the grantee. Other partners and their roles and contributions should be named in the application.

CanRenew is not intended to simply continue ongoing projects, as each project funded with CanRenew should be designed to repair harm caused by cannabis prohibition in a specific community. However, if an existing project meets that goal and does not have sufficient funding to expand its impact (e.g. length or reach of programming), OCM will consider these expansion applications.

Form D only requires certification related to the crimes listed on that form and no disclosure of other criminal background. That said, grant finalists go through a broader review during the pre-award risk assessment stage of the grant making process, and some misdemeanors may be considered at that stage. Because of this process, we don’t ask for or collect criminal-history information during the application itself. If your organization moves forward as a finalist, there will be an opportunity to provide any required disclosure and context at that time.

Although Tier 1 was created with organizations with less experience with state funding in mind, anybody is welcome to apply in this tier. 

CanRenew funding cannot be used for current operational expenses. However, if you are expanding an existing program—such as increasing the number of participants or enhancing services—that would be considered an eligible use of funds.

No, there is no cap on equipment expenses. The only restriction is on administrative costs, which are capped at 10%. If you intend to allocate a significant portion of the budget toward equipment, you just need to clearly justify it in your budget and work plan.

Yes, eligibility is based on the participants you serve, not just your headquarters’ location. However, in your application, you will need to provide strong documentation on how your programming directly supports social equity-eligible communities.

Yes, but your application should clearly explain how participants from social equity-eligible communities will access your program, including details on transportation and outreach efforts.

The key factor is the eligible community, not the farm itself. If a project supports reinvestment into early-stage farming communities—such as teaching new agricultural methods to urban farmers who meet the revenue threshold—then it qualifies. However, the grant does not fund revenue-generating operations. If the goal is to fund farm operations, that would be ineligible. If the project is an educational program benefiting early-stage farmers, that would qualify. Farming is just one of seven ways to qualify for social equity status. If the project supports an eligible community—such as funding a park renovation in a community with many small farmers—it could meet the grant criteria.

No, attendee addresses do not need to be verified for a single event. However, the event should be targeted towards people residing in the social equity community. For projects providing ongoing services, organizations are expected to collect residency information.  

In the application, you’ll need to describe how your project supports social equity-eligible communities. You can provide an address, and we have mapping tools to verify eligibility based on income levels, military-affiliated communities, and farming areas. You can also submit a narrative explaining how the project serves social equity applicants. If working with justice-impacted individuals, you may need data showing how participants reflect those communities. However, attendees of your sessions do not need to go through social equity verification.

Yes, an organization can apply for multiple projects. However, the intent is to serve as many communities as possible, and funding is limited. While the program budget is expected to grow in future years, applicants should be mindful that funding must be distributed across many projects.

Yes. Each project is intended to last up to one year. If an organization has a new eligible project that serves communities and supports social equity applicants, they are encouraged to apply again in future funding cycles.

That decision has not yet been made. There is potential for increased funding, especially for organizations that demonstrate strong performance in their first year. However, the funding range for next year has not been determined.

Yes, but it depends on the project and the amount of funding already received. If related, the funds should be included in the budget proposal to show how dollars are allocated. Preference may be given to projects serving communities differently than those already funded by ReCAST, but receiving ReCAST funding does not automatically exclude an organization from eligibility.

Currently, the grant is designed for one-year projects. Funding cannot be automatically renewed or extended beyond the approved work plan. Because this is a competitive grant cycle, any request for additional funds must go through another competitive process. This is mandated by law.

The grant pool is $10.9 million, with grants being awarded in two tiers. OCM will award grants of $2,500-$10,000 for tier 1 and $50,000 to $2,000,000 for tier 2. This means there could be as many as 20,000 or as few as five grants awarded. This means there could be as many as 4,000 or as few as five grants awarded.

It depends. Minor modifications, such as purchasing a different brand of the same product, are allowed. However, significant changes, like switching from building a playground to purchasing a vehicle, would be outside the scope. Any changes made after signing the grant agreement would require an official modification process. 

There are provisions around budget modifications, including thresholds for changes. These details will be included in the grant manual for selected grantees. Since this is a competitive grant process, modifications to the work plan will be limited.

Yes, a Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax) is acceptable. The purpose of the requirement is to assess the organization’s financial stability and ability to fulfill the grant terms. However, Minnesota Statutes, section 11.309.53(3) states that a charitable organization with total annual revenue over $750,000 must file an audited financial statement prepared by an independent CPA.

Community groups or organizations that do not otherwise have legal recognition will need to partner with a fiscal sponsor/nonprofit organization for financial auditing and reconciliation processes.

Faith communities are assumed nonprofit but are not required to submit a formal request to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status. If selected as a finalist and your faith community has not filed a tax Form 990, another avenue for financial audit will need to be discussed and required.

There is no specific provision or scoring requirement for the number of individuals served. The focus is on ensuring the funds benefit eligible communities that have been disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition. 

Yes, but the fiscal sponsor must remain the same for the duration of the grant.

Yes, the key requirement is demonstrating that the individuals served meet the criteria. Organizations can use the provided mapping tool or submit internal data to confirm eligibility. The focus is on who is served rather than the specific geographic location.

If it is one project targeting different issues, then yes, it is eligible. However, if you are proposing multiple separate projects, they would need to be structured as one cohesive project in the grant application.

No, a match is not required to receive points. The budget section includes up to 15 points, but match funding is not a requirement.

The grant cannot cover current operational expenses, but if you are expanding or continuing a previously funded program, it is eligible. If you are seeking funding for ongoing operations without expansion, it is not eligible.

Yes, for-profit businesses are eligible. However, grant funds cannot be used for revenue-generating activities. For example, if the project involves developing a curriculum for youth entrepreneurship, that is an eligible expense.

Yes, as long as the supplies are for the youth development program and not for business operations.

The organization submits the application and identifies the fiscal sponsor, who must remain in place for the duration of the grant.