Bill Cosgriff

Bill Cosgriff is a wildly passionate volunteer, but you might not know it when talking to him. The business and real estate lawyer at the St. Paul firm of Briggs and Morgan speaks quietly and in somber, measured tones. His pacing is meticulous, and he occasionally slows to spell a word or give a concept its proper weight. Hearing him speak is a bit like hearing the chanting of a Benedictine monk—but you’d be hard-pressed to find even a monk so articulate, informed, and clearly caring.

Moreover, Cosgriff’s unrelenting focus and fastidious attention to detail is what has made him so valuable to the Minnesota Museum of American Art, Minnesota Public Radio, Capital City Partnership, Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, and the St. Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau. All of these organizations and several more have profited from Cosgriff’s board work, pro bono legal services, and strategic guidance.

But no group has benefited from Cosgriff’s steady counsel quite as much as CommonBond Communities, a Minnesota organization dedicated to creating affordable housing with educational and accessibility services. Cosgriff has worked with the group in some capacity since its 1971 inception, a fact he attributes to CommonBond’s continued success and shrewd growth strategy. To put his thirty-five years in perspective, during Cosgriff’s tenure, CommonBond has gone from managing one housing site to managing more than fifty and has extended its service area from the Twin Cities to thirty-four cities across Minnesota and Wisconsin. “I’ve been on the board, I’ve been an officer, and I’ve probably been on every committee at one time or another,” says Cosgriff.

As a successful longtime member of St. Paul’s legal and business community, Cosgriff believes that volunteerism is a duty, and he has no plans to taper his level of involvement. But he maintains that volunteerism is open to everyone. “There’s a phrase that’s used: ‘time, talent, and treasure,’ ” he explains. “You may not have all three. You may not be a financial contributor, but you’ve got skills or the time to get out there in the community.”