Opportunity for All: Creating a Prospectus to Drive Equitable Development

Opportunity Zones (OZs) were developed to funnel $6 trillion of private investment into designated low-income census tracts. With the roll-out of this legislation, it appears that without intervention, capital is likely to flow to those OZs that would have seen development anyway, unless community-serving projects that are investment ready are highlighted for Opportunity Funds.

​

Now is the time for municipal leaders and economic developers to act quickly to ensure that community-driven and benefiting projects in OZs are a strategic part of a community’s vision for growth, framed as a mutually beneficial investment, and, where needed, coupled with incentives to attract truly revolutionary investment.

​

In this webinar, you will learn how Fourth Economy has helped facilitate community-driven prioritization of development projects from Jerome Jackson, Executive Director of Operation Better Block in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. His organization recently completed a key land-use plan for 10 sections of the largely black neighborhood, which has more than 2,000 vacant lots and 600 vacant buildings. Fourth Economy was part of this process, and assisted in prioritizing development projects with the community.

​

Emily Brown, Director of Economic Strategy at Fourth Economy, will explain how Fourth Economy’s work in Homewood informs their approach for helping create a community driven Investment Prospectus for Opportunity Zones.

​

Questions we will address are:

• How can I market to Opportunity Funds and individual OZ Investors that align with my community’s needs and values?

• How can I leverage this tool to further the goals of equity and equality in my community?

• Can we (and should we) start our own Opportunity Fund?

• How should we prioritize our Opportunity Zones and the specific projects therein?

• What should we try to create in our Opportunity Zones, and how can we get the surrounding communities’ support for these projects?
  
  Click HERE to access this webinar on the Fourth Economy website.