Emergency loans
A loan that costs nothing to borrow.
No interest, no fees, no credit check and no collections. Here is exactly how it works, so there are no surprises in it.
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You tell us the amount and the date
Not a target, a real number: what the landlord is owed, what the shop will cost. Then the day your income actually arrives, which is the day repayment gets timed to.
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We agree it in one conversation
There's no committee and no waiting list. The volunteer you speak to can say yes on the call in most cases.
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The money moves
By e-transfer, as a gift card, or paid straight to the landlord or the shop if you would rather it never passed through your account.
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You repay exactly what you borrowed
On the date you chose, in one payment or several. Not a dollar more. Miss it and nothing happens except that one of us checks you're alright.
The details
Everything else you might want to ask.
The awkward questions included, since those are the ones that matter.
Is there really no interest?
None. Not interest, not a service fee, not an administration charge, not a late fee. You repay the number you borrowed and nothing else. This is a qard hasan, a loan given for its own sake, and adding anything to it would defeat the point.
How much can I borrow?
Up to $2,000 as a rule, though the real answer depends on what the fund holds that week. If we can only do part of it, we will say so plainly rather than stringing you along, and we will often know somewhere else to try for the rest.
How quickly does it arrive?
Usually within 24 hours of the conversation, and sometimes within the hour when it's urgent. The slowest part is normally reaching each other by phone.
What if I miss the repayment date?
Nothing is added and nothing is escalated. One of us will check in, genuinely to see how you are and not to chase. We can move the date, split it up, or write it off. All three happen regularly.
Will this show up on my credit file?
No. We don't run credit checks and we don't report to any bureau. There is no record of this outside our own volunteers.
Can I borrow again after repaying?
Yes. Repaying is exactly what makes the next loan possible, and women who have repaid before are treated no differently, better or worse, from anyone else.
What if my situation changes and I simply cannot repay?
Tell us and the balance becomes a gift. That is not a grudging exception; it is written into how the fund is meant to work. You will not be asked about it again.
Where the money comes from
It's the same money, going round.
A loan repaid in March is a loan given again in April. That is why the fund can do far more than the total ever donated to it, and why repayment matters so much when it's possible.