Beyoncè’s BeyGOOD and NAACP award grant to The Gift, a black‐ and women‐owned health & wellness company making hemp products in Maryland

The gap in financing for black‐owned businesses is significant, add to that COVID and the challenges of banking for hemp companies. Beyonce and NAACP are stepping up where others won’t.

Beltsville, MD, Dec. 1, 2020 – The Gift is pleased to announce it was selected out of 17,000 applicants to receive a $10,000 grant from Beyonce’s philanthropic foundation, BeyGOOD who teamed up with the NAACP to provide grants to black owned businesses impacted by COVID‐19.

The Gift was gearing up to open its first manufacturing center and re‐launch its products this year, just as talks of COVID emerged. When we saw that the need for our products was growing even during these challenging times, we decided to go for it and we opened our manufacturing center in Beltsville, MD this summer. There will always be challenges but when you have the opportunity to help people live healthier lives and have a positive impact on your community, you have to give it your all.

“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,” said Cory Moore, Co‐Founder and CEO of The Gift. “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 Beyonce has made us feel seen, and we are grateful to them for the opportunities we will create with these funds.”

Cory Moore, Co‐Founder of The Gift

Thanks to BeyGood and NAACP, the grant will be used to launch our new ecommerce site and educational platform, Project 545 and to re‐launch our product line in new, sustainable packaging. How we go about our business is just as important as the business that we do, and education is a critical component of that business. Educated consumers are more equipped to make choices that suit their needs and best support their health and wellbeing. Project 545 will be available through our website, thegiftwellness.com. We don’t follow the trends of the market, we create, innovate and educate and let the right product find its way to the right consumer for it, naturally.

According to Moore, “The “War on Drugs” had a significant impact to communities of color and many of those who could be helped by cannabis are saddled with a negative stigma that keeps them in the dark. The Endocannabinoid System was only discovered in the mid 80’s during the height of the Controlled Substances Act so it’s no surprise that most people have never heard of this system but the truth is that we have an Endocannabinoid System, not a Tylenol system, our body was made to interact with these plants.”

Hemp, cannabis that contains <0.3% THC, has been removed from the Controlled Substances Act and more and more states are legalizing Marijuana. These industries are multibillion‐dollar industries and there are a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs, but historically disenfranchised people are being left out of too many conversations. Hemp is the federally legal side of the cannabis family of plants and is a more accessible pathway for those looking to increase diversity in the legal cannabis industry. This grant from NAACP and BeyGOOD will allow The Gift to continue to build our presence and create opportunities for our community and others and we are humbled and grateful for the opportunity.

Elizabeth Robinson , COO The Gift

About The Gift

The Gift is a natural health and wellness company founded in 2018 by owners Cory Moore and Elizabeth Robinson. Since our inception, we have served as a resource for education and the highest quality hemp products available. We partner with black, minority and women‐owned farms and laboratories to source plant‐based ingredients for our all natural hemp products. We are looking forward to launching our farm, hemp fiber processing plant and learning campus in North Carolina in 2021.

Contact: Elizabeth Robinson, COO
Phone: (301) 575‐4771

Email: info@thegiftedfriends.com

Website: www.thegiftwellness.com

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