ESOP is a nonprofit HUD-approved housing and financial counseling agency.

Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People (ESOP) was founded in 1993 by the late Inez Killingsworth, a community organizer and Purpose Prize honoree who realized that the solution to many neighborhood challenges could be found by engaging community members. In its early days as the East Side Organizing Project, ESOP used community activism to combat predatory lending and other disreputable financial practices in Cleveland neighborhoods.

As the organization evolved into Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People, ESOP shifted focus to provide individuals with the knowledge and tools they needed to ensure their financial wellness and housing stability. ESOP has helped more than 65,000 homeowners across Ohio save their homes from foreclosure.

In recent years, ESOP developed the Senior Financial Empowerment Initiative. The commitment to helping older adults achieve financial wellness and housing stability was enhanced in 2017, when ESOP became part of Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging (benrose.org), a nonprofit organization founded in 1908 to advance support for older adults and caregivers.

Our Mission

Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People (ESOP) helps adults in all stages of life achieve and maintain financial wellness and housing stability.

Our Vision

ESOP envisions a community in which everyone has economic opportunity, financial stability and a safe place to live.

Our Core Values

• We are committed to developing economic opportunity for everyone.
• We are visionary in identifying and responding to emerging issues.
• Our TEAM is greater than any of our individual parts.
• We invest in staff that strive for excellence and show initiative.
• We qualitatively and quantitatively measure our efforts as we strive to be the best at everything we do.
• We strive for a culture that is fun, caring, and supportive of one another.