WE'RE NUPROJECT
We work to build generational wealth via the legal cannabis industry for the Black and Brown communities disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs.
NuProject impact:
coaching hours
with 135 companies
THE WHY
According to a survey conducted by Marijuana Business Daily in 2017, less than 3% of licensed cannabis businesses in the U.S. are majority Black-owned. This staggering inequality in wealth-generating business ownership is especially striking in light of another inequity: Black people have been arrested at almost four times the rate of White people for cannabis possession despite similar consumption rates across all races, as reported by the ACLU in 2013. ACLU’s follow-up study in 2020 found the disparate arrest rate across the U.S. remained largely the same even after nearly half of U.S. states had legalized in some form. Cannabis criminalization have been an insidiously effective tool to ensnare Black families in a web of impacts resulting from criminal justice system interactions, including significant decline in Black household wealth and economic opportunities. It is no coincidence that Black households hold less than 10% of the wealth owned by White households, and that Black median household wealth is projected to average zero by 2053. Entrepreneurship is a powerful tool that can reverse this trend and create wealth equity. A study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found the average net worth of households owned by entrepreneurs was more than twice that of households owned by non-entrepreneurs. The wealth-generating potential of the cannabis industry should be equitably accessible to everyone.
HOW
WE do it
HOW WE do it
Our private funders have the exceptional opportunity to provide mentorship and capital to NuProject founders, and, if interested, hands-on roles in helping founders shape their products and business strategies in a fast-growing, innovative industry. Providing full-service capital to our founders includes high-value mentors who give entrepreneurs a support system and advice that we’ve found generates better returns than a capital investment alone.
Our esteemed partners and investors, like Chuck Lacy of the Barred Rock Fund, have been an integral part of NuProject’s economic justice work. With Barred Rock, NuProject has launched multiple funding vehicles for socially and economically disadvantaged-owned businesses including a revenue share fund and a revolving loan fund. The loan fund interest rates are below prime, which allows Barred Rock to benefit from Program Related Investment tax credits. Mission-based investing with like-minded investors is a critical component necessary to create more equitable economies.
social equity allies
support
Kites
We are doing our best to make sure we are not bringing just another preroll to the market. KITES is not just another preroll but supports repairing the harms of cannabis criminalization by donating 50 cents per box to NuProject. Learn more about where you can find KITES near you!
Prosper Portland
Wyld
Wyld has partnered with NuProject in creating and sustaining an accelerator program that provides opportunities to marginalized communities, helping to both accelerate the growth of BIPOC-owned businesses, as well as to provide the needed tools to create a successful cannabis business.
Want to become a Social Equity Ally?
WHY STARTING A MARIJUANA BUSINESS IS SO HARD | BIG BUSINESS
Launching a cannabis business is far from a cakewalk. With initial costs often exceeding $1 million, marijuana industry entrepreneurs need a lot of money to respond to complex regulations and keep their ventures afloat.
Inc breaks down why starting a cannabis business is much more expensive than starting a business in other industries. The video profiles Magic Hour – a small minority – and women-owned company, we’ve spent three years supporting with tools to build a durable business in this challenging industry.
THANK YOU Partners
Please contact us for more information on how you can support this work.
