What Is Ogen? Israel's Nonprofit Social Lender, Explained
Updated: 1 day ago
Ogen is a nonprofit social lender in Israel. We give families interest-free loans, we lend to small businesses and nonprofits at a social interest rate, and we pair our lending with mentoring and financial guidance. We began in 1990 as the Israel Free Loan Association and became Ogen, the Hebrew word for anchor, in 2018.
In short
Who we are: a nonprofit social lender headquartered in Jerusalem, with an office in Shfaram.
Who we lend to: individuals and families, small and micro business owners, and nonprofits.
Our scale: 86,438 loans and $990MM lent since 1990, as of June 2026.
How we are funded: donations that we lend, collect and lend again, plus impact deposits, bank credit lines and social bonds.
How you can help: give to a loan fund. Every repayment becomes the next loan.
What do we do?
We lend to three groups, and we offer mentoring to each of them.
Individuals and families borrow from us without interest. In 2025/26 we made 3,046 loans to individuals and families, averaging $14.7K, and supported 491 home purchases. Financial guidance comes with the loan. Our programs include loans for reservists through the Yuval Fund, loans for families affected by the war, and Ogen LaBayit for couples buying a first home.
Small businesses borrow from us at a social interest rate and can work with a volunteer mentor. In 2025/26 we made 951 business loans, averaging $91K, and mentored 777 new businesses. As we reported in our Annual Report 2025-2026, small businesses make up 97% of Israeli commerce and employ 45% of the workforce, yet their share of credit has shrunk by over a third in five years.
Nonprofits borrow from us through loans and credit lines at a social interest rate, and their leaders can join our mentoring programs. In 2025/26 we made 64 nonprofit loans, averaging $165K.
We also help run SparkIL, in partnership with The Jewish Agency. SparkIL lets lenders in Israel and abroad fund local business owners through interest-free peer loans.
What does a loan from us cost?
Our family loans carry no interest. On most family routes we deduct a one-time setup fee of 5% from the amount we transfer. The fee covers the cost of handling the loan and the financial guidance that comes with it. Our business and nonprofit loans carry a social interest rate.
Limits, fees, and eligibility differ by program and change over time. You will find the current terms for each program on our loan pages, in Hebrew: family loans and business credit.
Where did Ogen come from?
Our story starts in 1990, during Israel's great wave of immigration. Professor Eliezer Jaffe, a respected researcher in social work, visited an immigrant absorption center and decided that Israel needed fairer financial opportunity for people the banks did not serve. He founded the Israel Free Loan Association (IFLA) in Jerusalem to help new immigrants establish themselves through accessible, interest-free loans.
He chose loans over donated goods. Of the eight degrees of giving in Maimonides' teaching, he held that the highest is a loan that lets a person stand on their own.
"Life is a loan that we must repay one day with interest. Interest that we pay back by making the world a better place." Prof. Eliezer David Jaffe z"l, Ogen Founder
Ogen timeline
Our timeline as text
1990: Professor Eliezer Jaffe founds the Israel Free Loan Association in Jerusalem.
2002: During the Second Intifada, we widen our help to small businesses and families across the country.
2010: We pass 40,000 interest-free loans, NIS 750 million in total.
2017: We merge with Achim LaBayit and launch Ogen LaBayit for couples buying a first home. We lose Professor Jaffe, our president since 2011.
2018: The Israel Free Loan Association becomes Ogen.
2019: We merge with Keren Shemesh and add business mentoring to our credit.
2020: COVID-19 pushes us to a fully digital loan process.
2021: We secure our first commercial bank credit line.
2022: We issue Israel's first asset-backed ESG bond.
2023: We become one organization for families, small businesses, and nonprofits, and launch Ogen for Every Israeli when the war begins.
Our CEO, Sagi Balasha, has led us since 2016, and Adv. Ofir Ozeri chairs our board.
Is Ogen the same organization as the Israel Free Loan Association?
Yes. The Israel Free Loan Association (IFLA) became Ogen in 2018, and our work continued without a break. Older articles, directories, and databases still use our former name, and some describe loan terms that have since changed. The current terms are on our loan pages.
How are we funded, and how does a gift work?
We lend the money we receive, collect repayments and lend it again. A gift to a loan fund therefore funds more than one loan over time.
Donations are one part of our funding. We began raising impact deposits in 2020, bank credit lines in 2021 and social bonds in 2022. Our annual report lists $69MM raised in securitized bonds as of June 2026, and we are raising a $100 million Ogen Bond 3. Donors can create a Named Loan Fund, and we thank 600 of them by name in our report.
If you are in the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada, you give through one of our partner entities. Anywhere else, write to development@ogen.org.
Is Ogen a bank?
No. We are a licensed non-bank lender, and we are working toward Israel's first value-based bank. The bank licensing process advances in 2026 and 2027.
How can you check that we are legitimate?
We publish an annual report with consolidated financial statements and a Certification of Good Governance, and we name our registered entities. In Israel we are a registered amuta, number 58-0173557. Our US partner, American Friends of Ogen, Inc., has EIN 13-3691494, which you can look up in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.
Questions
What is Ogen?
Ogen is a nonprofit social lender in Israel. We make interest-free loans to families and loans at a social interest rate to small businesses and nonprofits, together with mentoring and financial guidance. As of June 2026 we have made 86,438 loans and lent $990MM since 1990.
Is Ogen the same organization as the Israel Free Loan Association?
Yes. Professor Eliezer Jaffe founded the Israel Free Loan Association (IFLA) in Jerusalem in 1990, and we became Ogen in 2018. Older articles and directories may still use our former name.
Who can borrow from Ogen?
We lend to individuals and families, to small and micro business owners, and to nonprofits. Each program sets its own eligibility rules, and you can find them on our loan pages.
Are Ogen loans really interest-free?
Our family loans carry no interest. On most family routes we deduct a one-time setup fee of 5 percent from the amount we transfer (terms checked in October 2026). Our business and nonprofit loans carry a social interest rate.
How is Ogen funded?
Donations to our loan funds are lent, repaid and lent again. We also raise impact deposits, bank credit lines and social bonds. Our annual report lists $69MM raised in securitized bonds as of June 2026.
Is Ogen a bank?
No. We are a licensed non-bank lender, and we are working toward Israel's first value-based bank. The bank licensing process advances in 2026 and 2027.
How can I give to Ogen?
If you are in the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada, you give through one of our partner entities. Anywhere else, write to development@ogen.org. Our giving page lists each option, and a gift to a loan fund is lent, repaid and lent again.
How can I check that Ogen is legitimate?
We publish an annual report with consolidated financial statements and a Certification of Good Governance, and we name our registered entities. In Israel we are a registered amuta, number 58-0173557. Our US partner, American Friends of Ogen, Inc., has EIN 13-3691494, which you can look up in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.
Give once. Your gift keeps working.
Your gift keeps working, loan after loan, for years to come.
Keep reading
Sources
Ogen Annual Report 2025-2026. Figures as of June 2026.
Our history (Hebrew), ogen.org/our-history, and our timeline (Hebrew), both read October 11, 2026.
Our family loans page (Hebrew), last modified July 26, 2026, and our business credit page (Hebrew), last modified September 6, 2026, both linked above.
Our Certification of Good Governance, published on our homepage, and the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, linked above.
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