Jewish Federation of Kansas City has partnered with Jewish Family Services to launch a new interest-free loan program designed to help those facing financial challenges in the Jewish community.
Jewish or Hebrew “free loan” programs have existed for many years in various Jewish communities across the country, and in order to learn from other communities, Jewish Federation joined the International Association of Jewish Free Loans (IAJFL) last fall and sent Chief Operating Officer Derek Gale to the association’s conference.
“I was able to understand both the impact and the details and finer points of these programs thanks to some outstanding sessions as well as some incredibly helpful professionals and volunteer leaders at the conference,” Gale said. “My big takeaway was that when done right, 98-99% of Jewish free loans are fully repaid, and that this is the case even loaning to people who most banks or other lenders would turn away.”
Launching as a pilot program, the free loan initiative is now welcoming applications from existing adult Jewish clients of JFS who are residents of the Kansas City metro area. Qualifying purposes for loans can be paying down high-interest debt; covering unexpected or large medical or dental expenses; paying for health insurance; covering unexpected or large car repairs or purchases in order to work; moving expenses; property taxes; or funeral expenses for a family member. The maximum loan amount will be $7,500 during the pilot.
A newly-formed loan committee will review loan applications with all identifying information removed. Once a loan is recommended, paperwork will be shared with the borrower and signed electronically, and loan repayments will be automatically withdrawn monthly from a borrower bank account.
According to the Greater Kansas City Jewish Community Study (the results of which were shared in 2022), 23% of households in the community could not or were barely making ends meet. This mirrors the roughly 20% nationally in the same situation. Jewish Federations of North America notes that one-fifth of the Jewish community has experienced or will experience financial vulnerability at some point in their lives.
The push to do more to address financial vulnerability in the Jewish community gained momentum last spring, both nationally and locally.
In April 2025, more than 50 Jewish Federation and human service agency volunteers and professionals from across the nation gathered on Capitol Hill. They educated members of Congress and their staffs about financial vulnerability in the Jewish community and advocated for continued essential federal aid for human services.
“Financial insecurity affects every aspect of Jewish life, from access to critical health and human services, participation in synagogue life and community activities, and access to nutritious kosher food,” said Jason Wuliger, chair of Jewish Federations of North America’s Public Affairs Committee.
At the same time, Jewish Federation board member Jay Ingber was asking the Federation staff why the Kansas City Jewish community was not offering an interest-free loan program. A former low-interest loan program in partnership with Security Bank had made its final loan about five years prior, with most of the loaned funds having been repaid. With Ingber’s urging, Federation staff began exploring how a new free loan program could work, which led to learning from other communities and joining the IAJFL.
Ingber gives credit to Mike Elyachar, another community member and leader who got him interested in pursuing his own learning about such programs.
“Mike saw firsthand the impact this program could have in someone’s life,” Ingber said, noting that Elyachar was impressed with the administration of the program in Dallas, Texas. He connected Ingber with the executive director of the Dallas Hebrew Free Loan Association (which also is a member of the IAJFL). This was the beginning of Ingber’s learning and efforts to launch the program in Kansas City.
“Helping bring [Jewish] Free Loan to Kansas City has been deeply meaningful for me, especially after learning how impactful it’s been in other communities around the country,” Ingber said. “This program reflects one of our most important values — Jews helping other Jews with dignity and compassion — and I’m excited to see how it will help change lives for people in our community.”
For those in the Jewish community who are not currently clients of JFS but face challenging financial circumstances, Gale recommends they visit jfskc.org to see what services may be able to be offered, as there are other Jewish community programs — from the JFS Food Pantry to the Myra Rosenberg Litman Chesed Fund — designed to assist in various ways.
