The cannabis industry is already known to be “kind”, but AP News reporter Ivan Moreno shared several great examples of companies in Colorado having a big impact on local charities. As an industry, cannabis companies face significant obstacles when it comes to advertising, so sponsoring events can serve as a nice workaround.
As Moreno points out, though, the generosity extends well beyond simply self-promotion. He highlights Matt Huron (pictured below), who is the founder and CEO of Good Chemistry, who has a special connection to the gay community and donates to One Colorado. Good Chemistry employs 80 and serves 22K customers a month. Huron also runs the Wellspring Collective and previously ran the Elmar Lins Compassion Co-Op from 2000-2010 in the San Francisco Bay Area, serving chronically ill patients at assisted living and hospice facilities.
Moreno also shares insight from Ean Seeb, who has headed the National Cannabis Industry Association as Chairman and who is co-owner of Denver Relief, which contributes time and money to a food bank, and Ryan Cook, who is the GM of The Clinic and says that the company has raised almost $300K for multiple sclerosis through its golf tournament, becoming one of the largest corporate donors to the National MS Society for Colorado and Wyoming.
While many organizations are receptive to the contributions of time and money from those in the cannabis industry, especially where there is a connection between their constituents and the medicinal benefits, several charities explicitly refuse to take donations from cannabis businesses.
Read Ivan Moreno’s “Nonprofits becoming more comfortable accepting pot donations”: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/372c3f0006104b899c16c6f4aa6ec235/nonprofits-becoming-more-comfortable-accepting-pot
