News and announcements about the Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework
Opportunity Zones can deliver social impact. We just have to measure it.
ImpactAlpha / December 7, 2020 / Read Full Article
The best way to tell whether any OZ projects — real estate, operating businesses, or otherwise — are having a positive social impact is actually to measure it. Though even as legislators agree that such measurement is needed, they have yet to pass a bill that mandates funds to do so. This not only opens the door for the type of criticism we’ve seen of late, but sows concern among OZ fund managers and investors, who fear that measuring impact themselves will be an added burden… fund managers can easily track and measure impact – using a framework like the one developed by Howard W. Buffett as part of an automated technology platform or the OZ Reporting Framework from the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, the Beeck Center and the New York Fed.
Winners Of The Forbes OZ 20: Impact Investors Sparking Change In LA, Alabama, Colorado, Erie And Beyond
Forbes / February 5, 2020 / Read Full Article
Forbes partnered with the Sorenson Impact Center to create the Forbes OZ 20 list. It’s goal is to shine a light on people on the ground who are using OZ for community impact and inclusive capitalism… And today at the Sorenson Center's Winter Innovation Summit at the University Of Utah, we named the four Grand Prize Winners in each of the four categories. The finalists were judged on the Opportunity Zone Reporting Framework, which prioritizes community benefit and engagement, transparency, and impact.
How One Opportunity Zone Fund Hopes to Set an Example for Others
Next City / January 9, 2020 / Read Full Article
For Opportunity Zone funds and investors who choose to have some transparency and accountability to Opportunity Zone communities, there’s been a learning curve.… Some funds have joined up with foundations to share some of the investment risk in exchange for publicly reporting impact data. Some are turning to resources like the OZ Framework, a joint project of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, Georgetown University and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The OZ Framework is essentially a template that Opportunity Zone funds can use to report publicly on their project portfolios, or for a developer to report on a single project.
Community-First Opportunity Zones: How Everyone Can Win
Forbes / December 12, 2019 / Read Full Article
The opportunity zone (OZ) program is designed to funnel private investment into distressed communities across the nation, creating housing and essential infrastructure and spurring economic revitalization… In order to realize this positive economic impact, we must understand what we are trying to achieve in the communities served by QOZFs. I believe that impact studies will be essential to proving the OZ program’s success. Others, like the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and the Beeck Center, are in agreement and have developed a framework to help OZ stakeholders measure, manage and deploy capital — benefiting both investors and the community.
Opportunity Zone Funds: Who Really Benefits?
ThinkAdvisor / November 4, 2019 / Read Full Article
When the concept of opportunity zones was created in the 2017 tax cut bill, there were hopes that investments in those zones through opportunity zone funds would yield two benefits: tax advantages for investors and economic improvements for local communities. It’s too early to tell if those intentions will be fulfilled, but there are multiple indications that tax cuts for investors, including well-connected ones, rather than community impact, is taking precedence. Case in point: the Treasury’s new proposed draft form to collect data about opportunity zone funds…. At best the tax form is a “first step towards meaningful accountability in the opportunity zones market,” but Treasury “should go further and ensure that accurate transaction-level data is available to the market,” said Fran Seegull, executive director of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. The Alliance, along with several other nonprofit groups and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has recommended that opportunity zone reporting include nonfinancial metrics such as the number of jobs and affordable housing units created or improved outcomes in education or health.
Opportunity Zones Aren’t a Program—They’re a Market
Fortune / October 3, 2019 / Read Full Article
Every fund manager who sees OZs as more than just a tax break should adopt the Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework developed by the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The framework provides a series of impact-focused best practices for fund managers and investors, including a set of core principles to guide both OZ activities and impact measurement. It also features a flexible outline for impact reporting, which can be utilized regardless of sector or geography. Impact starts with intent. Deciding to adopt the framework sends a strong signal that can positively influence both perception (in the media) and reality (within communities). It also distinguishes those who care about creating opportunities for others through OZ investments from those just in it for themselves.
