Prepared exclusively for Green Thumb Industries  ·  SelassieFest 2026  ·  Chicago, Illinois
SELASSIEFEST
One Day. One Love. One Community.
A Founding Partnership Proposal — Green Thumb Industries
Chicago · July 25, 2026 · Community Impact Anchor

This Is GTI's
Festival Too

Community Impact · Restorative Justice · Chicago Roots

Green Thumb Industries has always believed that cannabis should serve community — not just commerce. SelassieFest 2026 is a living proof of that belief. We built a space where GTI's values don't just fit — they lead.

See GTI's Anchor Begin the Conversation
Where Values Converge
SelassieFest didn't go looking for a corporate cannabis partner. We went looking for an organization whose work already matches what this festival is made of.
✦ SelassieFest — Built On
Our Foundation
Rastafari livity, Ethiopian heritage, and Jamaican sound system culture
Community healing, restorative justice, and expungement advocacy
Cannabis consciousness, plant literacy, and Ital living
Black cultural celebration and diaspora community unity
Conscious music as a tool for healing and collective memory
✦ Green Thumb Industries — Known For
Their Practice
Chicago-headquartered, deeply rooted in Illinois community investment
Restorative justice sponsorship and cannabis career equity initiatives
Good Green — an explicitly community and justice-oriented brand identity
RISE dispensaries with neighborhood-level community relationships
Cultural marketing partnerships across music, lifestyle, and impact
✦ Partnership Philosophy
GTI Doesn't Sponsor SelassieFest.
GTI Helps Build What SelassieFest Becomes.

There's a version of this conversation where we send you a PDF with logos and tiers. That's not this. Green Thumb Industries has already done the hard work of building cannabis culture credibility with conscious Chicago communities — through Good Green's justice-first identity, through the RISE neighborhood presence, through restorative justice investments that most cannabis companies only talk about.

SelassieFest is not asking GTI to associate with a cause. We're inviting GTI into a space that their work helped make possible — even before this festival existed. This is what it looks like when community investment meets community expression. One day. July 25th, 2026. Chicago. And GTI's name is on the door — not as a sponsor, but as a founding architect.

GTI's Proposed Anchor
One position. Shaped specifically around GTI's mission, identity, and community commitments.
✦ GTI Founding Anchor — Community Impact Partner
Roots Culture & Community Partner
The organization whose investment made the foundation real
The Heritage Village, the Reasoning Circle Pavilion, and the Restorative Justice Dialogue carry GTI's presence — not because GTI bought them, but because GTI's values match what lives inside them. Every attendee who experiences these spaces experiences an organization that showed up before the crowds told them to.
What This Anchor Delivers For GTI
Presenting-partner naming across Heritage Village & Reasoning Circle — "In Partnership With Green Thumb Industries"
Dedicated speaking moment at the Dawn Nyabinghi Groundation opening ceremony
Co-branded community mural installation with permanent GTI attribution in the digital archive
GTI-focused segment in the official SelassieFest 2026 recap documentary — your story, your voice
Pre-festival "Our Founding Partners" social series spotlighting GTI's Good Green mission and community work
GTI logo + mission in all email communications (est. 5,000+ subscribers)
10 VIP cultural passes + private table at the Elder's Reasoning Session
Permanent "Founding Partner" placement on selassiefest.com — GTI logo, link, and impact statement
SelassieFest flyers distributed through RISE dispensaries in the partner network
Access to the SelassieFest community network — healers, artists, educators, and organizers
Activation Concepts GTI Can Own At SelassieFest
Good Green Restorative Justice Dialogue Stage Community Resource Hub Expungement Clinic (co-facilitated) Cannabis Career Equity Booth Youth Arts Sponsorship GTI Brand Ambassador Presence RISE Dispensary Cross-Promotion Community Mural Co-Design Good Green Product Showcase (where permitted) Dogwalkers Lifestyle Activation
What GTI Actually Gains
Beyond the deliverables — the positioning this anchor creates in the marketplace.
Founding Permanence
Year-one founding credit stays in the record forever. No future partner shares that designation at any price.
Community Trust
Conscious audiences remember who showed up at the beginning — and who waited for metrics before committing.
Cultural Credibility
GTI's Good Green identity gets a living, breathing, documented expression inside an authentic cultural event.
Dispensary-Level Reach
SelassieFest's audience overlaps deeply with RISE's ideal customer — conscious, community-oriented, educated cannabis consumers.
Documented Impact
The 2026 recap documentary becomes GTI's own content asset — genuine community storytelling, not branded content.
Geographic Activation
Cross-promotion through RISE dispensary channels and SelassieFest's Chicago community network, pre- and post-event.
How SelassieFest Shows Up For GTI
This is not a one-way ask. Here's what GTI receives before, during, and after July 25th.
01

Before The Festival

GTI featured in "Founding Partners" social series across SelassieFest channels. SelassieFest flyers appear in RISE dispensary locations. Co-branded digital content under the "Community Impact Partner" frame begins circulating weeks before July 25th.

02

Day Of — Festival Presence

GTI's Good Green name anchors the Heritage Village and Reasoning Circle. GTI team members have a dedicated activation footprint, speaking opportunity at the opening ceremony, and full access to the SelassieFest community network on-site.

03

In The Documentary Record

The SelassieFest 2026 recap film includes a GTI-focused segment. This footage is GTI's to use — authentic community storytelling produced at a cultural event, not a branded advertisement.

04

After The Event

GTI holds permanent "Founding Partner" status on selassiefest.com. As SelassieFest grows in subsequent years, GTI's founding credit remains in the historical record — visible to every future partner, attendee, and press contact.

Let's Build This Together

This proposal was prepared specifically for Green Thumb Industries. We review every inquiry personally and respond within 48 hours to begin a real conversation — not a sales pitch.