In an industry still grappling with legacies of exclusion, charity events have emerged as powerful tools to support women and BIPOC entrepreneurs in cannabis. By combining fundraising, visibility, education, and networking, these events help chip away at systemic barriers—creating pathways for diverse leadership and innovation.

The Structural Barriers

Female founders and entrepreneurs of color face disproportionately high hurdles in cannabis. A 2024 survey revealed that Black women, for instance, received less than 1 percent of industry venture funding. Historically, women-led startups overall have drawn only a sliver of venture capital (2.3–2.8 percent in some recent years). In cannabis, that disparity is often magnified by regulatory complexity, compliance costs, and limited access to traditional banking and capital channels.

Meanwhile, social equity or community reinvestment programs such as New York’s Community Reinvestment Program aim to redirect cannabis tax revenue to communities harmed by prohibition-era policies. These funds can support housing, education, business training, and direct grants. Likewise, many jurisdictions now earmark cannabis licenses for “social and economic equity” applicants—often including women and minorities. Yet in practice, inclusion remains uneven unless backed by capital, mentorship, and community support.

Why Charity Events Matter

Charity events tailored to cannabis equity can fill gaps that conventional funding and policy alone cannot. These events serve multiple purposes:

1. Raise Capital and Grants
   Proceeds from ticket sales, auctions, or “party with a purpose” frameworks can directly support microgrants, seed funding, or scholarships earmarked for women and BIPOC entrepreneurs. Organizations like the Cannabis Impact Fund encourage partners to host events and pledge proceeds toward their mission.
2. Raise Visibility and Awareness
   Public-facing events help spotlight underrepresented founders, showcasing their stories, brands, and leadership. At MJBizCon’s “Empowering Women in Cannabis” event, Women Grow honored female trailblazers, enhancing both their profiles and industry recognition.
3. Provide Education and Pitch Platforms
   Charity fundraisers can feature pitch competitions, panel discussions, and masterclasses on compliance, marketing, or capital raising. These sessions accelerate learning and help entrepreneurs refine investor-ready proposals. Tea Pad, a nonprofit advancing women and BIPOC voices in cannabis STEM, regularly hosts fundraising “Tea Pad” gatherings that merge advocacy, education, and networking.
4. Foster Networks and Mentorship
   Events bring industry leaders, investors, regulators, and emerging entrepreneurs into one space. The connections forged can lead to mentoring relationships, joint ventures, or unlock informal capital and resource sharing.

Best Practices for Equitable Charity Events

To ensure impact and fairness, organizers should adopt thoughtful strategies:

• Prioritize mission alignment: Events should clearly define how proceeds are allocated (e.g. grant pools, scholarships), and adhere to transparency in disbursement.
• Set equitable selection criteria: For pitch competitions or grant allocations, design criteria that favor underrepresented founders (women, BIPOC, formerly incarcerated, etc.).
• Involve diverse leadership: Committees, panels, and judging bodies should reflect gender and racial diversity, ensuring representation in decision-making.
• Lower participation barriers: Offer discounted or pro-bono tickets for entrepreneurs, remote participation via hybrid formats, and cover ancillary costs (travel, lodging).
• Sustain engagement beyond the event: Follow-up support—mentorship, cohort-based training, introduction to investors—is essential to translate one-time funds into lasting growth.

Examples of Impact

The newly established Women Grow Foundation, launched in February 2025, is a prime illustration of mobilizing philanthropic and industry capital for women in cannabis. It aims to provide mentorship, funding, and policy advocacy specifically for women-owned cannabis businesses. The foundation’s launch included corporate commitments such as a $5,000 gift from Stearns Bank.

On another front, Nimble Distro has donated over $110,000 toward NuProject, a resource hub for diverse cannabis entrepreneurs. These contributions help underwrite operations, direct grants, and capacity building.

Collectively, charity events also tie into broader industry mechanisms. For example, social equity license programs in states like Maryland explicitly allow grants or financial aid for small, minority- or women-owned cannabis businesses. Such public programs may be supplemented by private fundraising events that boost impact on the ground.

Toward a More Equitable Cannabis Economy

While charity events alone cannot dismantle deeply entrenched structural inequities, they can catalyze change: injecting capital where it is most needed, shifting narratives through visibility, and weaving stronger networks for marginalized entrepreneurs.

As the legal cannabis market continues to mature, stakeholders—from brands to investors to nonprofits—should see charity events not as one-offs but as integral infrastructure for equity. In doing so, they help ensure that the next era of cannabis growth is not just prosperous, but inclusive.