It is easy to make assumptions about why some businesses succeed and others fail. We can blame lack of knowledge or expertise. We can pass judgements as outsiders. But when you take the time to speak to those that serve small business owners, real barriers to capital are revealed that are too often overlooked.
We spent a year delving into the capital access barriers for BIPOC-owned businesses in Chicago. Through interviews with 18 different business services providers and an analysis of local and national capital sources, we uncovered key insights on how effective business services work. By listening to those embedded in neighborhoods across Chicago, we deepened our understanding of the complexity business owners from under-resourced communities face accessing capital.
Our work to uncover overlooked barriers can help service providers better understand the steps needed to increase accessibility for business owners of color. Building trust and empathy for the entrepreneur is the first place to start. For more information and the full executive summary, contact us.
About Terri:
Terri Barreiro is an expert in systems change and a mission-driven venture advisor. She is an adjunct instructor and fellowship advisor at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. She is co-founder of and volunteer venture coach at Impact Hub MSP and consultant to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.
She is co-author of Social Entrepreneurship: the Journey from Issue to Viable Venture and founder of the Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship serving the College of Saint Benedict and Saint Johns’ University. She brings to her work more than 30 years of experience as a nationally recognized nonprofit and philanthropy leader with extensive experience in United Way, corporate giving, and family foundation operations. She earned an MBA and BA cum laude at the University of Minnesota as well as completed an Executive MBA program at Carnegie Mellon University. She has enjoyed volunteering throughout her life, currently serving on the boards of Folk School Warroad, Market Access Fund, and Impact Hub MSP which she co-founded in 2014. Enjoying birds, nurturing native gardens and prairies is how she shares her leisure hours with her husband.
When we mapped, convened, and grew the Twin Cities Impact Investing Ecosystem in 2016-2018 we identified a substantial gap. Equity investments were not going into social businesses, especially those owned by women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals.
Since then foundations and other investors have stepped up to invest in impact funds and nonprofits. A few have even made direct investments in social businesses. Locally headquartered corporations have also joined the party since 2018, including Allina Health, Target, Xcel, Allianz Life and Best Buy. The government is investing likewise, devoting billions to environmentally sustainable development projects. This begs one to question: where in this picture are Minnesota’s high-net-worth individual investors?
We are the 2nd most charitable state in the nation and pay high taxes. Our people care, yet our regular individual investing community is nascent compared to the wealth here. People are somewhat familiar with socially responsible investing, Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing, divestments, and some forms of impact investing, but impact investing is not the norm here as it is on the coasts.
Why is this so important? Social businesses owned by individuals in marginalized communities need equity investments flowing into their companies versus compounding debt. We launched the Investors for Impact Project in May 2022, with support from local foundations, nonprofits, corporations and government, to investigate the needs of our investors, discover current gaps in capital, and research promising local and national models to address these needs. Our research was informed by talking with 80 investors, analyzing 60 models, and market testing our findings with selected ecosystem leaders.
In short, here’s what we learned about local high-net-worth-investors:
The most surprising finding of our year-plus-of-work is that there are at least 60 models that focus on engaging high-net-worth investors:
To read more about our findings, our Executive Summary is available upon request here.
It is Cogent’s goal to bridge this gap in knowledge and connection by bringing investors, investees, and intermediaries together. We invite you to join us!
How you can get involved:
Susan Hammel Bio: As a philosophy major who went to Wall Street, Susan Hammel translates between passionate social changemakers and expert accountants. In her role as President and Founder of Cogent Consulting PBC., Susan serves as MCF Executive in Residence for impact investing and led the charge to map the Twin Cities impact investing ecosystem. As a native Minnesotan, Susan is dedicated to the entire community and brings professional experience from New York, Washington DC, and Chicago to the region.
By Danielle St. Luce, Investment Associate, Cogent Consulting PBC
The last few years have seen new organizations and emerging funds use racial equity as part of their thesis, with most of the leadership of these organizations lacking sufficient investment or business experience. This isn’t to say they’re not worth investment; instead, it highlights the importance of nontraditional due diligence. The Due Diligence 2.0 Commitment, of which Cogent Consulting PBC is a signatory, lays out a framework that allows for proper assessment of emerging fund managers and can be adapted to other organizations[i].
