This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

 After the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests of 2020 we reviewed pledges, promises and progress on racial equity at  https://blacklivesmattercorporatepledges.com/ These pledges now total $70 billion, up from $67 billion in 2021.

1. We are working on an initiative linking ongoing student efforts to environmental issues . Given financial institution financing of fossil fuels and regulatory support for this, we think the young should decide. Should we stop? How? What should we do instead?  2. Food. Creating an impactful effort. Actually finance stores. See/link food activists and Foodbuy. 3. Housing. We have outlined a demonstration project linking tiny housing in DC to investment banks and money managers. (Doesn't Musk have a company in this field ?) Suggest HUD buy a bunch of these, set them up somewhere in DC, but avoid just creating a tiny ghetto.....  4. Strategic approach to BLM/Minority Bank investments. What's the social return on investment?  5. Black Maternal Mortality. https://www.prlog.org/12876083-maternal-mortality-reparation-facility-for-black-women.html and  https://tpinsights.com/the-state-of-black-maternal-mortality-a-funding-crisis-addressing-power-privilege-and-policy/

NOTE: We spoke with this reporter on Nov 30, 2021, This article was published almost a year later, on Oct. 21, 2022. A related article* published in the New York Times on the same day, 10/21/22, seemed to reflect our comments and research.   Morgan Phelps  faced a business conundrum in the summer of 2020. Phelps is the founder of Colorful Connections, a Milwaukee firm that helps businesses attract and retain diverse employees. She formed her business model in 2017 while working in the communications industry. After completing accelerator programs, such as through BizStarts and gener8tor, Phelps took Colorful Connections live in fall 2019. Although demand slowed at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Colorful Connections faced a new problem after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. That event energized calls for racial justice and equity across the country. Phelps suddenly had a rush of clients, but the cash flow from that work wouldn’t come u...