At COhatch, we’re always looking for new ways to create more impact across our communities. With our latest project, COhatch The Gateway, we wanted to bring in local partners who could not only help us achieve our mission of making technology and entrepreneurship more accessible, but also are making a difference in our communities every day.

It’s no surprise that we’ve chosen Commonwealth, an impact investment platform, to team-up with us as COhatch expands across the United States. With the help of this organization, we hope to bring more of what matters most with us to every new location and market.

To give you an inside look, our team sat down with Jay Hein, Managing Director of Commonwealth. We learned more about how our partnership through COhatch The Gateway, and beyond, will continue to drive impact both socially and economically wherever we go.

When you sit down with Hein you immediately feel inspired. Talking with Hein is easy, but what he and his team provide is a solution to a far more complex challenge: impactful investing.

After years of doing the research on what truly impacts communities through projects and investments, the Commonwealth team decided it was time to bring their knowledge to the table in collaboration with other organizations like The Minority Enterprise Institute (MEI), a nonprofit focused on minority entrepreneurship and business development, and COhatch.

Hein says, “Commonwealth is joined by mission with COhatch. We both believe that community renewal happens from the inside out and social change is accelerated through smart technology. COhatch The Gateway is the ideal vehicle for us to help revitalize Columbus and beyond while helping close America’s wealth gap through digital solutions for minority entrepreneurs.”

Commonwealth’s focus lies in their 3 core values: Community Renewal, Shared Prosperity, and Better Generosity which all align closely with our values at COhatch of Town Hall 2.0, True Community, and Social Enterprise. Community Renewal is where COhatch fits in and is the idea behind strengthening and revitalizing a great community. Shared Prosperity is Commonwealth’s way of providing underserved communities with more access to tools and funds to create businesses and opportunities. Last, but not least is their idea of Better Generosity, a means of “giving smart” and helping drive forward great ideas that are close to the Commonwealth’s heart and the communities they serve.

Alongside Commonwealth, another COhatch Gateway partner, MEI, will together work to identify, provide capital to, and provide on-going support for minority entrepreneurs. The partnership’s aim is to close the 10:1 wealth gap that exists in minority communities, provide more access to capital, accelerate the exchange of great ideas, and quicken the growth in numbers of successful minority leaders..

Through our partnership, Commonwealth, COhatch, and our physical location – The Gateway, we intend to make investing locally, smart and accessible for all communities. With each communities’ help, we’ll be able to evaluate our impact at every level in order to determine how successful we are at providing resources to those who can best use it to generate positive social and economic impact.

But so far, Commonwealth knows COhatch is on the right track. “As a COhatch partner and investor, we believe that COhatch is the best impact investment we’ve seen in our years,” Hein said. Through our economic impact at the community level and our social impact through bringing our members and leaders together, we are honored to be seen as the highest level impact investment through Commonwealth’s evaluation.

With COhatch and Commonwealth teaming up for our Gateway location, we will be providing many more opportunities for tech and other local startups, minority organizations, and many more. Our biggest focus, together with all of our partners, is to create a vibrant community and center of innovation, which will continuously enhance the overall social and economic across Columbus and beyond.

Learn More About Commonwealth

Commonwealth’s new headquarters will be housed in the brand new COhatch Broad Ripple location, opening at the end of this month. For more information about Commonwealth and their mission, please visit:

https://commonwealthimpact.org/

Learn More About COhatch Broad Ripple

https://www.cohatch.com/locations/indianapolis/broad-ripple/

Learn More About The Gateway

The newest Columbus location will have nearly 8,000 sq. ft. of workspace, including 21 private offices, more than 100 coworking seats and six meeting rooms. COhatch’s to-be-named Start-Up Orchestrator will work to connect development experts, impact investment partners, accelerator programs, women and minority start-ups and university resources.

Learn More About COhatch

COhatch, a new kind of shared work, social, and family space built on community, offers members the services, activities and amenities to live a fully integrated life that balances work, family, well-being, community and giving back. Founded in 2016, COhatch was created through the collaboration of a group of friends who wanted to live out their ideal lives and improve their community ̶ think Town Hall 2.0. COhatch has 10 open locations and 15 sites under construction nationwide in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Springfield, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; and St. Petersburg, West Tampa and Lakeland, Florida. Visit www.cohatch.com for more information. Follow COhatch on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.