With an Eye on the "Most Vulnerable," a Foundation Works to Ensure that a New Law Boosts the Urban Poor
Inside Philanthropy / August 7, 2019 / Read Full Article
Some impact investors see the law’s failure to include impact reporting requirements or objectives as a missed opportunity. Transparency and reporting guidelines were also minimal, making cities blind to the investments being made.… Besides Rockefeller, other nonprofit leaders are stepping up to balance investors' interests with positive community involvement. The Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown and the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance developed a shared impact and reporting framework to help shape the market. In June, the President’s Council on Impact Investing, a network of 20 leading private foundations within the alliance, published an open letter to legislators pushing for mandatory reporting requirements to prevent resident displacement and ensure benefit equality.
Foundations Push for Reporting Requirements on Opportunity Zone Funds
FundFire / June 26, 2019 / Read Full Article
The Presidents’ Council on Impact Investing, a group of powerful private foundations, is asking legislators to add a mandatory reporting requirement and other regulations to the rulebook for opportunity zone funds… The Presidents’ Council, in its letter, asked that all investors report according to the framework released by the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. “Requiring measurement and reporting, particularly as it relates to the intent behind the developments, and the ultimate results, will help to motivate better social impact,” Jim Sorenson says. The framework, he adds, is important so that, in 10 years, the public can “look at the data … and see If the poverty rate has measurably decreased, and if unemployment has decreased, and if the medium income has increased.”
EIG Urges Treasury to Adopt Reporting Framework, Measure Investment Impact in Opportunity Zones
Economic Innovation Group / June 12, 2019 / Read Full Article
The Economic Innovation Group (EIG) recently led a broad coalition of stakeholders in submitting detailed recommendations to the U.S. Department of the Treasury calling for the adoption of a reporting framework for investments in Qualified Opportunity Zones… “The Opportunity Zones incentive has unlocked critical new sources of capital for low-income communities across the country, but measuring the full impact of this policy requires the adoption of a thoughtful data collection framework,” said EIG President and CEO John Lettieri. “This letter underscores the widespread support for such a framework among leading private sector and philanthropic stakeholders.”
Opportunity Zones: Can Philanthropy Provide Accountability When the Law Does Not?
Nonprofit Quarterly / May 29, 2019 / Read Full Article
There are also some additional foundations and donors who, like the Rockefeller Foundation, are focused on figuring out ways to measure the impact of these tax breaks. The Kresge Foundation, for example, has pledged $22 million to support fund managers who will report on opportunity zone investments. Additionally, Jim Sorenson, an entrepreneur, investor, and businessman based in Utah, has announced he is seeding a $150 million fund that will measure investment impact in these zones using a framework designed by US Impact Investing Alliance and the Beeck Center at Georgetown University.
Rockefeller Foundation Aims to Make Trump Tax Perk Work for Poor
Bloomberg / May 21, 2019 / Read Full Article
The Rockefeller Foundation is set to announce Tuesday that it will hand out $5.5 million to help six U.S. cities promote “responsible” investment in areas designated as opportunity zones… Rockefeller’s grants are part of a broader effort by philanthropies, public officials and others to make sure the tax break has positive outcomes. The Kresge Foundation pledged $22 million this year to support fund managers who agree to report on their investments in opportunity zones. Jim Sorenson, a prominent impact investor, said this week he’s seeding a $150 million fund that will use a framework designed by U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and the Beeck Center at Georgetown University to measure the good it does in distressed areas.
Impact Reporting and the Opportunity Zones Incentives
Novogradac / May 3, 2019 / Read Full Article
The opportunity zones (OZ) incentive is expected to drive substantial capital into low-income communities across the country, but in order for that to continue long-term, data is needed to highlight the incentive’s impact. The Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework is one approach for OZ impact reporting. The Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework is designed to define best practices for investors and fund managers looking to invest in OZs.
OZ Framework: Measuring Impact in Opportunity Zones
OpportunityDb / March 27, 2019 / Listen to the Full Podcast
Should the Treasury Department impose a community impact reporting requirement on Opportunity Zone investing? And what would a reporting framework even look like? Earlier this year, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, in partnership with Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, created the Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework — a guideline that defines best practices for Opportunity Zones investors and fund sponsors. John Cochrane is senior associate at the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, and he joins me on the podcast today to discuss the framework and how to measure the impact of the Opportunity Zones tax policy.
