ABOUT OPSC
Harnessing the power of Opportunity Zones to transform South Carolina
Opportunity South Carolina – or OPSC, as we like to call it – is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to driving capital into our distressed communities, strengthening social infrastructures, and leveraging social enterprises to further our charitable mission. Our primary focus is capital formation around:
- Economic Development in Opportunity Zones
- Affordable Housing Preservation and Creation to lessen the effects of SC’s explosive growth
- Support the creation of BIPOC and Minority Owned business and entrepreneurship
- Employ sustainable development and E.S.G. practices focused on increasing a triple bottom line return for communities
South Carolina’s Opportunity Zones
Foundational to the program are the more than 8,700 Census tracts across the country that were designated as “Opportunity Zones” by the governors of each state. Over 95% of these Census tracts are statutorily-defined “low-income areas” – and many of those are places where the economic recovery never reached.
Here in South Carolina, Governor McMaster selected 135 Opportunity Zones, a profile of which is presented below. These zones are set for the next decade.
91 tracts of 135 have an anchor institution like a university, hospital, airport or military base
82 tracts of 135 have easy access to an interstate exit
95 tracts of 135 have a downtown area or neighborhood commercial district
Average unemployment rate of an Opportunity Zone
Average number of Opportunity Zone residents with a college degree
As the numbers show, South Carolina’s Opportunity Zones share some common characteristics – they are poorer and less educated than the average South Carolina community, and suffer from a lack of access to capital readily available to their more affluent neighbors. Despite this, many (if not most) of the state’s key assets – everything from anchor institutions like hospitals and universities to economic drivers like downtown’s and industrial sites – are in or adjacent to our Opportunity Zones.
What We Do
Opportunity South Carolina exists to unite the four groups necessary to facilitate a statewide Opportunity Zone ecosystem here in South Carolina:
For Projects
Investors
For Communities
For Partners
OPSC’s mission is to:
- Economic Development in Opportunity Zones
- Affordable Housing Preservation and Creation to lessen the effects of SC’s explosive growth
- Support the creation of BIPOC and Minority Owned business and entrepreneurship
- Employ sustainable development and E.S.G. practices focused on increasing a triple bottom line return for communities
