Written By: Daniel Cina
Nectar & Nu Project
Our mission at Nectar Markets is to deliver accessibility to a premium cannabis shopping experience for our communities. As important as our mission is to us, we recognize the needs of our communities beyond cannabis. It is no secret that inequity is ever present in America. It is present in our laws, our everyday lives, and even in our own cannabis industry. These inequities over time have disproportionately affected communities leaving many individuals with no opportunities to elevate their businesses, strengthen their incomes, and ultimately pursue the dreams of their choosing.
It is our aim at Nectar to help communities bridge the gaps caused by these inequities in order to create more opportunities that ultimately lead to the generation of wealth for families and businesses. We have a mind set of always growing, whether it be in business, or life and this February it is our intention to help historically excluded communities and businesses grow. That is why on February 26th, 10% of all sales from our 40 Oregon stores will be going to NU Project, an amazing non-profit organization who is dedicated to uplifting the economic opportunities in historically excluded communities.
What Nu Project Does
Nu Project is a non-profit organization whose intention is to build generational wealth for Black, Indigenous and Latina/o/x communities who have been disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs. They accomplish this through enabling businesses within these communities via the legal cannabis industry. By deploying corporate profits and foundation contributions Nu Project is able to provide contributions to capital, coaching, and connections for socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs within legal cannabis industries across the U.S.A. and Canada.
Through aiding in entrepreneurship Nu Project aims to bridge the gap in the disparity in income and opportunity for historically-excluded businesses. Entrepreneurship is a highly valuable profession in creating income and generational wealth. A study from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found that the average net worth of households owned by entrepreneurs was more than twice the value of non-entrepreneur households.Entrepreneurship is truly powerful in creating value and change which is why Nu Project aims to leverage it as means to success as they redirect the flow of capital to these small businesses within the cannabis space
Founded in Portland in 2018, Nu Project so far has delivered $2.3 million in loans and grants to a network of 135 historically excluded cannabis businesses across 6 different states. Furthermore, of this $2.3 million dollars over 60% has gone to Black-owned cannabis businesses and 50% going to women-owned businesses who are both historically underrepresented within the cannabis industry.
Why NU Project
NU Project’s commitment to serving historically excluded businesses stems from years of inequality in wealth generating business ownership. According to a Marijuana Business Daily Survey from 2017, less than 3% of licensed cannabis businesses in the U.S.A are majority Black-owned, and as striking as a statistic this is, it pales in comparison to another inequality.
A study by the ACLU in 2013 found that despite similar consumption rates, the arrests of people in the Black community for cannabis possession is 4x the rate of White communities. A follow up study by the ACLU in 2020 found little change in this statistic despite nearly half the U.S.A. having legalized cannabis in some form.
The effects of cannabis criminalization has disproportionately affected the means to wealth generation in historically excluded communities and often ensnares families in a net of impacts through the criminal justice system. The largest impact in this net is most often the decline of household wealth and economic opportunity.
The trends shown by these statistics is why Nu Project engages in this work, and through entrepreneurship, they aim to reverse these trends and create further wealth equity in the cannabis industry that will ultimately improve the quality of life for individuals within historically excluded communities.
Visit Nectar on February 26th
Nectar is proud to support Nu project and its mission of building generational wealth for historically excluded communities via the cannabis industry. We believe that positive change occurs when action is taken. This is why Nectar is here to support Nu Project and its mission in order to create a more equitable industry and ultimately aid people by giving further accessibility to the opportunities that can change lives. Like anything the opportunity for success in this endeavor is further enhanced with the help of others.
With the aid of our fantastic community of cannabis enthusiasts, we can deliver more resources to Nu Project for the betterment of our communities. All we need is for you to make a purchase at your local Nectar on February 26th. Whether it be your normal purchase or a little something extra, every purchase helps and every contribution has value as we aid Nu Project and its mission. So make sure to visit your local Nectar on February 26th and aid us in creating positive change across the cannabis industry and our own communities.
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman 
