Kalamazoo social equity cannabis chamber reports growth, 15 KVCC graduates and new workforce placements

Kalamazoo City business staff and representatives of the Social Equity Cannabis Chamber presented a year-end report to the Committee of the Whole outlining outreach, workforce development and policy work aimed at supporting equity in the local cannabis industry.

Jared Chambers, business specialist in Community Planning and Economic Development, introduced Rebecca from the Social Equity Chamber, who said the chamber ran 14 total events (six in person and eight webinars) last year, recorded roughly 900 total registrations and averaged about 57 registrations per event. Rebecca said the chamber’s most attended event, a fall job fair, drew more than 250 attendees and that a subsequent recent job fair generated at least two immediate job placements.

Rebecca described three core goals for the chamber’s first year: support existing Kalamazoo cannabis businesses, launch a jobs board and initial workforce-development work, and encourage entrepreneurship among people of color by lowering barriers to entry. The chamber partnered with Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) to offer course scholarships. Rebecca said the chamber initially set a benchmark of registering 10 Kalamazoo residents for KVCC courses and securing three job placements; she reported 15 graduates of the KVCC program as of the updated briefing and said 10 course registrants had previously completed the course in an earlier status update.

On wages and placements, Rebecca told Commissioner Hartman the average entry-level wage following certification is about $18 per hour. "Average entry level for the, starting is $18 an hour," she said in response to the question.

The chamber outlined partnerships and community support. Rebecca said 61% of program participants identify as women and people of color, about 40% come from targeted low-income SBK neighborhoods and roughly 80% of participants live in the city of Kalamazoo. The chamber listed partner organizations that included Steps to Victory (a nonprofit focusing on reentry and adult education), the Douglas Community Association, Sisters in Business, OutFront Kalamazoo, Southwest Michigan First Chamber and Black Wall Street Kalamazoo. The chamber also reported in-kind community events such as coat and food drives.

Marketing and operations: Rebecca described a multi-channel outreach strategy. Facebook and Instagram were the most active social platforms; she said Meta’s content rules limit some paid marketing for cannabis-related material, so the chamber combines social posts, radio ads and pop-ups at local cannabis retailers (named partners included High Profile, Gage and Mint). The chamber reported a 500-subscriber email list with a 55% open rate and said 40% of its 2024 budget went to marketing, 25% to event costs, 10% to startup costs and 5% given to local nonprofits. For 2025 the chamber said it plans to increase cash donations to local nonprofits to 15%, allocate 5% to policy and lobbying and dedicate 15% to workforce development reimbursements and internship stipends.

Policy and advocacy: Rebecca described recent advocacy trips to Lansing to meet state legislators and said the chamber planned a lobbying trip to Washington, D.C. She raised a policy concern: Governor Gretchen Whitmer had proposed a substantial excise tax increase on cannabis that chamber representatives said would sharply raise costs for small operators and could push customers back into an illicit market. "Governor Whitmore has a proposed tax to triple our excise tax, triple in 1 year, like, overnight, which would diminish small businesses like me and a lot of my colleagues," Rebecca said. She added that the chamber is sharing data from West Coast jurisdictions about the impact of high taxes on legal market activity.

Funding and next steps: Chambers told commissioners the chamber received $300,000 in 2024; Rebecca said the chamber plans to continue events, expand workforce training and internships, strengthen policy work and pursue additional partnerships. She described plans for on-the-job training stipends to be paid to local cannabis businesses that host interns, and additional community events in partnership with the farmer’s market and local nonprofits.