For fiscal year 2021-2022, the Portland City Council allocated $1.2M in Recreational Cannabis Tax funds to Prosper Portland, to be used specifically for programs and activities that support businesses owned by Black, Indigenous and all entrepreneurs of color. The funds are used to assist businesses via culturally specific providers, relief grants, and the Mercatus Collective/My People’s Market.
How the City’s Cannabis Funding is Allocated to Bureaus
59%
Office of Community & Civic Life
$6,217,000
25%
Portland Bureau of Transportation
$2,653,257
12%
Prosper Portland
$1,221,593
3.2%
Portland Housing Bureau
$332,690
0.2%
City Budget Office
$25,000
How We Spend Our Portion of Cannabis Funding
34%
$420,000
BIPOC Cannabis Business Development
Funded via NuLeaf Project. Projected outcomes:
- Access to capital for 20+ BIPOC-owned cannabis businesses
- 25+ BIPOC-owned cannabis businesses receive assistance to find resources and help navigating the industry
- A culturally specific accelerator serves 5-10 cannabis entrepreneurs with technical education and support for their launch
- 50% of the businesses are Black-owned
- 25% of the business owners have been arrested for cannabis
- 25% of the business owners identify as LGBTQIA+
29%
$350,000
Small Business Digital Divide & E-commerce Adaptations
Projected outcomes:
- 50 BIPOC-owned businesses receive digital marketing support and small grants to increase sales and diversify sales channels
- Hosting 120 BIPOC-owned businesses at My People’s Market to provide selling and marketing opportunities
- Increasing e-commerce sales for 75 My People’s Market vendors
- Supporting 25 businesses in accessing e-commerce which would otherwise not sell online
37%
$451,593
Inclusive Business Resource Network (IBRN), Mercatus & My People’s Market
Projected outcomes:
- $103,000 for My People’s Market/Mercatus is the primary funding for the project’s base operations, including the operational costs of multiple markets per year, seasonal activations, and staff time. Currently 835 businesses are listed on the registry. Including overlap between multi-racial business owners who identify as 2 or more of these identities, approximately 502 identify as Black or African American, 237 identify as API, 236 identify as Latinx, and 127 identify as Native/Indigenous.
- $348,593 of ongoing funds for the IBRN are disbursed through existing annual contracts with culturally specific business technical assistance providers. While these cannabis funds make up only 15% of the IBRN’s overall budget, 75% of network services support entrepreneurs of color. The network serves more than 1000 entrepreneurs per year.
