Latinas in Cannabis started in 2020 by Susie Plascencia as an online community and has grown into an organization that recently held its third annual summit. Now, they have announced a new grant program launching at MJBizcon in Vegas. Seeds of Change Small Business Grants Program was created to support all women entrepreneurs and provide tangible assistance during challenging times.
This year, the six winners of the $500 business grants will be announced at the conference during the Latinas in Cannabis Takeover on Friday, December 5th, at 12 pm at The Hub on the expo floor. Applications are being accepted until December 4th, and women-owned small businesses and consultancies attending the conference are invited to apply. All that’s needed is to fill out a short form and provide a description of what will be done with the money and why the business should receive a grant.
The grants are made possible by sponsors who align with Latinas in Cannabis and their mission to foster equity, opportunity, and sustainability for women across the cannabis ecosystem. Encore Labs, Alibi, Cannabiotix, Dispensify, Salal Credit Union, and Green Rush Accounting & Tax are the partners who have stepped up to help provide the grants that will be given this year.
In an industry where finding investors and raising capital is nearly impossible, these grants could be critical for small businesses trying to get off their feet or dealing with a shift in the landscape. In times of need, we all need community to lift us up, and that’s what Latinas in Cannabis provides: a beautiful community supporting all.
To apply for a grant, go to the Latinas in Cannabis website and learn more about how the organization is empowering women in cannabis to grow, thrive, and lead.
Dina has spent most of her career in pharmaceuticals and biotech. Most of that was an 11-year career at Vertex Pharmaceuticals where she led Compound Management teams. This role required achieving excellence in managing an inventory of compounds, implementing quality-controlled processes, and developing software in a highly regulated environment.
After 15 years in the biotech space, Dina decided to take her knowledge and expertise and apply it to the rapidly expanding cannabis industry to ensure dispensaries maintain the high level of quality required to facilitate their success in the industry. Over the past few years, she has helped numerous dispensaries transition to new software and increase the efficiency of their operations. In addition, Dina wrote a successful dispensary license application in Illinois. More recently, she has worked with dispensaries on various data projects including applying cannabis tax amounts in California based on the amount of cannabis a product contains.
Dina is incredibly passionate about cannabis and social equity believing it is critical to the cannabis industry and therefore it is something she prioritizes in business.
