The Hebrew Free Loan Society of New York, founded in 1892, is the oldest money

gemach Gemach ( he, גמ"ח, plural, , ''gemachim'', an abbreviation for , ''gemilut chasadim'', "acts of kindness") is a Jewish free-loan fund that subscribes to both the positive Torah commandment of lending money and the Torah prohibition against char ...

in the United States. It spawned similarly named free-loan funds in many other cities, including

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;

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Pennsylvania; and Holyoke, Massachusetts. Using money provided by contributions, the society provides small, interest-free loans which are paid back in weekly installments. Today, the society provides more than $10 million in interest-free loans on an annual basis while maintaining a loss rate lower than one percent.

See also