Southern California is our headquarters and our sandbox.
We create innovative place-based solutions here to serve as case studies nationwide.
Technology Driven Solutions:
Opportunity Zone Data for Economic Developers
Our team has been at the forefront of the Opportunity Zone ecosystem in partnership with mayoral offices, foundations, and private sector investors nationwide since 2019.
Having experienced and navigated the common challenges in the predevelopment stage in varied local ecosystems, we have developed scalable technology driven solutions to harness data for decision making, impact reporting, and fundraising.
Explore our solutions being deployed throughout select communities in federally designated Opportunity Zones.
Technology Driven Solutions:
Inland SoCal Advanced Manufacturing Initiative
Partners: California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), California’s Manufacturing Network (CMTC), Center for Sustainable Energy, County of Riverside Office of Economic Development, Inland Economic Growth and Opportunity (IEGO), Inland Empire Labor Institute (IELI), Riverside College Community District, University of California Riverside Office of Technology Partnerships, University of California Riverside School of Public Policy, & Youth Action Project
In 2023 the U.S. Department of Energy issued a challenge to communities nationwide to coalesce around the goal of American reshoring and manufacturing. Aiming to strengthen our supply chain and create good-paying jobs in critical industries, the initiative is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Blended Impact answered the call and quickly assembled a ten-party stakeholder group aiming to make the Inland Empire counties of Riverside and San Bernardino eligible to compete over the competition period in 2024-2025. To be competitive, teams must secure an MOU with a high-growth manufacturing company with community support at the end of the period.
In this consortium, Blended Impact is leading robust business attraction efforts targeted to companies manufacturing in the approved advanced sectors, aligning with community priorities, and creating incentives for small businesses as part of the attraction efforts. We are particularly well positioned to attract, evaluate, and assist technology driven solutions that have raised at least a Series A round of funding in the private markets.
Access to Capital:
Standardized Plans for Middle Income Housing
Partners: SCAG, the City of Riverside, & Parkview Legacy Foundation
In 2022, Blended Impact along with a small group of community leaders based in the City of Riverside researched and presented on the potential of standardized middle-income housing plans as a method to reduce soft costs to project sponsors, encourage development by emerging developers, increase housing diversity in high need areas, and reduce city approval times.
The direct target beneficiaries are intended to be renters in the 80-120% of Average Median Income brackets, who are currently underserved by public subsidies, and the indirect target beneficiaries are intended to be local, emerging developers scaling up to develop more units in high need areas lots.
After additional presentations to SCAG and WRCOG— the City of Riverside, Parkview Legacy Foundation, and Blended Impact elected to research the potential further.
Blended Impact is currently pursuing potential sites and funding for a pilot demonstration project.
Access to Capital:
Fresno Small Business Ecosystem Investable Plan
Partners: Small Business Majority, Fresno Stakeholders (subset of Fresno Drive)
Launched over a nine month period in 2024, the Blended Impact team supported the Small Business Majority in the strategy, design, and implementation of progressive stakeholder sessions to unearth community priorities for the creation of an investable plan for the Fresno small business ecosystem. Thru a mix of panels, presentations, workshops, surveys, and analysis, with both support organizations and business owners directly, over 10 projects were identified for potential funding. As a result, the team was able to secure an additional $1M investment from the James Irvine Foundation to facilitate additional convenings for the stakeholders and alignment was created with the California Jobs First planning process to unlock millions more for the ecosystem.
Similar engagements were undertaken with Fuse Corp, Accelerator for America, the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, and more. See more examples here: Strategy & Innovation.
Access to Capital: Opportunity Riverside
Partners: Accelerator for America, Center for Social Innovation at UCR, Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF), Inland Empire Growth and Opportunity (IEGO), James Irvine Foundation, & Riverside County Office of Economic Development
Launched from 2020 to 2021, Opportunity Riverside was an initiative launched in partnership with the Riverside County Office of Economic Development to foster economic development in the county’s Opportunity Zones from the ground up, covering 14 cities and unincorporated areas. The county has the 3rd highest number of OZ census tracts in the state, making it a high priority.
Blended Impact worked to:
Educate stakeholders on what Opportunity Zones are and how investments can be structured to work for projects and communities
Source project and capital pipelines
Track the performance of projects within communities
Access to Capital: Opportunity Coachella
Partners: Accelerator for America, Center for Social Innovation at UCR, City of Coachella Economic Development Office, City Possible by Mastercard, Coachella Valley-OCIE SBDC, Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, Mission Driven Finance, One i/e, Opportunity Riverside, Riverside County of Economic Development, Small Business Financial Development Corporation of Orange County, & SparkXYZ
Launched in April 2021, Opportunity Coachella was the City of Coachella’s first entrepreneurship and business attraction competition. City leadership wanted to focus on attracting businesses in clean energy, lodging, and recreation to the City’s Opportunity Zones and encourage local entrepreneurship.
Blended Impact managed the strategy, implementation, and reporting for this initiative from initial research and concept co-design to full execution.
In the four-week competition period, the website gained over 2,000 views nationally along with Coachella Mayor Stephen Hernandez being invited onto a Telemundo news segment to promote the initiative. The City’s Economic Development Office awarded $15,000 in prizes to businesses and residents and identified over $245 million dollars in economic development potential. See the case study for full details.