Organizations Filed Purposes:
OPPORTUNITY ALABAMA (OPAL) IS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ENGINE FOR ALABAMA'S LOW-INCOM PLACES. IT IS ORGANIZED TO ERADICATE GENERATIONAL POVERTY IN ALABAMA'S DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES BY (1) EDUCATING COMMUNITIES ABOUT HOW TO PROMOTE GROWTH IN LOW-INCOME AREAS, (2) ATTRACTING PRIVATE CAPITAL TO LOW-INCOME AREAS, AND (3) TRACKING DATA ABOUT WHETHER PRIVATE INVESTMENTS IN LOW-INCOME AREAS ARE ALLEVIATING POVERTY. ITS PRIMARY FOCUS IS ON THE STATE'S 158 OPPORTUNITY ZONES, LOW-INCOME CENSUS TRACTS DESIGNATED BY GOVENOR KAY IVEY AS PART OF THE OPPORTUNITY ZONES INITIATIVE CREATED BY THE TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT OF 2017.
COMMUNITY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING. IN 2019, OPAL ENGAGED IN A STATEWIDE EFFORT TO BUILD CAPACITY WITHIN LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECOSYSTEMS TO PROMOTE GROWTH IN LOW-INCOME PLACES. THESE EFFORTS INVOLVED OVER 100 ONE-ON-ONE INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATIONS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS (WHERE WE HELPED EDUCATE THEM ON OPPORTUNITY ZONES AND OTHER FEDERAL INCENTIVES DESIGNED TO FACILITATE INVESTMENT IN LOW-INCOME PLACES), CONDUCTING 1000+ HOURS OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, PRESENTING AT 25 STATEWIDE AND REGIONAL CONFERENCES, HOSTING 45 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, AND FACILITATING 15 COMMUNITY WORK SESSIONS (WHERE WE HELPED LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS CREATE THEIR CORE LOW-INCOME AREA DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY). ALL OF THIS RESULTED IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN 147 OF 158 OF ALABAMA'S OPPORTUNITY ZONES, OVER 150 COMMUNITY-ORIENTED PROJECTS IDENTIFIED, AND OVER 5000 COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS RECEIVING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
BUILDING A MARKETPLACE FOR IMPACT INVESTMENT. AT OPAL, WE BELIEVE THAT TARGETED INVESTMENTS INTO PLACEMAKING PROJECTS (REAL ESTATE) AND OPERATING BUSINESSES CAN TRANSFORM LOW-INCOME PLACES FOR THE BETTER, PROVIDING MUCH-NEEDED JOBS AND QUALITY OF PLACE THAT MANY OF OUR LOW-INCOME PLACES LACK. IN 2019, WE IDENTIFIED OVER 250 INVESTABLE PROJECTS IN ALABAMA'S LOW-INCOME PLACES (PARTICULARLY IN ITS OPPORTUNITY ZONES), AND - THROUGH A NATIONAL INVESTOR RECRUITMENT EFFORT - PULLED OVER 70 POTENTIAL INVETSTORS INTO INTRODUCTIONS AND DILIGENCE ON THOSE POTENTIAL PROJECTS. ALL THIS RESULTED IN 9 DEALS (OVER $90 MILLION IN PRIVATE INVESTMENT) CLOSING IN 2019. THESE INCLUDE EVERYTHING FROM A SENIOR CARE FACILITY IN RURAL HEFLIN, ALABAMA TO A NONPROFIT MUSIC EDUCATION STUDIO / PERFORMANCE VENUE PLACEMAKING PROJECT IN URBAN BIRMINGHAM.
DATA AND IMPACT. OPAL DEVELOPED A COMPREHENSIVE IMPACT TRACKING STRATEGY DURING 2019, WHICH WE SHOWCASED AT OUR OPPORTUNITY ZONES - DATA AND IMPACT SUMMIT IN BIRMINGHAM IN MID-JULY. WE WILL BE ROLLING IT OUT TO OUR PROJECT PIPELINE WHEN OUR DATA COLLECTION TOOLS BECOME AVAILABLE IN 2020.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| James Outland | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Greg Barker | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Anoop Mishra | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| David Germany | TREASURER | 1 | $0 |
| Dan Ruth | SECRETARY | 5 | $0 |
| Alexander Flachsbart | PRESIDENT | 50 | $0 |
| Myla Calhoun | CHAIR | 3 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202033219349301323_public.xml