Michael Marylander was devastated when he learned that his business of 12 years, Massage Place, had burned to the ground in the Palisades fires. Just six days earlier, he had moved the business a few doors down to 15121 Sunset Blvd. in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

That day, as flames spread across the Santa Monica Mountains, Marylander was on his way to downtown Los Angeles. His mother, who works with him, called to say the neighborhood was full of fire trucks. Around 3:30 p.m., she closed the store and left.

“I didn’t believe the fire would reach our store,” he said. “When you see fire trucks and helicopters all over, you assume you are fine.”

The next day, he heard that the supermarket across the street had burned down. Still, he hoped his business had been spared. But soon after, he learned the entire block had gone up in smoke — nothing was left.

To make matters worse, his insurance didn’t cover wildfires. He had no safety net. A loan application to the U.S. Small Business Administration was denied.

“My mother then saw an ad in the Jewish Journal about Jewish Free Loan and I decided to apply,” said Marylander.

Thirty days after submitting all the required paperwork, he received a $25,000 small business loan from the Jewish Free Loan Association (JFLA). “I’m so grateful for them,” Marylander said. “The whole thing had been a nightmare. I don’t know how long it will take for the area to rebuild. It might take years.”

The loan was the first real financial help he received. 

Marylander is one of 111 homeowners and small business owners affected by the California wildfires who’ve benefited from the program.

Since its founding in 1904, the association has continuously adapted to meet the evolving needs of the community. In its early years, it provided loans to help people buy sewing machines and launch small businesses with pushcarts. Over the decades, it has supported Holocaust survivors rebuilding their lives, families recovering after the Watts Riots and refugees fleeing the Iranian Revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union. In recent years, JFLA has helped cover medical, dental, and mental health expenses, student loans, rent, car repairs, pet care, adoptions, and funeral costs. It now has 3,000 active loans totaling $21.5 million, with a default rate of less than 1%.

On July 21, JFLA announced that it had distributed more than $1.9 million in interest-free loans to those impacted by the wildfires that devastated parts of the Los Angeles region in January.

Those include personal loans of up to $15,000, small business loans of up to $50,000 and annually renewable education loans of up to $10,000. 

In an interview with eJewish Philanthropy, JFLA’s executive director, Rachel Grose, said that as soon as the Pacific Palisades fire broke out on Jan. 7, she knew the need for financial assistance would be enormous. Within weeks, the organization began receiving donations from foundations that have long supported JFLA’s mission.

JFLA is unique in the lending world. It doesn’t follow a traditional business model, with no interest or fees and 24-36 months to repay. And just like banks promote their interest rates to draw in borrowers, JFLA promotes its interest-free loans through billboard ads (including in areas affected by the Eaton fire), social media, radio and word-of-mouth through partnering organizations.

Their website, jfla.org, is filled with testimonials from members of the community — both Jews and non-Jews — who lost everything in the fire. Despite its name, the Jewish Free Loan Association offers loans to people of all faiths, with no discrimination.

Anne Marie Molina and her husband Carlos have five children, ages 10 to 26, along with three dogs and a cat. They had been renting the same home in Pasadena for the past seven years. When the Eaton fire forced them to evacuate, they suddenly found themselves needing to cover rent at both their temporary place and their original home.

“We couldn’t find a space big enough for all of us, so our family was split up. We maxed out credit cards and drained our savings just to get by,” said Molina. “When we finally returned home, we had to replace all of our furniture and the stress was overwhelming.”

After learning about JFLA, they applied and soon received a loan. “It gave us room to breathe and helped us get back on our feet without drowning in new debt.”

Another fire victim wrote, “The loan gave us the security of knowing we had money to take care of current expenses whilst we argued, pleaded, and begged our insurance company to come up with any sort of payment.”

As for why JFLA offers interest-free loans, Grose’s explanation is simple: “It’s a mitzvah that comes from the Torah. There’s a commandment: don’t charge interest to your neighbor — and we follow that mitzvah. We’ve expanded it to serve the entire community, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.”

“I’ve worked here for 23 years and stayed because I believe in the mission,” said Grose. “I believe that sometimes people need access to clean capital that is non-predatory. Not everyone has friends or family they can turn to when facing a financial crisis, medical bills or the need to fix a roof — and JFLA is an amazing organization that people can really rely on.”