Private Sector Looks to Measure Impact of Opportunity Zones
Barron’s / February 27, 2019 / Read Full Article
Investors who want to make a positive social or environmental impact while earning a financial return would seem naturally drawn to investing in “opportunity zones,” low-income areas throughout the U.S. designated by governors in each state as in need of economic development. But the regulatory language outlining practices for investing in these 8,700 zones offers no assurance to investors or community members that funds investing in these economically distressed areas—known as Qualified Opportunity Zone, or QOZ, funds—will have that kind of positive impact. Earlier this month, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University, announced a voluntary reporting framework that offers best practices for fund managers and investors. It was written with input from more than 30 contributors, including academics, foundations, investors, asset managers, and community stakeholders.
Impact Investing Offers Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework
GlobeSt. / February 7, 2019 / Read Full Article
The US Impact Investing Alliance (USIIA) and the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University have released an impact measurement framework and a set of principles for Opportunity Zones. The framework also defines best practices for managers seeking to invest in the designated Opportunity Zones around the country. Market participants will also be urged to share how and where they will deploy capital and to maintain a focus on the policy’s original purpose: achieving positive economic and social outcomes in distressed communities.
Impact Investing Leaders Introduce Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance & Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University / February 6, 2019 / Read the Press Release
The Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework, a voluntary guideline, is designed to define best practices for Opportunity Fund managers seeking to invest in designated Opportunity Zones around the country. Market participants will be encouraged to abide by these best practices and to proactively share how and where they will deploy capital as part of a collaborative effort to build the market and maintain a focus on the policy’s original purpose: achieving positive economic and social outcomes in distressed communities.
Will Opportunity Zones Spark New Impact Investing Funds?
FundFire / November 21, 2018 / Read Full Article
The private fund market is abuzz over prospects for new products, capital raising, and tax benefits from the new federal qualified opportunity zone (QOZ) program. But there has been scant focus on the potential for fund managers to use these strategies to vault into another active segment: impact investing. But while any fund launched under the new program is likely to target investments designed to benefit disadvantaged communities, that doesn’t mean managers will find it easy to achieve and track impact returns. The QOZ program doesn’t mandate impact reporting, and while advocates push for rules to require tracking of standard data on investments – such as size of transaction and type of qualifying asset – it won’t be comprehensive, says John Cochrane, senior associate at the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, which is working on that effort.
Why Impact Data and Transparency are Keys to Success in Opportunity Zones
ImpactAlpha / September 6, 2018 / Read Full Article
Data is integral to the success of any program, product or policy, and to the continued functioning of the financial markets. Data shows us where capital is flowing and how that capital is being used; it tells us a story about where there are structural barriers and where there are opportunities. Data allows all stakeholders—from fund managers and investors to community members and policymakers—to have a shared understanding about what works and what doesn’t.
Are Opportunity Zones Working? No One Knows Yet
FundFire / August 19, 2020 / Read Full Article
Whether the Opportunity Zones program is generating a positive economic outcome for lower-income communities to justify the tax breaks for investors is hard to answer because the original 2017 tax law did not include standards to measure impact… While some fund managers are simply pursuing pure investment deals sweetened by tax incentives, it’s hard to gauge whether the overall program is having the intended impact, says Andrew Lee, head of sustainable and impact investing at UBS Global Wealth Management. “Quite a number of managers are contemplating community needs, but without mandatory reporting of the metrics that actually matter from a community perspective, it is hard to know,” he says.
Catalyst seeks to demonstrate positive impact with initial Opportunity Zone investments
ImpactAlpha / February 4, 2020 / Read Full Article
Affordable housing and startup space in South Central Los Angeles. A revitalized industrial area in downtown Salt Lake City. Workforce housing in Bozeman, Montana. The first investments from Catalyst Opportunity Fund are intended to demonstrate the financial viability of Opportunity Zone projects that boost access to quality jobs and affordable housing and provide other community benefits… Catalyst’s three-part impact framework leverages public data to assess and score community needs, a project’s potential for positive impact, and its actual impact over time.
