North Charleston-based Opportunity Center opens to empower underserved entrepreneurs

The Post & Courier

NORTH CHARLESTON — Four nonprofits are now housed under the same roof, but the groups are doing more than simply sharing real estate.

The organizations at the recently opened Opportunity Center also share a similar vision: Make the space a one-stop shop for economic services that can lead to generational wealth for underserved entrepreneurs.

That vision can be accomplished as the four organizations — South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development, the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation, Increasing H.O.P.E and Homes of Hope Inc. — pool their resources and work together, said Bernie Mazyck, CEO of SCACED.

“We always see ourselves working collaboratively,” Mazyck said. “Each of us complements each other.”

The Opportunity Center officially opens in North Charleston

ABC News 4

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — After breaking ground over a year and a half ago, a center aimed at helping Lowcountry residents with their finances finally had its grand opening on Thursday.

The Opportunity Center is one of the first facilities of its kind and will give a chance for financial development by creating what officials call an “entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

The center houses four nonprofits, all of which specialize in different areas of financial training and services. All of the services focus on helping create wealth and economic prosperity in low-income and minority communities.

The CEO of one of the nonprofits, Bernie Mazyck, told ABC News 4 he believes this center is a unique “one-stop shop” that will help change the economic landscape in the Lowcountry and beyond.

Ribbon cutting for North Charleston’s Opportunity Center held Thursday morning

Charleston City Paper

Officials with North Charleston’s new facility, The Opportunity Center, cut the ribbon on the building Thursday morning during an open house that offered food and tours of the building to guests.

The Opportunity Center, a new concept for a nonprofit-led economic development hub, was built in 2019 out of a former 31,250-square-foot furniture store off Rivers Avenue. 

The construction was buoyed by a $2.7 million grant awarded by the Economic Development Administration in May 2019. In addition, the Coastal Community Foundation provided an $800,000 equity investment from its Place-Based Impact Investing fund. The facility is expected to help create 45 jobs and attract nearly $4 million in private investment. 

Ribbon Cutting Set for New Opportunity Center

Holy City Sinner

A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony including an open house, food, and tours of the building will take place on Thursday, March 31st at 11 am at The Opportunity Center!  The new facility is located at 8570 Rivers Avenue in North Charleston. Officials from the involved charitable organizations as well as other dignitaries will be on hand to answer questions and help demonstrate the impact the facility will have on the region. This will include more information about the charitable organizations involved as well as the U. S. Small Business Administration’s Women’s Business Center which will call The Opportunity Center home.  

Four South Carolina based charitable organizations last year announced their partnership in creating and operating a new concept for non-profit led economic development, this innovative concept was developed into The Opportunity Center.  The four non-profit partner agencies have combined experience of 75 years of working in the community economic development field.  The Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation™, Increasing H.O.P.E., Homes of Hope, and the S.C. Association for Community Economic Development will be using The Opportunity Center not only as their headquarters, but as a training center and a business incubator all under one roof.  

Deputy Secretary of Agriculture visiting North Charleston, address systemic racism

ABC News 4

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — The United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture is visiting the Lowcountry on Monday to speak with local organizations about equity in the USDA’s programs.

Jewel Bronaugh said there's been a history of systemic racism within the USDA that has cost millions of acres of land and money for underserved communities. But Bronaugh and local nonprofits say they are looking to start to make that change.

ABC News 4's Sean Mahoney spoke with Jennie Stephens, CEO of the Center for Heirs Property Preservation organization. Stephens' nonprofit is one of the few talking with Bronaugh in Monday's meeting.

She said many minority farmers and landowners have not had access to resources to take care of their land and agriculture, whether that be technical assistance in the management of forestry or funds to help care for their land.

SCACED Recognized as BofA Neighborhood Champion

CRBJ BizWire

CHARLESTON – Programs that help address the region’s issues around economic mobility and investing in underserved communities will be able to scale, helping even more people through a multi-year grant from Bank of America. The South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development (SCACED) has been named as the 2021 Bank of America Neighborhood Champion for its work addressing these issues in the Lowcountry and throughout South Carolina.

As part of the program, SCACED will receive $50,000 in grant support and an opportunity for engagement in virtual leadership training delivered by experts in the nonprofit sector on topics like human capital management, increasing financial sustainability and storytelling.

Black small businessowners have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. Bank of America surveyed 300 Black businessowners across the country and found that 48% of Black entrepreneurs retooled their operations in response to the pandemic – double that of the national average. As part of its commitment to economic mobility, Bank of America is both engaging directly with business owners of color to ensure they have access to resources needed to secure funding and partnering with nonprofits like SCACED and The Opportunity Center that aim to help meet the needs of underserved entrepreneurs and minority-owned businesses.

$700K grant to assist minority business owners

The Post & Courier

A North Charleston-based center dedicated to helping women and minorities start or grow small businesses has received a $711,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

The Opportunity Center, which works with businesses in Dorchester and Berkeley counties as well as Charleston, will use the grant to fund its Minority Business Development Initiative, according to a press release from the South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development. The grant will give minority business owners access to business resources with the aim of building an “entrepreneurial ecosystem” for local communities of color, the release says.

“National data indicates that 40 percent of minority-owned businesses closed during the pandemic,” Bernie Mazyck, president and CEO of SCACED, said in the press release. “This made an already challenging climate for minority-owned businesses even worse. In South Carolina, 11 percent of African American households own a business compared to 20 (percent) of White households. The funding from the EDA will assist minority-owned enterprises in the Lowcountry succeed to become the wealth-building engine for minority households, as well as well as the Lowcountry of South Carolina.”

