Transparency
This is what it costs to hold legislators accountable.
AWARE publishes its budget, data sources, and operational needs because we don't ask for trust — we show the work. This page breaks down exactly where every dollar goes and what we still need.
What we've built
The platform is live. Here's what it does.
Every tool listed below is operational and publicly accessible today. Hemp and vape legislation are tracked in separate systems with separate research, separate compliance resources, and separate alert streams.
3
Legislation trackers
Hemp, vape, and federal — updated every 6 hours
660+
Local jurisdictions
Alabama counties and cities with policy mapping
140+
Legislator profiles
Photos, committees, districts, and contact info
36
Resources published
Industry-specific compliance guides and toolkits
Estimated operating budget
Monthly
$170.00–$1,460.00
Covers infrastructure, data sync, email, and content.
Annual
$2,040.00–$17,520.00
Does not include legal review or one-time rebuilds.
Where funding goes first
- Keep bill data syncing every 6 hours across all trackers.
- Publish industry-separated research with cited sources.
- Deliver alerts that reach inboxes — not spam folders.
- Expand local ordinance coverage beyond Alabama.
- Build compliance toolkits for both hemp and vape operators.
Budget breakdown
Where the money goes
Conservative estimates for a regional rollout starting with Alabama. Every category includes specific line items so you know exactly what you're funding.
Hosting + Infrastructure
$40.00–$220.00/mo~16%
Frontend, CMS, database, file storage, backups, and uptime monitoring.
- Vercel hosting for the public site
- Strapi CMS hosting + PostgreSQL database
- File storage for legislator photos and documents
- Uptime monitoring + error tracking
Data + Legislation Sync
$0.00–$220.00/mo~13%
Real-time bill tracking, legislator rosters, committee data, and district lookup.
- LegiScan API for state bill tracking (hemp + vape separated)
- Congress.gov API for federal legislation monitoring
- ALISON GraphQL for legislator roster and committee sync
- US Census geocoder for district lookup (free per state)
Email + Alerts
$10.00–$120.00/mo~8%
Subscriber alerts, weekly briefings, and deliverability infrastructure.
- Transactional email (SMTP) for bill alerts and briefings
- Industry-filtered subscriber management (hemp / vape / both)
- Domain + DNS + email authentication (SPF/DKIM/DMARC)
- List management as subscriber base grows
Research + Content
$120.00–$900.00/mo~63%
Fact-checked policy briefs, compliance guides, and economic impact data — per industry.
- Hemp research: USDA compliance, ADAI licensing, testing standards
- Vape research: harm reduction data, PMTA tracking, youth access policy
- Compliance checklists and briefing templates per industry
- Local ordinance monitoring and jurisdiction-level analysis
Data sources
Where our data comes from
Every data source we use is publicly verifiable. We don't use proprietary datasets or unattributed claims.
Legislation
- LegiScan API — Alabama state bills, synced every 6 hours
- Congress.gov API — Federal hemp and vape legislation
- ALISON GraphQL — Legislator rosters, committees, weekly sync
Civic + local
- US Census Geocoder — District lookup by address, free
- Municipal websites — Local ordinance tracking via Municode, county commission sites
- RSS feeds — Industry news aggregation, synced every 6 hours
What we need
Skills that move the mission forward
Money helps. Expertise helps more. If you have time or skills to contribute, these are the gaps that slow us down most.
Policy researchers
Citation tracking, bill analysis, and impact summaries for hemp and vape legislation separately.
Legal review
Advocacy messaging compliance, 501(c)(3) boundaries, and regulatory interpretation.
Content editors
Ensure research summaries and policy briefs are accurate, readable, and cited properly.
Business partners
Hemp operators, vape retailers, and distributors willing to share real-world impact data and case studies.
State expansion contacts
Advocates in Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Louisiana who can help map local regulatory landscapes.
Expansion roadmap
Southeast coverage plan
We don't launch a state until we can track its legislation, map its districts, and provide compliance resources for both industries. No half-measures.
Alabama
Full coverage: legislation, local ordinances, committees, district lookup
Mississippi
Legislative monitoring in development
Georgia
Legislative monitoring in development
Tennessee
Legislative monitoring in development
Florida
Regulatory landscape review in progress
Louisiana
Regulatory landscape review in progress
Accountability
We demand transparency from legislators. We hold ourselves to the same standard.
This page is updated as costs change. Our data sources are documented. Our methodology is open. If we publish a claim, we link the source.
Quarterly
Operational summary, spending breakdown, and platform updates.
Always
Source links and timestamps on every research page and tracker.
Open door
Sponsor the platform, contribute in-kind, or request a detailed breakdown anytime.