Treasury Fails to Add Public Reporting Requirement to 'Roth for the Rich'
Financial Advisor IQ / December 26, 2019 / Read Full Article
Social impact investment-focused advisors and advocates expressed relief that the U.S. Treasury has released final regulations for Opportunity Zone investments. But, at the same time, some observers also conveyed disappointment that Treasury failed to inject more depth into public reporting requirements for fund managers participating in OZs. Their failure to add more heft to reporting requirements ultimately limits the novel Opportunity Zone federal program’s intended effectiveness at matching investors with economically-challenged communities, impact investment advocates argue.
Meet The Forbes OZ 20: The Top Players Investing For Lasting Impact
Forbes / December 12, 2019 / Read Full Article
Comprised of 10 trailblazing community organizations and 10 innovative OZ funds, the Forbes OZ 20 shines a light on the players harnessing the new tax policy to unlock transformative economic potential and create lasting change in America’s overlooked communities. To pick the top 20, the Sorenson Impact Center, based in University of Utah’s Eccles School of Business, judged finalists based on Opportunity Zone Reporting Framework, which prioritizes community benefit and engagement, transparency and impact. Applications were scored by experts at Sorenson Impact and judged by an advisory board comprised of leaders in the opportunity zones landscape.
Editorial: Tweak Opportunity Zone law to ensure it creates jobs for poor in SC, elsewhere
The Post and Courier / October 27, 2019 / Read Full Article
Investor response will be a critical test of the program, which was designed by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and has the potential to become the most effective federal government stimulus plan ever devised for disadvantaged areas. Unfortunately, the lack of a reporting requirement in the law means that reporting is voluntary and incomplete. The S.C. Commerce Department is developing a centralized state reporting platform to consolidate information now spread among 30 or 40 local websites…. Indeed, some critics of the plan worry that it will lead to gentrification and displacement of poor residents. To counter that worry, the New York Federal Reserve Bank has partnered with the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and The Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University to create “The OZ Reporting Framework” focusing on the principle of benefiting local communities and monitoring projects for their compliance.
Opportunity zone managers face impact tracking challenge
FundFire / September 25, 2019 / Read Full Article
Private fund managers have cranked out scores of Opportunity Zone Funds in the past year even without final regulations in place, but only a few may be ahead of the game in taking steps to track positive impact from these new investment vehicles… Some industry players are seeking a far wider scope of impact tracking in Opportunity Zone Funds, including the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, which earlier this year teamed up with Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to propose a comprehensive framework for managers to use. The framework asks managers to track detailed transaction-level data on capital invested, types of deals, jobs or affordable housing units created, new business starts, diversity of ownership, and other factors.
Treasury risks dropping the ball on Opportunity Zones accountability
The Hill / July 15, 2019 / Read Full Article
Opportunity Zones have inspired hope for many, but also a growing fear. How will we know if we’re getting a good deal? Unfortunately, unless Treasury acts, we may never get an answer. I recently joined market participants and community advocates to testify at an IRS hearing on Opportunity Zones. There I delivered a simple message: Opportunity Zones must include clear, consistent and transparent reporting standards…. Authentic community engagement demands reliable data. Residents need information to know what works within Opportunity Zones and what doesn’t so they can engage proactively. Data will show where capital is flowing, how that capital is being used and the outcomes generated. The only way to ensure this data is consistent and actionable is through clear standards of reporting and transparency.
Government and Investors Seek to Lift Opportunity Zones, but Communities Will Define Success
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance / June 25, 2019 / Read Full Article
The Opportunity Zone Reporting Framework, released by the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, the Beeck Center at Georgetown University and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, provides a model for how fund managers can consistently, transparently and authentically engage with communities. Investors and fund managers in Opportunity Zones must embrace a set of principles that promote authentic community engagement to determine investment priorities, learn and respond to residents' needs and shape a shared vision for equitable development. Opportunity Fund managers should also be proactive and transparent in measuring and reporting the impact stemming from their investments.
