Last summer, Beyoncé’s BEYGOOD linked up with the NAACP to create the Black-Owned Small Business Impact Fund. The fund committed to distributing grants toward Black-owned businesses across the map during the pandemic. Most recently, the duo delivered a $10,000 grant to the Black-owned cannabis company, The Gift.
“We are so humbled and grateful to be selected out of 17,000 applicants for a grant from the Queen Bee herself, Beyoncé and BeyGOOD in partnership with the NAACP!”
“The grant is helping us re-launch our new sustainable packaging, launch a new website, and our education platform Project 545. We hope that our work will not only bring relief to millions of people but also break down the stigma and the damage that was done to black and brown communities from the ‘War on Drugs.’”
The Gift offers consumers hemp oil, hemp balm and hemp bath salts. They also sell jackets, t-shirts, sweaters and joggers. Despite the company’s success, it still faces an uphill climb as a Black-owned brand in the cannabis industry.
“Companies in the legal cannabis industry face higher costs for just about everything from insurance to banking, even if they are working strictly with hemp, not marijuana,” The Gift CEO Cory Moore said.
“Banks are reluctant to lend to us because the regulations around hemp are new and still developing in some respects. Black?owned businesses are challenged even further when it comes to financing. This grant from NAACP and Beyoncé has made us feel seen, and we are grateful to them for the opportunities we will create with these funds.”