The Cannabis Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810782294
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2532359054
Rating
44
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Business and Industry

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$388,470
Expenses
$390,652
Assets
$25,121
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JASON LAMMERS (President)
  • JESSICA PICHARDO (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • CAITLEIN RYAN (Executive Dir.): $75,000 total reported compensation
  • JASON LAMMERS (President): $12,000 total reported compensation
  • JESSICA PICHARDO (Vice President): $11,330 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Cannabis Alliance is a non-profit, membership-based association of approximately 220 members individuals, businesses, government officials, and non-profit organizations dedicated to the advancement of a sustainable, vital, and ethical cannabis industry.

What it reported doing in 2024

2024 Program Service Accomplishments -- Advocacy & Legislative Engagement: The Cannabis Alliance organized Lobby Day, facilitating 39 meetings across 19 legislative districts over two days. The Legislative Committee tracked cannabis-related bills, developed strategy for priority legislation, and coordinated testimony and grassroots support. Annual Policy Summit: The organization hosted its annual in-person Policy Summit with over 100 attendees and speakers. The event focused on policy concerns in Washington's cannabis market under the theme Foundations and Futures. Recurring Educational Programming: Monthly General Meetings provided updates from the Board, regulatory and legislative briefings, guest speakers, and member engagement. Weekly Happy Hour events offered public networking and discussion on cannabis-related topics and culture. Community Access & Support: Office Hours were held twice weekly, providing open virtual access to staff and board members for questions and discussion. Webinar Wednesday featured 52 live-streamed sessions on topics such as cannabis research, legalization, and equity. Committee-Led Initiatives: The Education & Outreach Committee developed and shared vetted cannabis education through presentations, tours, and community events. The Equity & Justice Committee partnered with advocacy groups to support expungement efforts, hosted panels on re-entry and tribal collaboration, and sponsored inclusive educational content. The Sustainability Committee works with legislators and retailors to greatly reduce packaging waste in the industry.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.6%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.06; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.2%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $75K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 10 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.