Atlanta Receiving $920K Rockefeller Foundation Grant

ATLANTA — Atlanta is the second city to participate in The Rockefeller Foundation’s opportunity zone community capacity building initiative. The initiative, which launched in May 2019, aims to help U.S. cities attract private investment in economically-distressed communities through opportunity zones created under President Donald Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Atlanta, which has more than 82,000 residents living in 26 designated opportunity zones, will receive $920,000 in grants and supportive services, including a $400,000 grant to establish and fund a chief opportunity zone officer at Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development authority. Funding will also support the placement of two AmeriCorps Volunteers In Service To America members who will facilitate community involvement in the zones; and assistance to help develop project pipelines.

“Opportunity zones are an exciting new tool for building economic development in underserved communities,” said Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who has endorsed Democrat Joe Biden's presidential campaign to unseat Trump in 2020. “These grants will help guide us as we implement the program to maximize the benefits of job creation and neighborhood improvement in the most vulnerable areas of our city. ”

The Rockefeller Foundation also announced it will award a $600,000 grant to Cities of Service, an independent nonprofit organization that helps mayors build stronger cities by changing the way local government and citizens work together.

“As the wealth gap in the United States continues to widen, we recognize how a zip code impacts the economic opportunities for a community and its residents,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation. “Atlanta has shown strong commitment to ensuring investment in its opportunity zones are designed with the most vulnerable in mind, and we are pleased to provide additional support to ultimately lift up these communities by enabling new pathways to economic mobility.”

“Opportunity zones are the first federal incentive for community development in 15 years and a unique opportunity to leverage private capital to help achieve Atlanta’s economic and community development goals,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta.