Two New Jersey-based nonprofits are among a group of organizations set to receive grants through Good Green, an outreach initiative run by Chicago-based cannabis flower brand Green Thumb Industries Inc.

Founded in fall 2021, Good Green aims to reinvest cannabis dollars back into communities affected by the war on drugs by awarding unrestricted grants of $50,000 to entities working on expungement, education and employment.

In a Nov. 29 press release, Good Green announced its third round of grant recipients, including:

• The Petey Greene Program (PGP) in Princeton, which works to support the academic goals of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals through high-quality volunteer tutoring programs, while educating volunteers on the injustice manifest in the United States’ prison system. Since its founding in 2008, the PGP has supported more than 16,000 system-impacted learners, most of whom were pursuing their GED or high school diploma.
• The Minority Cannabis Academy (MCA) is a Jersey City-based workforce development program that offers comprehensive cannabis education to disenfranchised communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. The organization’s program courses are instructor-led by subject matter experts and free of charge to students. It also provides job placement for students upon completion of the eight-week course.

Chiara Benetollo, director of program development at PGP, said, “With the generous support of Good Green, our team will have the resources to tutor exponentially more people as they strive to reach their educational goals.”

Bentello went on to say, “Despite the significant need, the Petey Greene Program is one of just a handful of organizations that focuses on the academic achievement of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students at the pre-collegiate level.”

MCA President Brendon Robinson said, “Good Green’s grant gives our team the opportunity to hire new educators, secure a facility for our upcoming cohort, purchase learning materials and much more as we educate the next generation of cannabis industry leaders. We are grateful for Good Green’s belief in our mission and look forward to serving the Jersey City community and beyond.”

Over the past year, Good Green “has funded a spectrum of meaningful, mission-driven initiatives to foster change and help repair cannabis-related injustices,” said founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ben Kovler.

“We are honored to support four additional organizations in their efforts to rectify the wrongs of cannabis prohibition and uplift those negatively affected,” Kovler said.