Financial Empowerment Center Celebrates Four Years of Supporting Tulsa’s Journey to Financial Resilience

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Yesterday, the City of Tulsa celebrated four years of the Financial Empowerment Center offering free, professional, one-on-one financial counseling to all Tulsans.

The City of Tulsa and Goodwill Industries of Tulsa partnered to launch the evidence-based national model in December 2020. In 2024, the City of Tulsa added a 2nd provider, Tulsa Responds, to expand capacity. To date, the program has served over 1,400 Tulsans who have collectively increased their savings by over $500,000 and reduced over $1.3 million in debt. With the Goodwill and Tulsa Responds teams, the Tulsa FEC will have a total of seven counselors available to work with Tulsans on their financial goals.

"The Tulsa Financial Empowerment Center has made a profound impact on Tulsans over the last four years and continues to offer financial services to residents that want additional support services," said Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols. "I am thankful for our team at the City and the numerous community partners that make these services possible to ensure we can be a more financially resilient city."

With recently expanded capacity, Tulsans are able visit with a financial counselor via video, phone or at one of seven hubs or co-locations:

"In four years, FEC has made an incredible impact on the Tulsa community, and we know it's just the beginning," said Marcela Swenson, Executive Director of Tulsa Responds. "Tulsa Responds is thrilled to be partnering with the City as a Financial Empowerment Center and to be offering this invaluable service to Tulsans for free. In our first three months we have had over 150 sessions and clients have collectively reduced their debt by $65,000. We're excited to celebrate more milestones to come!"

"Providing free financial counseling to Tulsans over the past four years through the FEC has been an impactful and fulfilling enhancement to Goodwill Tulsa's financial wellness initiatives," said David Oliver, President of Goodwill Industries of Tulsa. "This effort has advanced our mission to remove obstacles and empower Tulsans to reach their financial aspirations. We look forward to continuing our services to our community."

Tulsa is one of 32 municipal governments across the nation providing financial counseling as a free public service. The FEC model focuses on access to safe and affordable banking, increasing savings and building assets, reducing debt, establishing or improving credit scores, budgeting, and other financial management best practices. The service is free and available to anyone in Tulsa. To schedule an appointment, go online to www.cityoftulsa.org/FEC.

The FEC is a program housed in Tulsa's Office of Financial Empowerment and Community Wealth, which endeavors to ensure all Tulsans have access to the programs and resources needed to achieve financial stability and resiliency through partnership development, strategic coordination, policy and advocacy, and building long-term sustainability of financial empowerment strategies across our community. The Office of Financial Empowerment & Community Wealth was launched in 2023 and is housed within the Mayor's Office of Resilience and Equity in the Department of City Experience.

For questions or potential partnerships, please contact [email protected]