Albuquerque Dispensary Wins New Mexico Family-Friendly Business Award

The Verdes Foundation, a company with dispensaries in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, received the New Mexico Family-Friendly Business Award gold medal. The award is for businesses that have family-friendly work policies in place. Several categories go into choosing the annual winners.

Some of the categories reviewed include paid leave, health support and work schedules, according to Nonprofit Quarterly. Economic support is another factor used to determine quality business practices. Businesses must have policies in every category to qualify for consideration.

Rachael Speegle, Director of Operations for Verdes, said, “It’s the most proud acknowledgement and achievement that I’ve ever earned as a business owner for the Verdes Foundation. The entire point of our programs and our employment strategies is to try to have our business work for our community.”

Verdes says that 40-percent of its 43 employees are salaried at $40,000/year or more. Sixty percent earn an hourly wage of $15. Verdes has a very low turnover rate. It only has about one open position annually. Weekly, Verdes receives at least 30 to 40 resumes from those wishing to be employed.

Gayle Nelson recently included in a Nonprofit Quarterly article that, “the legal marijuana industry could gross as much as $20-billion in revenue by 2020”. She also noted that several of them are “looking to give back to their community” and “many nonprofits are hesitant to accept their donations.”

Cyndi Suarez believes that the nonprofits hesitant of accepting donations from businesses like Verdes may want to “try to keep up.”