While Cogent uses the Due Diligence 2.0 framework in all our diligence work, our approach differs from traditional investment analysts. Our due diligence is adapted to our clients’ needs, with many investing in nontraditional organizations with models that don’t directly correlate to the Due Diligence 2.0 framework. We also adapt Due Diligence 2.0 based on our lived experience and professional expertise working with diverse business owners and fund managers.
Below is a “Cogent take“, providing context to the nine required shifts to the traditional due diligence process.
Due Diligence 2.0, especially Cogent’s take on it, can be difficult to do well. However, with the growth in racial equity-focused investment vehicles and managers coupled with billions in financial commitments made in recent years, nontraditional due diligence is more important than ever.
If you have any questions or are interested in working with Cogent, feel free to connect with our team at https://www.cogentconsulting.net/contact/.
[i] Gray, T., Davies, E. S., Kessel, B., & Robasciottie, R. J. (2020). Due diligence 2.0 commitment. Due Diligence 2.0 Commitment. Retrieved January 31, 2023, from https://www.duediligencecommitment.com/
After 20 years in business, Cogent Consulting converted to a Specific Benefit Corporation in 2018.
We are an independent, strategic, financial, and impact investing firm empowering
purpose-driven organizations. Impact investing is defined as “Investments made with the
intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial
return” (Global Impact Investing Network).
We work with a diverse set of mission-driven investors and entrepreneurs through
evidence-based and actionable advice. Our work serves foundations, corporations, social
entrepreneurs, and impact-investing place-based ecosystems. Our clients include many
nonprofits: LISC Twin Cities & Duluth, Partnership in Property Commercial Land Trust, First
Children’s Finance, Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, Betterway Foundation, Ashoka,
Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, and the Barra Foundation, to name a few. Please
see our website for more information: https://www.cogentconsulting.net/.
Pursuant to Section 304A.101 of the Minnesota Statutes, Cogent Consulting SBC pursues the
following benefit purpose as listed in its articles:
To empower purpose-driven organizations that drive positive social impact in their
communities.
Cogent Consulting, SBC accomplishes its specific benefit purpose with all of our clients and pro
bono work. Our work from the past year includes the following:
Despite many successes this year, Cogent encountered several challenges in most effectively
pursuing our specific benefit purpose.
a. The Coronavirus pandemic and consequent restrictive measures limited Cogent’s ability
to grow our network and disseminate information about the resources it offers.
(Conversely, however, the business world’s embrace of virtual communication has
enabled Cogent to acquire clients it otherwise wouldn’t have due to geographic distance).
b. Impact investing remains an evolving field. Individual investors are typically wary of
modifying their investment frameworks and thus tend to lack both the knowledge and
motivation to incorporate ESG values into their investment strategies. This is exacerbated by misinformation and political backlash targeting impact investing. Within endowment investing, there remains a continued focus on fiduciary duty without consideration for mission alignment. Non-profit organizations that do have social justice objectives often lack information about how they may pursue equity via investing in lieu of philanthropy. The future success of impact investing hinges on investors and organizations being willing to adapt and learn new practices.
c. There is a general lack of transparency and information is poorly shared among organizations involved in impact investing. Even organizations that have incorporated ESG values into their investment portfolios seldom publicly share information about investment standards, strategies, or impact.
Top of my mind these days is investing in line with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion values. Many institutions promised bold moves after George Floyd was murdered. Who is following through and doing this well? Racial justice requires new pathways for capital flows. I’m excited to be part of the McKnight Foundation’s Groundbreak Coalition, aiming to deploy $2b in flexible capital over 10 years to disrupt the status quo. In Minnesota we are a generous state, a charitable state, a hard-working state: we need to try new approaches to create that famous quality of life for all. We are leading a session on Place Based Impact Investing at the Mission Investors Exchange conference in Baltimore. Reach out if you’ll be there so I can include you in the informal MN meet-ups.
