Project Trellis to provide more than 1.5 million directly to local cannabis industry

Those involved in the local cannabis industry will have two opportunities to receive funding through the county’s Project Trellis to help their businesses and combat the effect of the war on drugs. In total, more than $1.5 million will be available to fund cannabis projects.

Micro-Grants and Loans

First, the Humboldt County Cannabis Micro-Grant & Loan Advisory Committee (CMGLAC) aka the Project Trellis Committee will be accepting applications for micro-business grants beginning Monday, Oct. 14. The deadline to apply is Dec. 16. The total funding for this cycle is $180,000 which will be divided among selected project proposals. The maximum award for individuals is $10,000 and $50,000 for associations and co-operatives.

The micro-business grant program is one component of Project Trellis and is aimed at providing capital assistance and business resources to Humboldt County cannabis businesses. The application forms, instructions and background information are online at the Project Trellis web page.

Local Equity Program

The second opportunity for funding is for the Local Equity Program (LEP), which is aimed at assisting individuals who were negatively or disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of cannabis. The Humboldt County Administrative Office – Economic Development Division received word on Wednesday that it was awarded a grant for $1,338,683.13 from the State of California for this program. The state had $10 million in funding available through SB 1294, and Humboldt was one of just 10 agencies to receive funding. Humboldt received the third largest award, a clear acknowledgement that Humboldt County was hit disproportionally hard by the War on Drugs.

Economic Development will make another announcement when the application period for funding through the LEP is available. For now, businesses interested in applying for the Micro-Grants and Loans program should visit the Project Trellis web page and submit their application by Dec. 16.

"These two programs represent a major investment by Humboldt County into the success of the local cannabis industry, as well as supporting those in our community who were impacted so hard by the War on Drugs," said Scott Adair, Director of Economic Development. "Combined with the marketing and promotion piece of Project Trellis, which we just put out to RFP (request for proposal), we feel like there is real momentum behind our local industry.