A program to lure remote workers to Tulsa with $10,000 grants has picked its first recipients, and it’s a few more than expected.
More than 100 people have been picked for the Tulsa Remote Program, a project of the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
"After we received over 10,000 applications in less than 10 weeks, we were able to get funding to support bringing in substantially more people than the original number we had thought of, which was 20 to 25," said Tulsa Remote Program Executive Director Aaron Bolzle.
Applications came from more than 150 countries, and the overwhelming response led the George Kaiser Family Foundation to commit more money to the program. Each Tulsa Remote grant recipient currently lives outside Tulsa County has a job with an employer located somewhere else.
"They bring with them a network of connections that could potentially provide opportunities for Tulsans, and, for a lot of them, they bring connections to companies that are actively hiring and could potentially hire Tulsans," Bolzle said.
Grant recipients will get a portion up front to help with moving, $500a month for 12 months and the rest of the $10,000 at the end.
"The hope is that the vast majority of them enjoy the time here and choose to stay indefinitely and make Tulsa their home," Bolzle said.
Recipients also get spots at co-working space 36 Degrees North and a housing stipend.
Tulsa Remote is not a one-off. Bolzle said the next round of grant applications will be this fall.