Clarifying Community Benefits to Improve Place-Based Programs
Stanford Social Innovation Review / June 7, 2019 / Read Full Article
We lay much of the blame on the lack of a comprehensive framework that meaningfully identifies and measures public benefits that reflect a community's unique character and helps evaluate the delivery of those positive changes. Yes, there are guiding principles for prioritizing community engagement in US Opportunity Zones and Australian Enterprise Precincts. Five come from the US Impact Investing Alliance and the Beeck Center for Social Impact. But we must go further to identify the results that actually help communities in need and ensure place-based programs earn the policy advantages they enjoy.
Opportunity Zones' Biggest Myths
Forbes / May 28, 2019 / Read Full Article
The stakeholders involved in managing risk are both widespread and varied. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, and Federal Reserve Bank of New York have partnered with other organizations to create an Opportunity Zone Framework that will help investors deploy capital in a manner that generates positive social outcomes. It also includes a reporting framework for measuring impact… many stakeholders are working more proactively, mobilizing and collaborating community-wide to engage investors and direct capital to projects that will benefit areas holistically. Together, effective use of these tools will be able to minimize the gentrification risk.
Sorenson Seeds $150 Million Fund to Invest in Overlooked America
Bloomberg / May 19, 2019 / Read Full Article
Jim Sorenson, a prominent Utah entrepreneur, investor and businessman, plans to announce Monday that Catalyst, a private equity firm he helped found, is raising $150 million to invest in opportunity zones. The group’s first fund, which Sorenson is seeding with $10 million, will focus on developing real estate with an eye toward delivering both market-rate returns and measurable social good… The firm is pledging to rigorously measure outcomes of its investments using a framework developed by the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and the Beeck Center at Georgetown University. And it hopes to follow up quickly with a second fund devoted to seeding businesses that could bring jobs to the communities where it invests.
Cottage Industry in Opportunity Zone Data Forms to Fill Vacuum
Bloomberg Tax / April 18, 2019 / Read Full Article
In the private sector, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Group AG are among those that have given their input on what a framework for transparency should look like. That framework, from the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, has won the support of many socially-minded investors, nonprofits, and state and local governments.
How Opportunity Zones Cut Taxes And Build Communities
Your Mark on the World / March 19, 2019 / Watch the Full Video
The difference between community redevelopment and gentrification isn’t entirely a subjective judgment left to the eye of the beholder, say Fran Seegull and Jen Collins. Fran is the executive director for the U.S. Impact Investment Alliance and Jen is a fellow-in-residence at the Beeck Center at Georgetown University. They are leading minds on community-based impact investing under Opportunity Zones created by the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act. The law that created Opportunity Zones did not limit the investments to those with demonstrable social impact. The U.S. Impact Investment Alliance and the Beeck Center have partnered to develop a framework for investing in Opportunity Zones intended to be a defining difference between community redevelopment and gentrification.
Wall Street, Seeking Big Tax Breaks, Sets Sights on Distressed Main Streets
The New York Times / February 20, 2019 / Read Full Article
The federal government has not finished setting guidelines for what types of projects qualify or what information fund managers must provide to investors and to the government. “I believe it really can be a great model to demonstrate the holistic, community-informed investments that can transform these distressed communities, while earning returns,” said Jim Sorenson, an entrepreneur based in Utah. Mr. Sorenson, who hosts an annual gathering of impact investors in Salt Lake City, devoted much of this year’s meeting, in February, to discussing the potential benefits of the zones. He joined several groups in announcing an effort to create a “guiding set of principles” for making such investments.
Mercer, Impact Groups Fire Up Opportunity Fund Research
FundFire / February 6, 2019 / Read Full Article
Fund managers aren’t the only players bustling in the new qualified opportunity zone market – investment consultants, financial advisors, product platforms, and impact investing groups are busy developing tools and resources to help decide which products should win an expected wave of client capital. Mercer already has vetted the early slate of managers to recommend funds for CAIS, an alts platform for advisors, and today marks the launch of an impact investment framework from the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation.
