We Commit To Change

Here is the truth. 

For Black people and people of color in our community and in our industry, we have not done enough. 

We’ve been confronting truths about our company and we’re committed to working for meaningful, immediate and lasting change. 

We know our staff is severely lacking in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) talents, voices, influence and opportunity. That will change.

We don’t currently have BIPOC voices in our leadership. That too will change. 

While we’ve given our time, talent and funding to many local organizations and efforts supporting BIPOC people and causes over many years, it hasn’t been enough. We need to and will do more. 

We’ve recognized these as problems long before feeling the urgency of this moment. But addressing them hasn’t been a priority. We know we have a lot of work to do. 

We must do better. 

We know that any and all efforts must be specific, measurable and publicly known. 

So here is our commitment. 

Change the way CORNETT thinks.

We know that meaningful change must start from within. We commit to further growth, training and education among our current and future staff in an effort to cultivate a Race Equity Culture. This is an immediate priority. We will create an educated staff dedicated to understanding race, bias, inequity, inclusion, diversity, privilege and racial justice—altogether making CORNETT a safe and welcoming space for BIPOC team members, clients and collaborators.

Actions:

• Required, immersive diversity, inclusivity and unconscious bias training.
• Complete the 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge or the Me and White Supremacy 28 Day Challenge–can be completed on company time.
• Audit and evolve agency policies to become more inclusive and welcoming for BIPOC team members, clients, and collaborators.
• Prioritize and encourage ongoing education and direct engagement among employees for anti-racism work by offering up to three days of PTO per year to complete this work.

Change the way CORNETT looks.

We will work for more equitable representation of Black talent and voices at senior and leadership positions at our agency while also committing resources to recruitment, training and ongoing opportunities to further diversify our staff. This is not simply for the sake of diversifying our team, but because we know that more diverse talent and perspectives will only make our work more powerful and more reflective of the world we live in.

Actions:

• As we interview for new positions, at least 50% of all interviewees must be BIPOC.
• Hire BIPOC talent into a leadership role as soon as possible, with effort to begin immediately. 
• Within 5 years, we want our workforce to reflect the racial demographics of the Lexington community.
• Build a paid apprenticeship program for BIPOC creative and entrepreneurial community to allow more opportunity for BIPOC with transferable skill to our company and industry
• Create 3 paid college/post-graduate internships at CORNETT, dedicated to BIPOC, through local universities.
• Commit to tracking and publicly reporting workforce diversity data on an annual basis to create accountability for our agency and the industry.

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

Change the way CORNETT interacts with and impacts our community.

We’re committed, both in the immediate and long term, to offer our time, effort, knowledge, talent and financial support to our Black community, as well as other communities that face inequity and injustice. This has been a part of our mindset for many years, but we will further prioritize it and invest ourselves more deeply. All efforts will be thoughtful and long-term commitments.

Actions:

• Continue to dedicate funds, time and talent to BIPOC organizations and initiatives.
• Partner with UK to develop and support—both financially and through Team Cornett’s time and talent—a series of initiatives focused on fostering BIPOC inclusion, community education and BIPOC talent development, including: 
  • A mentoring/tutoring initiative with Fayette County schools.
  • A campus and community speaker series on systemic racism.
  • Support for the Black Women’s Conference.
  • An internship program for BIPOC through local non-profits, organizations and companies.
• Prioritize expanding CORNETT’s partnerships with, and hiring of, local Black freelancers, talent, artists, producers, directors, influencers, creators and vendors.
• Refocus our Community Outreach team toward efforts impacting the Black community.

Change the way CORNETT works.

All of the above will show up in our work and influence our clients’ mindsets and strategy. We will continue to create bold, breakthrough work that isn’t just imaginative but inclusive, impactful and a force of good and positive change.

Actions:

• Create work that represents BIPOC experiences and connects culturally.
• Create a culture and collaborative environment that is inclusive and welcoming for BIPOC.
• Dedicate ourselves to purpose-driven strategy for both the CORNETT brand and our clients through our work.