WHO WE ARE
Sacred Plant Alliance
SPA is a professional 501(c)(3) association of community-based sacramental churches, modeled in part on professional associations such as the American Medical Association. Our members are mature institutions with deep experience holding sacred spaces with integrity.
12
Member churches, vetted for safety and ethics
3,500+
Congregants represented by our member churches
12,000+
Individuals reached through member communities
How SPA
is built
A PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
Our members are churches,
not individuals.
SPA is a 501(c)(3) association of mature churches. Each member is an established religious community for which ceremonial use of a sacrament is central to its practice.
SELF-REGULATING
Members are accountable
to each other.
Monthly meetings, annual peer review between member churches, an adopted code of ethics, and a documented process a congregant can use to raise a concern. Members risk losing membership if the ethics standards are violated.
PUBLIC BY DESIGN
The standards are not members-only.
Our adopted standards, plain-language guides, and legal explainers are published in the Library so any community, participant, or professional can use them, whether or not they ever join.
IF THIS IS UNFAMILIAR
What is a sacramental church?
A sacramental church is an organized religious community for which the ceremonial use of a sacred plant or substance is central to its religious practice. Some traditions in the United States have court-recognized protection under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Many communities operate in a far less settled position, which is part of why shared standards and honest legal education matter.
MISSION
What we do
Sacred Plant Alliance serves as an association of churches that collaborate to educate one another and the public about existing protection of the guaranteed right to religious exercise under federal and state law, to share best practices for sacramental community operations, to foster professional development of leaders, to create accountability systems, and to defend the continued recognition of the legal protection of safe, sincere, and ethical religious use of ceremonial sacraments within the United States.
MISSION
Where we are headed
We envision a mature ecosystem where people engage with these medicines affordably and sustainably, inside steady, values-aligned communities that support preparation, practice, integration, and belonging over time.
GOVERNANCE AND STATUS
Legally established, deliberately private
ENTITY
California nonprofit religious corporation
TAX STATUS
501(c)(3) association of churches
EIN
87-1729302
Sacred Plant Alliance, Inc. is a California nonprofit religious corporation, incorporated as an association of churches and recognized as a federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. EIN 87-1729302.
Because many SPA member churches continue to navigate sensitive legal and institutional circumstances, we protect the anonymity of our members. SPA's Board of Directors is composed primarily of representatives from member churches, and their identities are therefore not publicly disclosed.
Get to Know SPA
Explore the work we’re building and meet the people behind it.