Opportunity Zone investors want impact. Let’s help them get it.
ImpactAlpha / January 10, 2019 / Read Full Article
Not since 2000 (with the New Markets Tax Credit legislation) has a tax policy so dramatically captured the attention of investors and community development practitioners as has Opportunity Zones. Regulations have not yet been finalized. Opportunity Funds are just beginning to close. But our early belief is that large, positive impact for people and attractive returns for investors are both possible – and critical to the success of the Opportunity Zone legislation… Our takeaways: Guiding principles matter (and we’re building them). Investors want impact (and we’re harnessing demand). And success requires unexpected partnerships (and we’re facilitating them).
Unlikely Alliance Could Rebuild America
Real Estate Weekly / November 7, 2018 / Read Full Article
Created as part of last year’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the program has designated certain low-income census tracts as Opportunity Zones, areas in which capital gains realized from the sale of property or other appreciated assets can be reinvested on a tax-deferred basis. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance is a development organization that looks to encourage private investment in economically depressed areas. The Alliance’s John Cochrane sees potential for the Opportunity Zones program to help this cause, he said efforts should be made to increase transparency and facilitate partnerships between local governments, small developers and the funds. A crucial element, he added, is making sure communities get the investments they’re looking for not just the projects that are most familiar to the developers.
Opportunity Zones: Moving Toward a Shared Impact Framework
Federal Reserve Bank of New York / August 8, 2018 / Read Full Article
Gathering baseline data on Opportunity Fund investments will allow policymakers, researchers, and community development practitioners to assess the short- and long-term impact of these flows of capital to underserved communities… Impact reporting should focus on data that is both material to impact goals and responsive in nature, allowing businesses to adapt if they aren’t meeting community needs.
Changing Communities: How to Bring Fairness into Finance
Knowledge@Wharton / February 25, 2020 / Read Full Article
The world of finance is often viewed as an unfair place: Only a few prosper while countless others live in dire circumstances. That imbalance has led the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University to develop the Opportunity Zones Reporting Frameweork, a framework of guidelines for fund managers to help make it more equitable. The idea is “to have an economy that benefits not just a very few, but where prosperity is shared across the entire set of stakeholders, across many different groups of people,” according to Lisa Hall, fair finance lead and fellow-in-residence at the Beeck Center. The Beeck Center partnered with the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to create the framework.
O-Zone Benefits for Local Residents Still Lacking Under Final Regs
Tax Notes / February 3, 2020 / Read Full Article
The impact of the investments being made in response to tax incentives created by the Opportunity Zone regime is still uncertain, but the final regulations add some limited guardrails, even as they give investors more flexibility… John Cochrane of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance said the changes to the substantial improvement test were sensitive to investors and developers who sought the ability to aggregate assets, but also deflected the potential for gamesmanship. The requirement that the properties be related and that there be a good reason to aggregate makes sense, he said.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Statement on Final Rules for Opportunity Zones
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance / December 20, 2019 / Read Full Statement
The regulations released yesterday give important clarity to investors in Opportunity Zones, particularly those looking to invest in the kinds of operating businesses that create meaningful economic opportunity for residents of Opportunity Zones…. Unfortunately, this rule from Treasury fails to address public transparency and accountability in a meaningful way. Treasury was tasked with facilitating a new market for investments in low income communities, but markets don't operate efficiently in the dark. Basic public reporting would enable more effective capital matching and more proactive partnerships between communities and investors.
Beeck Center Opportunity Zones Investor Council Recommits to Action
Beeck Center / November 18, 2019 / Read Full Article
Currently there are no impact, data or transparency requirements for Opportunity Zones. This reality has made the work of the Beeck Center in driving positive impact important. It’s why we co-authored the OZ Impact Reporting Framework with the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York earlier this year. The Impact Framework calls for five guiding principles: community engagement, transparency, equity, outcomes and measurement… At this time, we know of more than 400 initiatives committed to the OZ Impact Reporting Framework, and Council members have over 30 OZ projects underway nationwide.
