Today, the City of Tulsa announced the launch the Office of Financial Empowerment and Community Wealth as part of its participation in the national nonprofit organization the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund’s (CFE Fund’s) Financial Empowerment City initiative.
Tulsa is one of six municipal governments chosen for this inaugural cohort of Financial Empowerment Cities, and will receive extensive training and technical assistance over two years to create an Office of Financial Empowerment and Community Wealth that institutionalizes local financial stability programming and policy efforts in the City of Tulsa.
“Since we launched the Tulsa Financial Empowerment Center, we have remained committed to embed financial empowerment resources into City services,” Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “With the help of CFE Fund, we’re now able to have a dedicated division inside our Resilience office that carries out this vision.”
An Office of Financial Empowerment is a dedicated division of government that champions personal financial stability programs and policy priorities, such as one-on-one financial counseling and safe banking.
“The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing recovery has only underscored the critical role that local government can – and must –play in building residents’ financial stability,” said Jonathan Mintz, President and CEO of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. “An Office of Financial Empowerment, with dedicated leadership, is more than the sum of important individual programs – it’s a catalyst for truly embedding financial empowerment work across government. The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund congratulates the City of Tulsa, and is thrilled to partner with Mayor Bynum and the Tulsa team to launch and lead this new Office.”
“The launch of this office is the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of work by multiple community partners, and I could not be more excited to be part of it,” said Janae Bradford, the new Director of the Office of Financial Empowerment and Community Wealth. “The Office of Financial Empowerment and Community Wealth will be the convener and leader of collaboration across the city of financial empowerment strategies. Our main goal through this office will be to partner with local community organizations, residents, and industry experts to identify and research barriers to financial stability that are relevant to Tulsans and implement new initiatives aimed at breaking down those barriers. This will be a team effort, so thank you in advance to all stakeholders for the impactful work on which we are about to embark.”
The CFE Fund’s Financial Empowerment Cities (FE Cities) initiative helps municipal partners institutionalize and catalyze financial stability efforts through the formal launch of an Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE), led by local leaders trained as National OFE Leaders. The country’s first wave of Offices of Financial Empowerment - such as in New York City, San Francisco, Denver, Lansing, and St. Paul - have created vibrant opportunities locally.
In addition to conceiving of, resourcing, and running large scale programs like Financial Empowerment Centers, Bank On coalitions, child savings programs, and consumer financial protection programs, these OFEs also have been positioned within their administrations to play key roles in financial justice efforts, emergency services, and more.
Guided by the CFE Fund, FE Cities cohort partners will incorporate key lessons learned from these pathbreaking cities into their vision and strategy for creating an OFE that has meaningful impact on the financial stability of its residents.
.png)
Facebook
Twitter
Mail