The purpose of this bulletin is to provide guidance to Office of Cannabis’ (OOC) grantees about OOC’s efforts to redistribute unspent grant funds. This bulletin discusses grantee eligibility, documentation requirements, and eligible expense categories.
Grantee Eligibility for Redistribution
To be eligible for grant redistribution, applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria, adopted by OOC in coordination with the Cannabis Oversight Committee:
1. The applicant must have a Cannabis Business Permit application submitted to OOC with a status of processing as of 10.14.20;
2. The applicant must be registered as a supplier with the City and County of San Francisco, and must provide a valid supplier number to the OOC no later than June 30, 2021;
3. The applicant’s City supplier number must reflect an entity name that is associated with the applicant’s Business Account Number in the records of the OOC and the SF Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector.
The OOC will circulate an award notification to eligible applicants. Applicants will then be required to notify the OOC no later than September 15, 2021 of their intent to move forward.
Back to topDocumentation Requirements
Eligible applicants must enter into a new grant agreement and provide either (1) a request for advancement of funds that includes an estimated budget detailing how they plan on spending down their grant award; or (2) a request for reimbursement that lists and documents past expenditures eligible for reimbursement. Grant funds will be disbursed in lump-sum advancements and/or via reimbursement requests.
Grantees must maintain accurate files and records for at least five years and provide these records to the City, upon request. If a particular expense is $25,000 or more, then the Grantee must provide documentation (e.g. invoice, cancelled checks, receipts) for that expense without waiting for a request from the City.
During the grant term, grantees must provide Progress Report(s) reflecting the amount of grants expended and whether there are any changes to their estimated budget.
Back to topEligible Expenses
Grant funds may be used for the following eligible expenses:
| 1. Rent | 8. Cannabis Related Taxes |
| 2. Regulatory Fees | 9. Banking and Escrow Fees |
| 3. Regulatory Compliance | 10. Packaging and Materials |
| 4. Cannabis Testing | 11. Marketing and Advertising |
| 5. Fixtures and Equipment | 12. Furniture |
| 6. Capital Improvements | 13. Accounting Services |
| 7. Legal Services |
If grant funds are not expended by the end of the grant term or used for non-eligible expenses, then the grantee must return those funds to the City and County of San Francisco or risk enforcement action.
Enforcement may include, but is not limited to:
- Civil penalties
- Criminal penalties
- Permit revocation
- Being unable to apply for future grants for a period of 5 years