Brighter Futures Begin with HOPE.

Advancing a High-Impact Rural Strategy for Opportunity Zones 2.0 in the Deep South

March 26th, 2026

By Diane Standaert and Sara Miller

This year, states have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to incentivize private capital investments into their rural communities. This will be through state’s ability to designate certain communities as Opportunity Zones (OZ).  These infusions could be a source to help meet communities needs for affordable housing, infrastructure, broadband access, downtown revitalization and the like.  Through advancing a high-impact rural strategy, states can help ensure alignment between the investment needs and community-driven vision for economic development for their future.

Created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones spur economic growth and job creation in low-income communities while providing tax benefits to investors. The first round of Opportunity Zones generated $120 billion in new investments across the country. However, only a fraction of that, about $6 billion, flowed into rural communities by 2022, and even less reached areas experiencing persistent poverty. This time around, Opportunity Zone 2.0, the authorizing legislation increased incentives for rural Opportunity Zones, yet still maintains an overly broad definition of rural such as that even Atlantic City, New Jersey is considered rural.

As such, HOPE, along with the Partners for Rural Transformation and Housing Assistance Council, released a guide on how states can meaningfully drive OZ-motivated investments to rural communities. The guide includes lessons learned and case studies from OZ 1.0. It also provides key recommendations for states to identify eligible rural communities that have both high need and community readiness to maximize OZ investments in these areas.

The guide’s recommendations are the following:

• Engage Rural Communities, Native Communities, and Practitioners: Hearing directly from rural communities through organizations like Community Development Financial Institutions and non-profit developers will help state and local leaders designate Opportunity Zones that will have the greatest impact.

• Create a Map that Targets Unique Rural Needs and Development Goals: Mapping tools can assist state and local leaders in designating rural areas where investment is needed most, such as overlays of persistent poverty, and illuminate the opportunities to leverage additional investment incentives under other federal programs.

• Create Priorities in State Funding Programs: States can take a more active role in driving investment into rural communities facing persistent poverty by prioritizing projects within preexisting state programs to attract additional resources and investors.  
• Create an Assessment Tool: States can establishing a clear decision-making rubric can ensure high-impact selections are made in a transparent manner.

The guide includes case studies of successful rural OZ investments, and provides four recommendations as states consider their designation strategies for OZ 2.0.   For example, as summarized in the guide, in the first round of Opportunity Zones, HOPE supported the development of affordable housing in Canton, Richland, and Sunflower, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For example, HOPE Opportunity Zone Fund invested $1.5 million in the Mill Creek Development, building a 48-unit rental community of detached single-family homes located in the rural southwest Mississippi community of Brookhaven, where 25% of the population of 12,000 lives in poverty.  The guide also highlights the work of Opportunity Alabama to leverage private capital spurred by Opportunity Zone designation to revitalize the historic downtown of Selma, Alabama, a town of roughly 18,000 people and home to the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Beginning July 1, 2026, states will have a 90-day period to make their official Opportunity Zone designations. In preparation, some states, such as Mississippi, have already created avenues for public input to inform their selection process.  With the time quickly approaching for states to designate the next round of Opportunity Zones, states and rural leaders should start planning now to ensure that rural communities are able to benefit from these private capital infusions.

PRT, HAC, and HOPE hosted a webinar on the guide for state policymakers, regional development hubs, and local non-profits on March 12. The recording is available here.