PLATINUM2022

Hebrew Free Loan

Interest-Free Lending since 1897

aka Hebrew Free Loan of San Francisco   |   San Francisco, CA   |  www.hflasf.org

Mission

We provide interest-free loans to help Jewish individuals in Northern California overcome financial challenges and pursue life dreams. Loans are also available to those who meet one of the following criteria, regardless of religion: • Employee of a Jewish organization • Business partner with a Jewish resident of Northern California • Student from a lower income home who is referred by a partner agency (see website) As loans are repaid, funds are recycled to make new loans. We’ve proven the success of this model with a repayment rate of over 99%.

Notes from the nonprofit

Hebrew Free Loan’s philosophy is simple: We help people to help themselves by providing financial assistance. Hebrew Free Loan is the only agency in the Bay Area that makes interest-free loans. We help members of the Jewish community realize their dreams. While the philosophy is simple, it is based on a biblical mandate to the Jewish people. In Parsha Mishpatim, God tells Moses and the people of Israel that they may not derive personal benefit from loans made to members of their community – in other words, they may not charge interest. Indeed, this practice has proven to be an integral part of Jewish life for centuries, reflecting a commitment to this ancient ethical teaching. It is the foundation – the inspiration – for the Hebrew Free Loan Association.

Ruling year info

1935

Executive Director

Ms. Cindy Rogoway

Main address

131 Steuart St. Suite 520

San Francisco, CA 94105 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

94-1156545

NTEE code info

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (S12)

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (P12)

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (W12)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018.
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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

As leaders of Hebrew Free Loan, we are charged with maintaining the delicate balance between respecting the agency’s history and direct link to our biblical roots, while embracing innovation and ensuring our relevance in the future. While we evolve, we will never lose sight of the heart and soul of our mission: helping people to become and remain self sufficient, and empowering our loan recipients to live the lives to which they aspire. That’s the impact to which we aspire! In the midst of uncertain and challenging times, we are proud of the impact our unique financial services have on community members. That said, we have only begun to scratch the surface in terms of reaching those in need. To maximize our impact, we recommit ourselves to strengthening our fundraising, our outreach and our services.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Interest-Free Loans

Hebrew Free Loan offers interest-free loans to Jewish individuals in Northern California to fulfill a variety of financial needs. Those seeking loans must complete a loan application, which includes meeting in person with a Hebrew Free Loan staff member and obtaining cosigners or a security agreement. After our Board of Directors approves the request, the loan is disbursed. Repayment begins approximately 30 days after the loan is disbursed, and ranges from two to five years, depending on the amount borrowed.

Loan categories include:
Adoption
Business
Coronavirus Impact
Debt Consolidation
Disaster Relief
Emergency
Fertility
First-Time Homebuyer
General Needs
Health Care
Jewish Organization
Life Cycle
Recently Unemployed
Special Needs
Student
Ukraine Assistance

Population(s) Served

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Total dollar amount of loans issued

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Years are according to a July 1st-June 30th Fiscal Year.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Hebrew Free Loan seeks to be a more robust and vibrant agency, by exploring creative approaches to funding our operation and expanding our services. We will increase our visibility and reinforce Hebrew Free Loan’s role in the community as the central address for people needing financial assistance in the form of loans, grants and scholarships.

Hebrew Free Loan seeks to continue the rapid growth we've seen over the past couple of years. We are always striving to have a greater impact on our borrowers and the community as a whole. We would like have $12 million in outstanding loans, and in order to do that responsibly, we feel like we would need to have $6 million in reserves, bringing the total goal for our asset base to $18 million.

We have several strategies for obtaining our goals:

• Work with an engaged and supportive board of directors
• Implement an aggressive fundraising effort
• Manage a unified, talented and efficient staff team
• Increase our visibility throughout the community
• Create new loan programs and funding strategies that speak to the next generation

To accomplish these goals, we have committed to a renewed effort to reconnect and cultivate relationships with an emerging community of younger donors who either directly benefited from our services or have family members who received support from Hebrew Free Loan. We also seek to leverage existing and past loan recipients to reach more prospective loan recipients; broaden our outreach channels; and increase partnerships with like-minded agencies in the Jewish community.

We believe that with the hard work of our existing staff, the help of community partners and the generosity of our community of donors, we will be able to accomplish our goals. Past growth in contributions and loans outstanding form the basis for this positive assessment.

We established the current strategic plan in February 2014 and are tracking closely with planned levels of growth. While we have experienced success towards our goals, we still have several years remaining in the strategic plan before all objectives can be reached.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Hebrew Free Loan provides interest-free loans to Jewish residents of Northern California, from the Oregon border to San Luis Obispo, and east to the Nevada border. We also provide loans, regardless of religion, to employees of Jewish organizations and to immediate family members or business partners of Jewish individuals. We serve individuals, families, and small business owners of all ages, including students, seniors, young families, and others across the demographic spectrum. In addition, we operate the Pollak Community Loan Program that provides interest-free student loans to help young people from lower income homes in Northern California attend college, graduate school, or vocational school. The majority of these are first-generation college students.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we launched a Covid Relief Loan Program to address widespread financial hardship throughout our community. The need was immense, but many applicants told us they could not find qualified guarantors for their loans due to the pandemic's economic impacts. The friends and family members who would normally step up to guarantee loans were themselves out of work or worried about their own finances. We continued to require guarantors on all loans -- key to our sustainability -- but adjusted our policies to accommodate people's circumstances. We began accepting guarantors residing anywhere in California, a change from our previous policy requiring the majority to live in Northern California. We approved many loans with one guarantor instead of two, when necessary.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time

Financials

Hebrew Free Loan
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Hebrew Free Loan

Board of directors
as of 10/17/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Gregg Rubenstein

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 10/15/2022
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

No data

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.

Equity strategies

Last updated: 10/15/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.