PETER TROUG

Opportunity Exchange

DONNA GAMBRELL

Appalachian Community

Capital

NOELLE ST. CLAIR

Woodforest National Bank

ALEX FLACHSBART

Opportunity

Alabama

ROSS BAIRD

Blueprint Local

TIM THOMAS

Appalachian Regional 

Commission

DR. JASON JOLLEY

Ohio University
3

Welcome

OZ Basics

OZ Process A to Z

Investor 

Perspectives

Q&A

Appalachian 

Strategies

Agenda

1

2

3

4

5

6
Welcome - Tim Thomas, Federal Co-Chairman, 

ARC
Opportunity Zone Basics
arc.gov

History

• Part of bi-partisan legislation

• Rolled into 2017 Tax Cuts and 

Jobs Act

• Not a federal appropriation, 

but a foregone revenue
arc.gov

What is an 

Opportunity 

Zone

• Low income census tracts

• Incent investors for federal 

capital gains tax advantages

• Finance community projects 

and enterprises
arc.gov

Appalachian 

Opportunity 

Zones

www.arc.go v
arc.gov

Incentives for 

Investors to 

put funds into 

Opportunity 

Zones

• Deferral of capital 

gains taxes

• Reduction of capital 

gains taxes

• Elimination of taxes on 

future gains
arc.gov

What are Qualified Opportunity 

Funds?

• Investment vehicles

• Must invest at least 90% of fund in Opportunity 

Zone properties or businesses

• Can be a single investor or pool of investors
arc.gov

Opportunity Zones Resources

Appalachian Opportunity Zones

Economic Innovation Group Webinar Series and Other Resources

HUD Opportunity Zones Toolkit for Communities

White House Opportunity Revitalization Council

Opportunity Exchange

Opportunity Virginia Virtual Workshop Series
Community Based 

OZ Strategies & 

Tools

Finding Opportunity in Appalachia’s 

Opportunity Zones

Peter Truog | peter@theopportunityexchange.com

The Opportunity Exchange

2020
Our Discussion

• Introduction: The Opportunity Exchange

• Community OZ Strategy: Best Practices & Resources

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 13
The Opportunity 

Exchange platform 

provides tools and 

resources that facilitate 

transparent & 

collaborative ideation, 

development and 

execution of impactful 

community & economic 

development projects. 

The Opportunity Exchange

Our Mission

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 14

An Integrated Platform for Place-Based 

Community and Economic Development
We partner with many leaders in the community 

and economic development industry

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 15
Our Discussion

• Introduction: The Opportunity Exchange

• Community OZ Strategy: Best Practices & Resources

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 16
Key Steps for Supporting OZ Communities 

and Projects

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 17

Organize a Local 

Ecosystem

Identify Community 

Assets & Needs

Prioritize Properties 

and Projects

Support Projects on 

Path to Market

Help Facilitate 

Connections
Organize a Local Ecosystem

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 18

1

Observed Best Practices:

• Determine who will “lead:” a 

primary organization, or a 

collaboration

• Determine scope: 

Opportunity Zones, or “OZ+”

• Develop engagement 

strategies for ecosystem 

partners

• Complete an asset inventory 

for your community1

Opportunity Alabama helps 

coordinate and align activity 

between projects, investors, 

communities and institutional 

partners in Alabama

Example:

1: HUD OZ Toolkit Volume 2, P. 17 for an overview Source: https://www.tn.gov/ecd/opportunity-zones.html
Identify Community Assets & Needs

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 19

2

Observed Best Practices:

• Leverage existing 

community strategy 

documents to compile a 

“community vision”

• Solicit input from community 

stakeholders related to 

assets and community 

needs

• Compile these resources 

into a shared document that 

organizations across the 

community can use

Examples:

Source: Accelerator for America Investment Prospectus 

Guide, The Opportunity Exchange Community Profile Tool
Prioritize Properties and Projects

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 20

3

Observed Best Practices:

• Identify properties that could 

be catalysts for future 

development

• Solicit current project ideas 

from developers who are 

active in the community

• Aggregate and prioritize 

these projects and 

properties into a 

standardized pipeline that 

can be tracked and 

monitored over time

Example:
GroundUp is a free modeling tool that simplifies 

community involvement and collaboration for helping 

fund community-focused projects. Developers, local 

officials, and community members can easily 

generate key project financials to present to investors.

