{"id":7196,"date":"2017-02-03T17:54:20","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T17:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=2400459&amp;preview_id=2400459"},"modified":"2017-02-03T17:54:20","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T17:54:20","slug":"charitable-cannabis-companies-find-giving-back-isnt-as-easy-as-youd-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/charitable-cannabis-companies-find-giving-back-isnt-as-easy-as-youd-think\/","title":{"rendered":"Charitable cannabis companies find giving back isn\u2019t as easy as you\u2019d think"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/charitable-cannabis-companies-find-giving-back-isnt-as-easy-as-youd-think\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"row\" id=\"sticky-outer\">\n<div class=\"large-11 small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Feb 3, 2017, 6:59 am \u2022 Updated: Feb 3, 2017, 7:02 am<span class=\"single-comments-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/02\/03\/cannabis-industry-philanthropy\/72938\/#disqus_thread\" class=\"commentsNameLink\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <strong>Joe Vaccarelli<\/strong>, <em> The Denver Post<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Tim Cullen ran into an unexpected obstacle recently when he decided it was time his cannabis business should\u00a0start donating money to nonprofit organizations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have been shocked at how few places will take our money,\u201d said Cullen, CEO of the Colorado Harvest Company chain of shops and a shareholder with O.penVape, a company that makes vape pens.<\/p>\n<p>But\u00a0then Levitt Pavilion Denver came calling. O.penVape and Colorado Harvest Company together donated $250,000, becoming the largest private donors of a project to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2016\/11\/10\/work-on-levitt-pavilion-amphitheater-underway-in-ruby-hill-park\/\">build an amphitheater in Ruby Hill Park<\/a> in southwest Denver that will host 50 free concerts each summer among several other events.<\/p>\n<p>Philanthropy is something a number of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/11\/16\/philanthropy-marijuana-industry-gives-back\/67675\/\">marijuana businesses have begun to explore<\/a> as profits roll in, but Cullen is not the only one who has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2014\/12\/12\/giving-away-money-hard-washington-grower-finally-finds-taker\/25206\/\">faced difficulty<\/a> in finding a group that will accept cannabis-funded donations.<\/p>\n<p>However, giving back remains important to many in the cannabis industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think philanthropy is what responsible businesses do. It\u2019s not a choice so much as the next logical step,\u201d Cullen said.<\/p>\n<h3>Finding the right fit<\/h3>\n<p>In the three years since recreational marijuana sales started in Colorado, some nonprofits have decided not to accept money from marijuana organizations for various reasons, whether it\u2019s the\u00a0fear of losing nonprofit status or because they receive federal funding or the cannabis industry doesn\u2019t align with their organizational goals.<\/p>\n<p>But for groups that have been searching and have yet to find a nonprofit that will take their charity, those groups might not be looking in the right places, says Kelly Perez, CEO of the KindColorado Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>KindColorado seeks to enhance community engagement and social giving from emerging businesses\u00a0\u2014 such as cannabis \u2014 for beneficial local impact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s silly to not just explore all options and see what kind of relationships you can have,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n<p>So far, a cannabis company has contributed to the Montbello neighborhood\u2019s efforts to celebrate its 50th anniversary and others have been connected to nonprofits that are open to accepting cannabis money, according to Perez.<\/p>\n<p>Rich Male, a 40-year community activist in Denver who now works with KindColorado, said partnerships like these could lead to others relaxing\u00a0their rigid stances on marijuana money.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs cannabis becomes part of the community, the issue will be more acceptable and mainstream and we won\u2019t have these kinds of issues,\u201d Male said. \u201cBut initially, we\u2019re dealing with a new idea, which is controversial where a lot of people are hesitant and resistant.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Careful consideration of cannabis cash<\/h3>\n<p>For some nonprofits, such as the Rocky Mountain MS Center in Westminster that aids those who have multiple sclerosis, accepting marijuana-based donations required considerable vetting. <\/p>\n<p>According to development director Jules Kelty, the board\u00a0had extensive conversations about whether to accept such donations and ultimately decided that it would allow it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a lot of back and forth. We had to do due diligence and talk to experts in the industry and outside the industry to make sure the organization would be OK,\u201d Kelty said. \u201cWe wanted to make sure we did what is right for the organization and our patients. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne big piece that helped us decide is that many MS patients use cannabis to help treat their symptoms and it seemed hypocritical to not work parallel with an industry that had helped them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Regulatory issues have dissuaded some nonprofits. Colorado Children\u2019s Hospital Foundation cites banks that won\u2019t handle cannabis money as a reason it won\u2019t accept donations.<\/p>\n<p>While federal decriminalization and banking complications may not see immediate change, other nonprofits that have decided not to accept donations for other reasons might be missing out on a good opportunity to get funds from groups that truly want to give.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"figure wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/charitable-cannabis-companies-find-giving-back-isnt-as-easy-as-youd-think.jpg\" alt=\"Marijuana display jars\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-58492\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marijuana is kept in display jars for customers to smell at the Colorado Harvest Company shop in Aurora, Colo., in September 2015. (Brennan Linsley, Associated Press file)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI think there is some misunderstanding oftentimes between cannabis (businesses) and nonprofits where nonprofits assume what cannabis wants out of donations is marketing and visibility, and we find the industry does not want that,\u201d said Courtney Mathis, COO of KindColorado.<\/p>\n<p>Shannon Brooks, director of marketing and co-owner of the Lightshade shop chain, notes that cannabis businesses can\u2019t write off their donations on tax filings, meaning they are not benefiting from any deductions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome businesses like to make donations so they can write off,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cThose giving back from cannabis organizations really are doing it for the right reasons. I do think the public needs to know that is the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amanda Gonzalez, CEO of retailer Kaya Cannabis, recently began philanthropy efforts within her business and found difficulties. She said it\u2019s been a mix of groups either saying yes or no or asking for anonymous donations. Others may ask for service donations as opposed to cash.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt really varies. We were looking for breast cancer organizations during October (for breast cancer awareness month). Some locals said they could not accept from us, one national organization said they could. It took a lot of hunting,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI do think it\u2019s improving. As the industry is improving, communities get to know us better. People are beginning to realize that not only is it not a bad thing, it might be a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018We will be a good example\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>As it happened with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/levittdenver.org\/\">Levitt Pavilion Denver<\/a>, which is a chapter of a national nonprofit based in California, local executive director Chris Zacher initially made the call to Colorado Harvest Company, but he still needed permission from the national organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe took it to Levitt, they took it to the board and as long as it is legal in their state and not promoting the sex trade or tobacco, they were fine with it,\u201d Zacher said.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being in a city park, Denver did not support nor disapprove of any funds coming from a cannabis organization. The city allowed Levitt to make its own decision, according to city licensing spokesman Dan Rowland.<\/p>\n<p>Cullen said he thought the situation would be a win-win, as he gets to help a community organization in an area his company resides in and Levitt got some much-needed money to fund its nearly $5 million project. Colorado Harvest Company and O.penVape will be the headline sponsors for the pavilion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the true winners will be the people who get to enjoy Levitt Pavilion for the next 30 years and all the awesome memories they will make there, and we\u2019re glad we get to be part of it,\u201d Cullen said. \u201cWe will be a good example of how cannabis companies can work with a city municipality and a nonprofit and have a successful outcome for all groups involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More marijuana businesses have begun to explore philanthropy in the legal era, but many face difficulty finding nonprofits that will accept their donations. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5062,77,5577,9,5019,6951,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[5063,2655,5580,5022,6952],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7196\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}