Essay: Tulsa Shows Us How to Attract New Jewish Residents

Philanthropist George Kaiser giving the Tulsa Tomorrow group a private Philanthropist George Kaiser giving the Tulsa Tomorrow group a private tour of The Gathering Place.
(Courtesy of Dan Brotman)

The Tulsa Jewish community made it clear that it is ready to welcome newcomers and make their move a success, from helping arrivals find employment to getting new business ventures off the ground.

Jewish entrepreneurs first settled in Tulsa, Okla., in 1902, once known as the “oil capital of the world.” Although the Tulsa Jewish community only has an estimated 1,800 members today, several Jewish families amassed fortunes in oil and gas, resulting in the city being home to some of the Jewish world’s most recognizable philanthropists, including the Kaiser, Schusterman and Zarrow families. 

Among these three Jewish families alone, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually on services throughout the city, plugging the holes of significant state budget cuts and limited public services.

I’ve been told that Tulsa is possibly the most philanthropic city per capita in the country, and that Jewish philanthropists fund close to half of all social services in the city. Both Tulsa’s United Way and Tulsa’s Community Foundation are the second largest in the country, which says a lot for a medium-size city. 

In 2016, businessmen David Finer and David Charney convened a few friends and decided that the Tulsa Jewish community needed to take proactive steps to reverse its demographic decline. The group calls itself “The Guerillas” and decided to tackle the community’s demographic challenge by founding an independent organization called Tulsa Tomorrow. Tulsa Tomorrow’s mission is to create curated experiences and opportunities for people looking at Tulsa as a place to move, grow and connect with a Jewish community. 

Read the full article online here:
https://thejewishnews.com/2021/11/12/essay-tulsa-shows-us-how-to-attract-new-jewish-residents/

Detroit Jewish News