“It’s always good to help a good cause, but let’s have some fun doing it.”
You’ve heard of Haymakers for Hope, the Boston charity that pits pugilist philanthropists against each other in the fight against cancer. It’s possibly one of the most outrageous and original ways to raise money, and soon you can put Cups For Cause right up there on a comparable pedestal.
Hardly your neighborhood school fundraiser, the new series is a “charity cup for the licensed cannabis industry in Massachusetts, where 30% of the proceeds is always donated to a nonprofit.”
That’s right—a craft cannabis competition, but with impact.
Cups For Cause is the brainchild of Scott Brodsky, who cut his teeth in the business with The Harvest Cup. After working his way up to director of sales and marketing with that operation over its first five years, he helped launch the X Cup in Connecticut last year.
“It was a great experience, another opportunity to build something,” Brodsky said of the X Cup. “Growing up, I’d always heard about the High Times cups, but never knew about how to go to one or anything like that.”
Brodsky has also worked with nonprofits—specifically, an organization that did pub crawls for charities. That background, mixed with his knowledge of the cannabis event space, spurred his new cup concept.
“It’s always good to help a good cause, but let’s have some fun doing it,” he said. “That’s where some of the ideas for Cups For Cause came about as I started my own thing.”
For the inaugural event, Cups For Cause will accept flower and preroll submissions (with indica, hybrid, and sativa subcategories) from licensed Massachusetts cultivators. Brodsky said the intake process is 100% compliant with Cannabis Control Commission regulations, with all samples fully labeled. Consumers who want to judge will be able to purchase kits at dispensaries across the state; they’re still courting partners, and hope to secure 15 to 25 distribution points.
For the big announcement, Brodsky will piggyback the TeeHC Open in September, adding an awards ceremony to the festivities. Trophies will be custom made by Witch Dr. Glass.
This year’s recipients of donations will be the Cannabis Center of Excellence, and Patriots Helping Vets.
“These are two incredible organizations that have done so much for the cannabis community,” Brodsky said. “I’m excited to make them the first recipients for this new event.”
