EDISON, NJ — A local teen has launched a student-led nonprofit focused on expanding financial literacy, supporting small businesses and advocating for greater financial opportunities for all communities.
Tanisi Sahai, a 16-year-old student at the Wardlaw + Hartridge School in Edison, launched the online platform FinEmpower in the summer of 2025.
The organization aims to equip individuals and communities with the knowledge and tools necessary to build a more financially secure future, Sahai told Patch.
This goal is achieved through the platform's three main pillars:
“I’m really passionate about advocacy, community service and that type of work,” Sahai said. “FinEmpower originated around a time when I was doing a lot of research about economic policy specific to New Jersey and policy that’s nationwide.”
As she was going about this research, Sahai said she realized how economic policy affects people in different communities, especially if said policy or financial education isn’t geared toward a specific community or demographic.
“I came across this article on personal finance courses in high school, which spoke about how even though personal finance courses are great, they sometimes fail to cater toward different minority groups who face historical disparities,” she said. “Those groups also may not have access to the resources the course is teaching in the first place, which can make them very unequal.”
In efforts to address this inequality, Sahai launched FinEmpower to give people the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the world of finance.
Through the nonprofit’s three pillars, the organization has been able to run free financial literacy workshops, give hands-on guidance in financial planning to local small businesses, and advocate for policy reforms across the U.S.
Since launching the organization, Sahai said it’s been “an informative experience” that has allowed her to not only work with other students, but also to work with people who benefit from their financial education and resources.
In the past year, for example, Sahai said FinEmpower has been able to work with single mothers and give them the tools they need to support their kids and families at home, as well as find new job opportunities.
She told Patch that working with those moms, and expanding FinEmpower overall, has been “such a rewarding experience.”
“The first time we were able to help a mom, give them access to resources and help them get a job, that was a really rewarding experience in and of itself,” she said. “I just want to help people. I think it’s such an important thing to help people, especially during today’s times, so I would say that’s a really rewarding part of FinEmpower.”
Going forward, Sahai plans to continue expanding FinEmpower with other students and partner organizations to help people in need.
For those interested in learning more about the nonprofit or joining the team, they can visit the FinEmpower website or email infofinempower@gmail.com.
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