Support Projects on Path to Market

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 21

4

Observed Best Practices:

• Develop a “project 

readiness” checklist

• Help projects assess their 

financial viability

• Help projects convey their 

community impact

• Provide access to specific 

TA resources to support 

demand studies or other 

project development 

activities

Example:

Source: https://www.groundupmodel.org/launch
Support Projects on Path to Market

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 22

4

Observed Best Practices:

• Develop a “project 

readiness” checklist

• Help projects assess their 

financial viability

• Help projects convey their 

community impact

• Provide access to specific 

TA resources to support 

demand studies or other 

project development 

activities

Example:

The Opportunity Zone Community Impact Assessment 

Tool assesses the potential social impact of a local 

development project using evidence-based indicators. The 

tool is available for any stakeholder interested in the social 

impact of an eligible investment in an Opportunity Zone, 

whether an operating business; a residential, commercial, 

or industrial development; or some combination of these 

types.
• Cleveland: Direct 

financial assistance

• Washington, DC: 

Donated professional 

services

• SBA or other: 

Sponsored OZfocused TA

Support Projects on Path to Market

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 23

4

Observed Best Practices:

• Develop a “project 

readiness” checklist

• Help projects assess their 

financial viability

• Help projects convey their 

community impact

• Provide access to specific 

TA resources to support 

demand studies or other 

project development 

activities

Examples:
Help Facilitate Connections

The Opportunity Exchange, LLC | 24

5

Observed Best Practices:

• Identify the different types of 

investors or sources of 

capital that might be 

interested in your 

community’s projects

• Develop outreach strategies 

for those investors and 

capital sources

• Create a location and 

mechanism for investors 

and sources of capital to 

reach out to you!

Example:

Source: https://www.opportunityva.org/annual-report







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Opportunity Appalachia

BRINGING OPPORTUNITY ZONE INVESTMENT TO CENTRAL 

APPALACHIAN COMMUNITIES, CREATING NEW JOBS AND 

BUSINESSES FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
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STRATEGIC VISION

• TO HAVE IMPACT

• TO BRING JOBS, BUSINESS SUPPORT, AND INVESTMENT TO HARD HIT 

RURAL COMMUNITIES

• TO BULD NEW AND/OR STRENGTHEN CURRENT PARTNERSHIPS 

• TO BE INCLUSIVE 

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ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES

15 - 20 OZ communities in Central Appalachia receive technical assistance to:

• develop community strategies

• structure investable transactions 

• create prospectus and pitch decks

• Investments support economic restructuring and diversification:

o manufacturing, health, education, tourism / recreation, downtown development, food systems 

Once these prospectus are complete, reach out to Opportunity Fund investors, both national and local.

Bring $235M of new Opportunity Fund capital to 15 targeted OZ communities.

Create over 1800 jobs. 

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EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS 

OHIO - $4M redevelopment of 25,000 SF historic downtown Ohio & Erie Canal Warehouse

VIRGINIA - Virginia Ave Warehouse redevelopment and Virginia Ave Boutique Hotel

WEST VIRGINIA - Thundercloud, Inc, Fiber Network and Data Center

AND NEXT STEPS.......... 

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THANK YOU!

Donna Gambrell, CEO, Appalachian Community Capital 

dgambrell@acc1.org

Opportunity Appalachia 

https://appalachiancommunitycapitalcdfi.org/oa-program

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Opportunity Appalachia

Bringing jobs, business support, and investment to Central Appalachian communities