Part of Cogent’s commitment is to make a lasting impact through changing the way people think about money – thinking beyond the individual level to the larger collective. Like our founder Susan Hammel’s mentor, Paul Wellstone said; “We all do better when we all do better.”
One way Cogent has worked towards upholding this mantra is through mapping the Twin Cities Impact Investing Ecosystem. This project, which began in 2016 thanks to support from the Bush Foundation, allowed our local community to better understand the breadth and complexity of impact investing activity in the Twin Cities and subsequently identified a substantial gap- equity investments are not going into social businesses, especially those owned by women and BIPOC individuals.
Why is this so important? Social businesses owned by individuals in marginalized communities need equity investment flowing into their company versus more and more debt. So, from this learning, the Investors for Impact Project was born thanks to partnership with the McKnight Foundation, Hennepin County and others. Phase one is two-pronged; an investor needs assessment and research into current promising models.
In conversations with individual investors, it is clear that high-net worth individuals are interested in making equity investments into social businesses. However, there is a disconnect between their desire to invest, willingness to take risks, and lack of connections with women and BIPOC social entrepreneurs.
In the needs assessment, Cogent worked to identify why this gap exists and what it would take to get investors to the next level of commitment. They also looked to local and national models already in existence that might help investors provide this type of capital. Cogent identified an astonishing 59 models, 41 national and 18 local, with more popping up everyday!
Seeing the progress in these innovative models is certainly encouraging. However, social businesses still face the challenge of access, especially for BIPOC and women founders. Minnesota has a culture of modest wealth, which makes identifying potential investors tricky and these entrepreneurs are often forced to rely on funds from friends and family.
And let’s be honest, when people hear the term ‘high net-worth investors’, the image that often comes to mind is that of an older, white male. However, within the Twin Cities Impact Investing Ecosystem there are women and people of color ready to invest in social businesses.
It is Cogent’s goal to bridge this gap in knowledge and connection by bringing investors, investees and intermediaries all together in the same room. Cogent recently hosted a Happy Hour which did just that, bringing together the impact investing ecosystem to learn, connect and commit together. Here is what we asked everyone in the room to do. We invite you to join us!
“Don’t let today be a spark that fizzles out. Before leaving today find an accountability partner and commit to a simple action step you will take in the next 7 days to dream bigger, dare greatly, do good well. Get investing now because there are people waiting on the other side of your decision to be generous and act for good.”
– Megan Lamke, Business for Good Foundation and new partner for our project!
Over $112 million in capital invested in low-income communities as Minnesota faces one of America’s largest wealth gaps
The Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF) and several Minnesota foundations today announced the five-year milestone of the Minnesota Impact Investing Initiative (MI3). Since its inception, this investment collaboration has successfully supported access to homeownership and affordable multifamily housing for over 500 low-income families across the state of Minnesota, where there is one of the largest racial homeownership gaps in the United States (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis).
Minnesota foundations and public entities have invested more than $112 million into the impact investing collaboration over the past five years. These assets are invested in a fixed income investment strategy managed by RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM). The investments have spanned 32 different counties in Minnesota. To date, the MI3 program has funded 560 affordable homes and a dozen affordable multi-family projects for low-moderate income (LMI) families (defined as those earning less than 80% of area median income). Eighty-two percent of the affordable properties are located in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) neighborhoods while 81% of the recipients are women-headed households. Each loan averages $250,000. In addition, the MI3 has funded small business loans and health care facilities supporting a total of 200 nursing home beds.
Access to affordable housing is especially relevant in Minnesota where there is one of the largest wealth gaps by race in all of America, according to WalletHub. The homeownership rate for Minnesota BIPOC households decreased from 46% in 1940 to 44% in 2019 while the homeownership rates for white families in Minnesota increased steadily from 55% to 77% during the same time, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Furthermore, the poverty rates for African American and Indigenous residents are at least three times higher than for white Minnesotans, according to the University of Minnesota.
“Investing for impact is a critical strategy for foundations and other institutions to help address wealth disparity in Minnesota,” said Susie Brown President of the Minnesota Council of Foundations. “By doing so, more capital is available for affordable housing and other critical needs, with a local focus. Building a fund of over $100 million in just five years represents significant progress toward addressing important community development needs.”
