After founding and leading the Milwaukee Jewish Free Loan Association for 15 years, Ginny Gendelman has passed the torch to Anna Goldstein Koenig, former assistant director of Hillel Milwaukee.
The Jewish Free Loan Association offers various types of interest- free loans to help people meet different needs: whether through personal or emergency loans, student loans, or loans to help people grow their families through adoption and other means. Goldstein Koenig became the new executive director Sept. 5.
The concept of a Jewish Free Loan Association first piqued Gendelman’s interest when she became familiar with the Los Angeles chapter while living there. At the time, Gendelman was working full-time as an architect and raising two young daughters, but knew she wanted to get involved with the organization once her schedule cleared up. After moving to Milwaukee and realizing there was no free loan association, she decided to start one herself.
Gendelman formed the organization in 2009 with donations from six couples, including herself and her husband. Since then, the organization has grown significantly, and now holds $1 million in funds and maintains a 99.6% repayment rate. The coalition has loaned almost $2 million to date and served thousands of community members.
“It’s a way to allow people to solve their own financial situation, while preserving their dignity. And it doesn’t feel like charity. People don’t want charity. They just want to solve their own financial problems and go on with their lives,” Gendelman said. “So, we really make sure that it feels like they’re just taking out a loan, and they’re paying it back.”
Reflecting on her time at the association, Gendelman described an experience with a former client who took a semester off from college after her father died. “I get choked up just even thinking about it,” Gendelman said.
Since the student had missed one semester, she not only lost her scholarship, but was obligated to pay back the financial aid she received for the semester. Her father’s death left her family with no funds to pay back the school., To make matters worse, the school wouldn’t let her set up a payment plan, or give the student her transcripts to transfer somewhere more affordable. Gendelman described the situation as a “Catch-22.”
Through a loan and negotiations with the school managed by the association, the student was able to pay the school a lower price, and get her transcripts to finish her degree at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“It was just a real situation where they felt like there was no hope. She was working three jobs, just trying to help her mom pay the bills, and was never going to be able to go back to school and finish her degree. And so we were able to make a real difference,” Gendelman said. The student is now a teacher, and is able to help support her family as well.
More recently, Gendelman recalled loaning a young refugee the money she needed to obtain a visa that would keep her from being deported back to Ukraine.
Gendelman is currently mentoring Goldstein Koenig, who began working at the organization this September, until Gendelman finishes out her tenure at the end of this year.
Goldstein Koenig came to Milwaukee to attend Marquette University as an undergraduate, where she pursued her passion for social justice through her coursework and involvement with local Jewish organizations. In 2017, she began her career as the outreach and teen philanthropy coordinator at Milwaukee Jewish Federation, before leaving in 2020 to work at Hillel Milwaukee, where she remained until joining the Milwaukee Jewish Free Loan Association.
Goldstein Koenig comes from a family with a history of making loans. Goldstein Koenig’s grandmother, a Holocaust refugee, once loaned her own money to a struggling kosher caterer, in addition to managing the loans distributed through her synagogue in Denver.
Goldstein Koenig said she’s honored to take on her new leadership role within the Milwaukee Jewish Free Loan Association. “It’s one of the most incredible organizations that we have in the Jewish community, and one with so much potential for growth, both of our donor base, but also in our outreach,” she said.
As executive director, Goldstein Koenig plans to focus on growing the organization, and its impact on those both inside and outside the Jewish community.
“I know that the free loan is going to be in good hands, so I’m really excited,” Gendelman said.
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Are you eligible for a loan?
Loan recipients must meet the following criteria:
- At least 18 years old
- Resident of Southeastern Wisconsin
- Have sufficient income to repay the loan
- Have loan guarantor
Visit Mjfla.org/apply for more information.
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