Michigan First Oppurtunity Zone Program 

The Michigan First Opportunity Zone Program (nicknamed the "Take Back Michigan OZ Initiative") is our grassroots proposal to partner with the Michigan First patriot network to revitalize forgotten towns and cities in Michigan using the federal Opportunity Zones program.

Grassroots Zones for Patriots: Who is this for? Let's start with who it is not for: The rich getting richer or corporate bailouts.Tax breaks for Amazon to open another warehouse.Huge real estate projects.

How about it actually benefits local towns and cities hit hardest during the last decade-plus?Places that were the heart of America's manufacturing core, once bustling cities and towns that are now forgotten.Are you from or know someone in Bay City, Saginaw, Flint (north/south), or other Rust Belt cities in Michigan that could use an economic revival?What about the rural towns or forgotten northern Michigan tourist destinations that don't get as much shine?What about our farms?This program is for faith-filled, family-loving patriots and grassroots places like these.

Michigan First believes in putting power back into the hands of WE THE PEOPLE. So why not a federal program that gives us tools to rebuild locally on our terms?

The Opportunity Zones programs were started by President Trump. It gives tax breaks to private investors that spend their money in low-income and rural communities.This program would take that incentive and encourage Michigan First members, churches, and local investors to use it specifically to rebuild small-town America and rural Michigan communities.

Our core being of course: Family, Faith, Freedom.

Guiding Principles: Build THE MICHIGAN we WANT to see: Family focusing. Jobs and investments that rebuild local downtowns go to small, locally owned businesses and projects putting money back into the community, not coastal businesses or GOP/Deep State insiders.Grassroots republic. Let's use town halls, polls, and direct communication with Michigan First members to decide what projects matter most to each community.Focus on things that strengthen churches, local businesses, family housing, veterans, and trade skills.Hard money. No corrupted handouts. Full public disclosure of where investments go and how they benefit. 

We the People. Decentralize. Use every tool we can to take power back from Washington D.C.

As of 2026, there are 288 OZ tracts in Michigan (qualified in Round 1.0 in 2018, these zones are valid until December 31, 2028). Bay County (including Bay City) and Saginaw County (including Saginaw, MI) are among many that have pieces of distressed and rural tracts qualified as Opportunity Zones: Examples from Saginaw County include dozens of rural land tracts (exact names vary but here are a couple):"Saginaw County 26145000100", "Saginaw County 26145000400", "Saginaw County 26145000600", "Saginaw County 26145001700"... you get the idea.Both Bay City and Saginaw are specifically called out in this Michigan.gov resource as having OZ areas covering portions of their respective city and county areas.

These zones allow investors to delay (and potentially decrease, then permanently exclude) taxes on capital gains if they take that new investment money and put it into a Qualified Opportunity Fund that directly invests in businesses and projects within that tract.For example: Bay City itself is not a qualified Opportunity Zone, but certain disadvantaged census tracts within the city are.The same applies for Saginaw, Flint, Traverse City, etc.

Investors can take their new profits from selling stocks, houses, etc. and immediately reinvest those dollars into a Qualified Opportunity Fund that finances businesses and real estate within Bay City's OZ tracts instead of paying those profits in taxes.Tax incentives include: Benchmark: Invest capital gains into a business or investment inside an Opportunity Zone.

Trade up: Investors can immediately deduct 100% of their new investment from their taxable income if it finances a business that improves the property (adds infrastructure, upgrades, etc.). 

Example: Buying an empty piece of land and constructing a factory on it.Delayed tax free (potentially): Investors can pay zero taxes on that original investment if they hold that investment for longer than 10 years.In practice:this means investors could buy stocks in your small business or fund your locally sourced real estate project and not pay any taxes on those investment profits if they hold that stock for over a decade.While critics say the program has mostly gone to large investors or subsidize housing markets (negatively impacting locals wanting to buy a home), there is nothing stopping patriots from using these tax incentives to rebuild our hometowns.

The only limit is us. We can partner with investors, promote QOFs that fund family-wage jobs or local businesses instead of Amazon warehouses, and use these federal dollars to rebuildMichigan First.Opportunity Zones 2.0 begins this year (start nominating tracts in mid-2026, zones will be available for investors in 2027+) with a few key changes. OZs are now permanent in communities that qualified (through 2036+), but the income requirements are much stricter to limit bid to truly rural or low-income areas.

This means we can ensure that not only are future projects qualified in 2026 to last another decade-plus, but we can make sure rural Michigan, distressed Detroit suburbs, and other forgotten towns are focused on.Not only will Trump's OZ program be around for decades, but states can now also add their own guidelines for which qualifying tracts can be used.As of this writing,MICHIGAN is creating new programs to amplify OZ investments for low-income applicants.As Michigan First, we want to empower our members (and YOUR town) to use this program effectively.

HOW DOES IT WORK? 

Educate MI Community members on Opportunity Zones. 

A simple breakdown of how OZs work, how they can benefit locals, and how we can flip them for patriot projects. "They sound great, but how does this help me?" We host town halls and simplify it: 

Opportunity Zones are a federal tax program that lets investors avoid taxes if they spend their profits in low-income, rural communities.

Sounds like patriotism doesn't it? It doesn't have to be! We can use these programs to funnel investments into locally-owned businesses and rebuilding our downtowns.

Project Spotlight Database

An up-to-date list of projects vetted by Michiganders for Michiganders. This can be based on REAL needs in your hometown.

For example: Your town needs family-wage jobs but doesn't have many locally owned stores or entertainment. We will spotlight rebuilding THAT downtown with family-friendly shops, mini malls, hardware stores, or farms/ag businesses.

Example projects could include:

Developing vacant land into affordable housing for working-class families.Building a vocational training center that focuses on faith, family, hard work.Create a community center tied to a church that helps veterans.Examples of energy independence investments that double as long-term savings for farms and factories.)

Partner WITH Michigan investors to fund these projects.

There are tons of national and regional Opportunity Funds out there... but likely none focusing on YOUR community. Those investments could go to anything.For us, we can partner with vetted investors and local funds to ensure Michigan First resources and members are met.These funds would get FIRST pick at projects submitted through our database. We can ensure they invest in locally grown companies instead of Amazon knockoffs. (or Medicaid incentives)... and directly connect those funds and projects with members and businesses submitting ideas.