MCF launched MI3 in 2017 as a first-of-its-kind impact investing collaborative in the United States, led by the Minnesota Council on Foundations, and several other Minnesota foundations in partnership with RBC GAM. Over the past five years, MI3 has built support for impact investments targeting communities in need in Minnesota. The McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation, Otto Bremer Trust and the Minneapolis Foundation were among the first institutions participating in the impact investing collaborative. They created MI3 in 2017 to strengthen Minnesota’s market for affordable housing and small business and grow the number of Minnesota-based foundations involved in impact investing.
“We are proud to participate in the Minnesota Impact Investing Initiative and to see how it has grown,” said Elizabeth McGeveran, Director of Investments at the McKnight Foundation. “The innovative approach has created opportunities for a wide range of investors to make a local impact in Minnesota while benefiting from geographically diversified financial performance.”
Assets dedicated to MI3 are invested in the RBC Access Capital Community Investment Strategy, a fixed income investment strategy managed by RBC GAM. The investment strategy seeks to positively support home ownership, job creation, small business growth, and increased access to rental housing, healthcare, and education in Minnesota. Local loans are assessed for social impact and purchased, then pooled to create custom securities for RBC GAM’s clients, such as MI3 members. Any investor, financial advisor, large corporation or foundation can make investments into MI3 with the aim of supporting community development efforts across Minnesota.
RBC GAM’s Access Capital Community Investment team has developed a track record of working with governments and institutional investors. These investors invest in customized U.S. agency guaranteed mortgage-backed securities and government-backed loans and municipal securities that support social impact themes. As of May 31, 2021, the Access Capital Community Investment Strategy has more than $1.5 billion USD in assets under management.
“MI3 is a great example of how the broader region can come together to help provide access to capital in low-income communities,” said Ron Homer, Chief Impact Strategist, RBC GAM. “The global pandemic produced stark disparities in economic impact and health outcomes within low-income and BIPOC communities which exacerbated the already troublesome issue of income inequality in America. As we look forward, RBC GAM will continue to partner with foundations across America to make targeted investments that aim to reduce these inequalities while fostering economic growth and other positive social outcomes.”
Since MI3 was established in 2017, there have been several other communities across America have replicated the impact investment collaboration.
MCF is planning to celebrate the five year milestone of the MI3 at its Semi-Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, in February 2023.
I “retired” in June 2014 after working since I was age 15. Most of my adult life I worked in a leadership role in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector with responsibilities to find better solutions to tough social issues ranging from early childhood education access, effective entrepreneurship education, to underemployment. I worked with committees, teams, staffed collaborations, sat on Boards of Directors and planning committees of all kinds. I trained others in what I was learning and pressed large institutions to replicate models that seemed to be working. I never backed down from a new tough problem, but retirement had me stymied. After 6 years of “retirement”, I looked back to see what I had learned from my trial-and-error-pivot approach to staying engaged and relevant while facing that age-related declining energy.
Here are my top 10 tips based on what I learned:
Which of these tips resonates most with you? What would you add? Let us know in the comments!
Want to read others’ thoughts?
Surviving Retirement when You’re a Workaholic
Retirement Advice for Workaholics
Terri Barreiro’s Bio: Terri Barreiro is an expert in systems change and a mission-driven venture advisor. She is an adjunct instructor and fellowship advisor at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. She is co-founder of and volunteer venture coach at Impact Hub MSP and consultant to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.
Who knew how much I missed business travel? Despite the still-cramped seats, forced close proximity to other humans in a small capsule, and a few crabby passengers, after a 2 year hiatus, it was great to get back on the road. Thank you Impact PHL for giving me an excuse to visit our long-time client The Barra Foundation in Philadelphia. Their Total Impact Summit was invigorating, educational and inspiring, especially seeing all the local funds and Black led developers working to create economic opportunities in the city. Can’t wait to go to San Francisco for SOCAP and the National Center for Family Philanthropy conferences in October. Ping me if you’ll be there!