Corporate Giving at Hashtag: The Floret Coalition
by Christine Bryant Cohen, marketing and creative director
Hashtag Cannabis joined the Floret Coalition in February 2021. But what is the Floret Coalition? And why does Hashtag participate?
About Floret Coalition
The Floret Coalition is a collective of cannabis and cannabis-related businesses who believe that we have a responsibility to give back to the communities harmed most by the war on drugs. Floret was formed in September 2020. Since 2020, our 100+ members collectively donated $270k to organizations serving Black, Latine, and Indigenous communities.
Board members choose a new organization each month, and every member in the Floret Coalition donates directly to that organization. Hashtag gives at the $50 level each month.
Organizations are primarily selected by the Floret three-person advisory board. Potential donation recipients are researched by their board and admin team, who evaluate them based on leadership (must be a Black, Latine, or Indigenous-led org), transparent allocation of funds, focus on direct community services, and authentic connection to the people they are serving.
Why Hashtag Participates
In short, Hashtag has held social justice as a value since we opened our doors in 2015. We specifically seek to address the harms done by the war on drugs, and in order to reach that goal, we partner with two organizations: the Last Prisoner Project and the Floret Coalition.
The Last Prisoner Project exists to free every cannabis prisoner in the US, and the Floret Coalition directly gives money to organizations that serve Black, Latine, and Indigenous communities who have been disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs. By partnering with the Floret Coalition, Hashtag makes a direct impact on these organizations that exist to support marginalized communities.
Jerina Pillert, co-owner and CEO of Hashtag Cannabis, summarizes Hashtag’s corporate giving as follows:
“Social justice has always been a value that my husband Logan Bowers and I live by at Hashtag.
“In the past five years, my husband and I have both advocated for and testified at the local and state levels in support of the release of all people imprisoned for cannabis-related crimes.
“Additionally, we listen to our staff, and in response to their requests, we have supported our staff’s initiatives to place Black Lives Matter signs and Pride flags in our storefront windows, to collect canned goods and donations for local food banks, and to organize free events open to the public that feature local performing artists like Sassyblack, DJ Reverend Dollars, Mirrorgloss, Who Is She?, and Lisa Prank. And when it’s safe to gather in groups, we look forward to hosting our monthly free educational event, Guided Shopping for Seniors.
“We’re proud of our continued work to give back to the community and look forward to expanding our philanthropic work in the future.”
What You Can Do
If you’re a cannabis-related business, you can join the Floret Coalition!
If you’re an individual and interested in donating alongside Hashtag each month, you can give directly to the organization chosen by Floret. Hashtag posts about the chosen organization monthly in our social media.
This month of January 2023, Floret is supporting My Sistah’s House in Memphis, Tennessee, and you can give alongside us using this link. My Sistah's House is a trans-led organization fostering sustainability and security for transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer communities in Memphis, Tennessee. Their efforts focus on providing advocacy and resources for gender non-conforming people of color, including emergency housing, name change clinics, free HIV testing, resume coaching, COVID-19 mutual aid, and building permanent housing for their community.
