5 Strategies for Opportunity Zone Investors

America is a country that’s filled with diversity. This divergence comes in numerous forms from the nation’s citizens and their backgrounds to its cuisine, fashion, music, art, and other aspects. All those differences touch every neighborhood across the country. Still, some communities are being hit hard by economic struggles. In turn, residents and business owners in those areas face numerous struggles. Those challenges can become increasingly widespread and severe without outside intervention, but help doesn’t always arrive when and where it’s needed.

Developing a Solution

Because of all that, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 were developed. It created an array of investment opportunities known as Opportunity Zones. Opportunity Zones are low-income, underserved neighborhoods that often get overlooked by investors and other financiers. For those who are interested in real estate investments, investing in opportunity funds can offer numerous benefits. Tax incentives, favorable profits, and helping communities in need are only a few of the most significant advantages.

Directing Attention Where It’s Needed

According to the latest reports, there are currently more than 8,760 Qualified Opportunity Zones across the United States and its territories. This gives investors a wide range of options to choose from. At the same time, several strategies are available for encouraging prospects to invest in QOZs.

1) Provide the Right Connections

Many investors who would be willing to funnel their capital into community improvement projects don’t even realize Opportunity Zones are an option. Furthermore, those who have heard of Opportunity Zones may not know where they are or which projects would most benefit from their financing. Spread the word about community projects in need of investors, and provide the information potential investors need to connect with the local opportunity fund managers and businesses available to them.

2) Develop Fundraising Campaigns

Fundraising campaigns can be immensely effective for raising public awareness about a worthy cause and helping to bring in investors. It works for schools, churches, and countless charitable organizations, and it can certainly do the same for Opportunity Funds. A fundraising campaign for one QOZ project may even have an ongoing ripple effect that carries over into numerous additional projects in the community.

3) Get Community Leaders Involved

Community leaders tend to set examples for other members of the neighborhood. In the case of Opportunity Zones, those authority figures can help generate interest in projects in need of attention. Leaders in the community can also take their efforts to the national level. After all, not all investors have to be local.

4) Bring Local Institutions on Board

Local institutions can also be effective allies for enticing investors to help fund Opportunity Zones. These can include universities, hospitals, local branches of major corporations, and other influencers in the community. They often have solid, long-running relationships with investors, so they can serve as connections between prospects and projects.

5) Highlight Local Projects

Some prospects may not be entirely unwilling to invest in Opportunity Zones, but they don’t realize just how much of a difference their funding can make in the community. While recruiting investors, show them before and after pictures of other OZ projects and explain the positive impacts they’ve had on the community. If there aren’t any projects that have been completed, show prospects a property in need of their investments and examples of what it could look like with their help.

Maximizing Investments for Optimal Effects

Numerous investors are waiting for the right opportunities to come along. By spreading the word about local Opportunity Zone projects and their benefits, it’s possible to transform prospects into investors. In turn, both the investors and the communities they contribute to stand to gain a great deal. Consider using these effective strategies to draw attention to local OZs and QOFs to help bring in more investors and maximize their effects on the community.