OZ Lessons from Opportunity Alabama, with Alex Flachsbart
OpportunityDB / October 16, 2019 / Read Full Article
How can Opportunity Zones ignite a place-based economic development revolution in one of the nation’s poorest states? Alex Flachsbart is president and CEO of Opportunity Alabama, the nation’s first nonprofit organization to create a marketplace for Opportunity Zone investment in a particular state. In this episode Alex discusses:
The keys to creating positive outcomes in Opportunity Zones.
Best practices for raising Opportunity Zone capital for real estate developers and business entrepreneurs, and the importance of engaging with the local community.
The volume and types of projects that Opportunity Alabama is seeing in its marketplace, and engagement from larger national funds.
The rise of impact funds, and how the Opportunity Zones incentive is engaging more investors to think about real estate investing through an impact lens.
Rockefeller Foundation Pours Millions of Dollars to Keep Opportunity Zones on Track
Barron’s / September 6, 2019 / Read Full Article
The Rockefeller Foundation’s initiative, which began in May 2019, is working to provide some guardrails for investors where the federal program had none. It is one in a ragtag group of foundations, endowments, institutions and individuals that have taken it upon themselves to steer the program toward community benefit. That group includes the Milken Institute, which has published “vignettes” exploring the programs benefits and risks. There is a set of “guiding principles” for Opportunity Zone projects from the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, the Beeck Center at Georgetown University, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Billionaire Jim Sorenson started an opportunity zones task force with his Sorenson Impact Center, EIG, and Develop Advisors, the consulting firm of EIG co-founder Steve Glickman, among others.
Data Gathering Is Crucial To The Success And Survival Of Opportunity Zones
BisNow / July 15, 2019 / Read Full Article
Since opportunity zones were introduced at the end of 2017, they have been touted by some as potential vehicles for transformative change in underserved communities. How one might measure such change remains painfully unclear. When the IRS and Treasury Department held the second public hearing about opportunity zone regulations in early July, multiple speakers, including U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Executive Director Fran Seegull, requested that the agencies implement a mechanism for data collection, analysis and disclosure…. Earlier this year, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University released a reporting framework for the private sector to use, with the hope that it could assist Treasury and the IRS in conceiving a less onerous system that would be mandatory.
Investors to Treasury: Collect our Opportunity Zone data
ImpactAlpha / June 13, 2019 / Read Full Article
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is said to believe that impact metrics will “kill” Opportunity Zones. Nearly 70 organizations and Opportunity Zone investors including Arctaris Impact Fund, Blueprint Local, Calvert Impact Capital, KPMG, LISC and the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance disagree. In an open letter, the investors call on the Treasury Department to adopt a reporting framework for investments in designated Opportunity Zones. “Measuring the full impact of this policy requires the adoption of a thoughtful data collection framework,” said John Lettieri of Economic Innovation Group, which led the effort.
Opportunity zones should deliver more than profit and tax breaks
Crain’s New York Business / May 29, 2019 / Read Full Article
Qualified opportunity funds should work with community leaders and longtime community pillars like universities and health centers to connect investors with worthy projects that will yield a positive social impact… Last summer, for example, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York joined with the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation to develop a formal framework for evaluating potential investments. The principles they outlined include community engagement, equitable community benefits, transparency and measurement so that progress on objectives can be tracked and improved upon.
UBS and Wells Fargo Wealth Unit Suspect Investors Won’t Mind New Complications to Popular Tax-Break Investment Vehicle
Financial Advisor IQ / May 24, 2019 / Read Full Article
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance has worked closely with Jim Sorenson, a prominent impact investor, Cochrane says. Earlier this month, Sorenson announced he will provide seed money for a $150 million fund that will use a U.S. Impact Investing-developed framework to “measure the good it does in distressed areas,” Bloomberg recently reported… Some large, well-funded private foundations have long-established partnerships with impact investors, and they hope to segue those relationships into helping shape the OZ program’s results.