Nonprofits struggling to find real estate share space, services

Charleston Regional Business Journal

With the area’s rising real estate prices, nonprofits often struggle to find affordable office space.

To save money on daily expenses, four organizations are joining forces to transform a wholesale furniture warehouse in North Charleston into the Opportunity Center.

The four nonprofits include: Homes for Hope based out of Greenville and the Lowcountry’s South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development, Center for Hiers Property and Increasing H.O.P.E. Financial Training Center.

The building will house new headquarters for all but Homes for Hope, the first Small Business Association Women’s Business Center to serve the tri-county and an entrepreneurial incubator to create an entrepreneurial eco system for the low-income community. Additional market value office spaces will be available to rent as well.

Upon completion at the end of the year, all four organizations will become equal owners of the building at 8570 Rivers Ave., aligning their offices and their similar missions to support the minority and low-wealth community. 

“I’m excited about us being an example of what true collaboration looks like,” Dorothea Bernique, Executive Director of Increasing H.O.P.E., said. “Many times in the nonprofit community we talk about it, but there’s never a whole lot of follow through, and we are an example.”

The idea for the Opportunity Center came about six years ago, SCACED CEO Bernie Mazyck said. Every few years his organization has been forced to relocate its headquarters because of a lack of affordability and once again they were scrambling to find a new office. 

Board member Don Ogelsby took an interest. He wanted to use his development expertise to solve the issue and help nonprofits in similar situations become more sustainable through owning their own corporate headquarters. 

Non-profits combine for Opportunity Center

The Times & Democrat

NORTH CHARLESTON -- Four South Carolina based charitable organizations have announced their partnership in creating and operating a new concept for non-profit led economic development; this innovative concept will be called the Opportunity Center.

The four non-profit partner agencies have combined experience of 75 years of working in the community economic development field. The Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation, Increasing H.O.P.E., Homes of Hope and the S.C. Association for Community Economic Development will be using the Opportunity Center not only as their headquarters, but as a training center and a business incubator all under one roof.

A ground breaking to kick-off construction was held Jan. 25. The facility is located at 8570 Rivers Ave. in North Charleston.

Buoyed by a $2.7 million grant awarded from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to Homes of Hope Inc. this past May, the former 31,250 square-foot furniture store in North Charleston is undergoing the transformation into the Opportunity Center. In addition to the $2.7 million EDA grant, the Coastal Community Foundation (CCF) has provided an $800,000 equity investment from CCF’s Place-Based Impact Investing fund. Other partners to date include Wells Fargo and Trust Bank, who each invested $100,000. The group is currently working on securing additional investments and donations of $1 million to fully complete the project.

Charleston’s Opportunity Center nonprofit hub breaks ground

CHS Today

This week, Greenville-based nonprofit Homes of Hope broke ground on the future Opportunity Center in North Charleston. 

The former warehouse, located at 8570 Rivers Ave., was acquired by Homes of Hope in 2017 to become the headquarters for local nonprofits, a business incubator + a career training facility. 

Charleston’s Opportunity Center | Rendering provided by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture

Local organizations Increasing H.O.P.E., the Center for Heirs Property Preservation + the S.C. Association for Community Economic Development have partnered with Homes of Hope to set up the facility that will become all three organizations’ headquarters. 

Opportunity Center coming to North Charleston

WCSC Live 5

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A former warehouse on Rivers Avenue, down the road from the Northwoods Mall, will soon be transformed into a headquarters for local nonprofits.

Those working on the project say the facility, which will be called the Opportunity Center, could help as many as 800 people every year.

The Opportunity Center will not only provide a permanent space for the organizations working in the community, but it will also provide space for job training, services for startup companies like management training, office space or help building financial credibility.

Groundbreaking ceremony held for North Charleston Opportunity Center

WCBD News 2

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The start of a new project in the Lowcountry is hoping to shine a light on local businesses.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Opportunity Center in North Charleston, located at 8570 Rivers Avenue.

The goal of the center is to help small businesses and unemployed people find success.

The idea came together by four local non-profit organizations, Increasing HOPE, the Center for Heirs Property Preservation, Homes of Hope, and the South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development.

SC nonprofits break ground on Opportunity Center aimed at economic progress

Post & Courier

NORTH CHARLESTON — Several Charleston area nonprofits hope to mark a new era with an Opportunity Center focused on helping women, minorities and people from low-wealth communities become successful entrepreneurs.

“Here we are, standing in the fullness of time, ready to launch a new day to help those who’ve experienced missed opportunities to achieve prosperity,” said Bernie Mazyck, president and CEO of S.C. Association for Community Economic Development.

Coming Soon – New Opportunity Center To Serve As Business Incubator For Small & Minority-led Businesses

CRBJ BizWire

North Charleston, SC – Thursday, January 21, 2021: Small and minority-owned businesses have been left out of the economic mainstream for decades. At the end of 2019, just 11.9% of persons of color in South Carolina owned a business compared to 20% of the white population. And though minority businesses have created 4.7 million jobs in the United States over the past 10 years, there is still a disparity when it comes to access to capital; as evidenced by the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) where 40% of minority-owned businesses were shut out and received no funding. A new Opportunity Center breaking ground on January 25th will aide and support small & minority-led businesses to help increase access to capital and promote sustainable economic growth throughout the state.

Charleston area to get SBA Women’s Business Center as part of largest-ever rollout

Post & Courier

The Charleston region is getting a new Women’s Business Center affiliated with the U.S. Small Business Administration as part of the largest-ever expansion in the program’s 30-year history. 

Increasing H.O.P.E., a North Charleston nonprofit that bills itself as a one-stop shop for financial training, was chosen to create one of the 20 new centers the federal agency announced last week that it would launch across the U.S.