We spent this spring on the road. CEO Susan Hammel led a place-based roundtable at the Mission Investors Exchange National Conference in Atlanta, MIE’s largest gathering since its 2006 founding. Investment Associate Somalisa Sahoo took the stage at the Total Impact Summit, speaking on the workshop panel “Transforming Capital for Home: Cities and Neighborhoods Approaches”, where the panel explored how capital can back local ownership, community priorities, and resilient development. 

Across both gatherings, one message rang out: impact investing is an imperative, not a nice-to-have.

Speaking at MIE, Serena Williams brought a champion’s mindset to her venture capital fund and now backs sixteen unicorns while expanding access, opportunity, and ownership at scale. At the Total Impact Summit, Thaddeus Fair of Living Cities cut straight to the objection investors raise most: fiduciary duty and impact investing need not live in opposition. Both make the same point. Discipline and mission belong together.

Here is the Cogent take: Beyond the headlines, mission-aligned institutions are digging in deeper. They are moving money from Wall Street to Main Street. They are building resilience in underserved communities, and they are doing it with courage even as the ground shifts.

We came home energized. The work continues, and we intend to keep showing up. We look forward to connecting with you and welcome your conference gleanings.

We want to know your perspective and invite you to reach out to us via email or LinkedIn.