Greenwood Community Development Corporation

PROJECT PURPOSE

The Greenwood Community Development Corporation proposes a 12-month program providing free workshops that facilitate financial planning for businesses in Tulsa. Historic Greenwood has a storied history of serving minority and disadvantaged businesses and residents of North Tulsa. Drawing on this experience and the current chronic need for individuals and families in the community to find economic support resources and develop financial survival plans, the GCDC will: reach into pockets of these communities that are hard to reach; incentivize learning and use financial planning systems, and provide a venue for local non-profits to share essential services with residents that address the negative impact of the pandemic. This will be done hand and hand with the small businesses situated in the Greenwood District that has suffered a loss of more than 60 percent in profit margin and over 30 percent in sales since 2020. The project will provide instruction and support in credit coaching, business plan assistance, bookkeeping, budgeting, cash flow, individual and family financial planning, and crisis management The forty struggling small businesses in this block of Greenwood Avenue will contribute their knowledge and services and in return receive marketing support, get more customers, and a chance to survive.

EVIDENCE

There is already a great deal of information concerning how to handle the financial devastation of Covid19, however, sometimes it does not reach the right audiences. This GCDC project provides an ideal venue for engaging minority and low-income Tulsans at the entrance to ONEOK Field in a familiar neighborhood by providing resources and workshops created by and specifically targeted at this community of need. This project targets Tulsans from the North and East of the City who have long-term links to the Greenwood District.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

This project targets Tulsans from the North and East of the City who have long-term links to the Greenwood District. Large percentages of African-Americans live in North Tulsa, above the 244 Freeway and Admiral Boulevard, and in smaller enclaves throughout the city like the area around 61st and Peoria Street, which has a large number of public housing projects. Some 33.5 percent of North Tulsans lived in poverty before Covid19 as a result of there being few businesses and large-scale employers there. The additional loss of jobs, decreased income, financial struggles, and dependence on unemployment and benefits can sap the strength to move forward to improved financial futures. Incentivized by discount meals, GCDC will use the location of the district and its amenities to foster an environment where residents can learn ways to plan, manage and strategize their financial lives. The workshops will provide down-to-earth, understandable information and a chance to review individual costs and learn how to budget and plan. This provides a path forward in a supportive group environment led by people who understand the challenges. In addition, this project responds to the current stresses on the few small businesses in this area of Tulsa.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The first output is reaching an estimated 20,000 or more residents from North Tulsa who pass through the Greenwood District on a weekly basis. The output can be projected to be 500-1,000 residents during the year who will sign up for financial workshops and benefit from some level of personalized financial resiliency planning. Further outputs are methods for residents to save money and develop financial resiliency and for small business and franchise owners to increase traffic and assure stability and survival.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

One-time project will not need continued funding