Related Hauls In $200M for Opportunity Zone Effort
FundFire / May 15, 2019 / Read Full Article
The new bill would mandate basic reporting to create a broad picture about the program’s effectiveness in creating economic activity, but some details are pending, says John Cochrane, manager for policy and programs at the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance… The impact alliance and Zone Fund Association have discussed additional reporting tools that might capture more impact data from managers, says Cochrane, whose organization introduced a voluntary format earlier this year. “We hope to have some level of reporting at the trade association that would align with the new standards and our reporting framework,” he says.
White House Opportunity Zone Conference
White House / April 17, 2019 / Watch Full Video
Fran Seegull, Executive Director of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, participated in a panel testimony at the White House Opportunity Zone Conference on April 17 where she discussed the Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework and the importance of impact data and transparency.
An Opportunity Zone Fund Checklist for Advisors
ThinkAdvisor / March 6, 2019 / Read Full Article
Investors need to understand how the fund is ensuring that benefits accrue to the local community, including its commitment to monitoring progress and and the thesis behind the strategy. Is the focus on job creation or providing access to basic needs and services like affordable housing or educational training? To that end, a group of members and supporters of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and its partner, the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University, have developed an Opportunity Zones Reporting Framework. It consists of voluntary guidelines for best practices of opportunity zone fund managers to help achieve “positive economic and social outcomes in distressed communities.”
Opportunity Zones Investors Receive Needed Guidance For Measurable Impact
Forbes / February 11, 2019 / Read Full Article
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created a new investment incentive for low-income communities called Opportunity Zones. Under the new rules, capital gains can be sheltered from tax when invested in Qualified Opportunity Funds. The law does not specifically require that the investment have a measurable social impact—or any social impact—for that matter, apparently presuming that all investment in Opportunity Zones is a good investment.The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, fearing that not all investments have a positive impact on the communities have developed a framework for Opportunity Zone investing and impact measurement.
Pushing for Community Engagement and Impact Reporting in Opportunity Zone Investing
ImpactAlpha / February 6, 2019 / Read Full Article
Investors don’t need to wait for federal rules to commit to community engagement and honest appraisal of the social and environmental impact of their investments in low-income Opportunity Zones. A new reporting framework from the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and the Beeck Center at Georgetown University stresses key principles, including engagement with low-income and underinvested communities, equitable community benefits, and transparency and measurement around impact objectives and outcomes. Executive director Fran Seegull said that as the Alliance presses for federal standards on reporting, “this voluntary framework will help model a higher standard of practice.”
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Comment Letter on Proposed Opportunity Zones Regulations
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance / December 13, 2018 / Read Full Letter
The goal of the Opportunity Zones tax benefit, as stated in the preamble to the proposed regulations, is clear: “to encourage economic growth and investment in designated distressed communities.” … The Opportunity Zones market cannot function efficiently without access to basic, transparent data about Opportunity Funds and their investments.
How Foundations Are Shaping ‘Biggest Experiment’ of Opportunity Funds
Barron’s / October 30, 2018 / Read Full Article
Opportunity zones offer the promise of lifting up thousands of communities across the country with better jobs and affordable housing. Investing in these zones through qualified opportunity funds, vehicles funded by deferred capital gains, also offers the promise of pushing impact investing—the practice of investing for positive social or environmental good—into the mainstream of asset management… But for the promise of opportunity zones to be filled and not be undermined by, for example, gentrification that pushes low-income families out of their communities, impact investing advocates and philanthropists say the public needs to know how tax dollars intended to help the 8,700 identified opportunity zones are being directed.
In the Land of OZ, Who Will Benefit?
Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University / March 13, 2018 / Read Full Article
We believe this new tax benefit creates an opportunity to improve low-income communities in underserved rural and urban areas by attracting more private capital to finance small businesses, community services and social enterprises. But, if Opportunity Zones and Opportunity Funds are designed in ways that solely benefit activities and projects that do not need subsidy to succeed, including high end, real estate based projects, then the legislation will not meet its potential for delivering meaningful impact. Opportunity Zones can and should create living wage jobs, improve community assets, and help build wealth for people in places that have not yet recovered from the global recession.