Opportunity Arizona

As with other Arabella-affiliated organizations, it is not clear how active Opportunity Arizona has been, outside of having a website. On its website, Opportunity Arizona has advocated for tightening corporate tax policy, establishing federal mandates to decrease prescription drug prices, and subsidizing college tuition with federal funds. ³

Background

Opportunity Arizona is a left-of-center advocacy organization with a Phoenix address. ⁴ It is primarily financed by the Hopewell Fund and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, both of which are fiscally sponsored by Arabella Advisors. The Funds have described Opportunity Arizona as advocating for civil rights and social action. ^{1 5}

Opportunity Arizona promotes left-of-center economic and educational policy in the state. ⁶ Opportunity Arizona became an independent organization in 2020, when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) granted it tax-exempt status. ²

Advocacy

Opportunity Arizona has a “COVID-19 Resource Page” on its website that largely reflects the public policies outlined elsewhere on the website. The resource page has links at the bottom to government agencies and other public health entities, but at the top of the page, the Opportunity Arizona calls for broad left-of-center economic policy implementation, including increased unemployment benefits, mandatory paid time off, and stricter corporate tax policy. ⁷

Opportunity Arizona has claimed to work on six key issues. The organization is active in economic policy, endorsing left-of-center proposals to enact stricter corporate responsibility laws, increase taxes on the wealthy, and mandate paid family leave for all employees. ^{8 9}

Opportunity Arizona has also endorsed left-of-center policy on healthcare and education. The organization supports mandates which bar private health insurance companies from denying plans to people with pre-existing conditions and advocates for the government to negotiate to set price ceilings for pharmaceuticals. ^{10 11} The organization also calls for more public subsidies for college education. ¹²

Finances

In 2019, Opportunity Arizona received $555,000 from the left-of-center Hopewell Fund, a pass-through funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit managed by the consultancy Arabella Advisors in Washington, D.C. ²

The Sixteen Thirty Fund, an advocacy organization that is also managed by Arabella Advisors, gave a $91,000 grant to Opportunity Arizona in 2019. ⁵

Arabella Advisors sponsor a number of ‘pop-up’ organizations, which are websites designed to look like standalone, grassroots nonprofit organizations. These websites often seek to impact issue advocacy campaigns and may disappear after the targeted campaigns are finished. ¹³

Opportunity Arizona’s website does not list any staff members. The website lists several news stories relating to Opportunity Arizona’s targeted issues, but none of the news stories quote the organization or its representatives. ³