Black Lives Matter: A Statement from the Cogent Team

ON April 27, 2021

Our core values of reducing and eliminating inequity, beginning with the direction of capital and financial solutions, have always driven Cogent Consulting’s work. Cogent and our partners like the Twin Cities Impact Investing Ecosystem are founded on principles of relentless positive change using our privileged resources and networks in the financial sector for good.

Our hearts are broken with events in our home the Twin Cities and global community. While the verdict of guilty on all murder charges for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on April 20th is a positive development, racism is far from over. The Cogent team knows it is not enough to be “not racist,” but we and all white people need to be actively anti-racist. We affirm that Black Lives Matter and recommit to that value in the wake of Duante Wright, Adam Toldedo, and Ma’Khia Bryant’s deaths at the hands of police.

We are reaching out to express that our hearts are with our Black friends and colleagues. We also ask our fellow white folks to seek out opportunities to join anti-racist efforts. We have included some places to start in this post.

Listen & Learn

Allyship

Laylee Amadi of the creatives education podcast “So, Here’s the Thing” featured former Cogent Communications Associate Akua Konadu and her expertise in allyship to Black communities.

Partner

Social Strategy

Akua today empowers social media entrepreneurs with personalized strategies. Get in touch with her via her website.

Support

Initiatives

Donate capital and time to a local Community Development Financial Institution like Meda that supports BIPOC.

Support

Businesses

Order delivery and buy from local Black businesses like Junita’s Jar cookies.

Attend

Events

Support the Center For Economic Inclusion, the first organization dedicated to inclusive economic growth, and attend their events for professionals and businesses who want to take action.

Join Cogent for events that embody our mission for social impact through investment.

Build Forward Better: the 2021 Twin Cities Impact Investing Ecosystem conference, features a dozen guests with proven social impact strategies, nearly all of who are offering their valuable experiences as BIPOC. Tickets are available now.

Our next Social Entrepreneur Roundtable is May 18. Founder Susan Hammel uses these sessions to connect with professionals new to impact investing, students, businesses, and anyone who may value the perspective of a veteran in the field – plus a chance to network with others.

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What I'm doing now

The tide is turning: more people are thinking about their moral, social and environmental values when they shop, play, and invest. Impact investing is going mainstream with more robust and consistent impact measurement and monitoring happening every day. The blowback on ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) makes true impact investing (which requires impact measurement) all the more relevant. Will changing how people view money change the world? Well, it isn’t a panacea for all that afflicts us but as they say, “follow the money”. Investors have power. Use yours wisely.