8th Degree, a new initiative from Jewish Funds for Justice, uses microlending to help rebuild small businesses in New Orleans.
Donate now to the 8th Degree Infinity Fund.

Meet our 8th Degree Borrowers


Tung Le


Monica Landry


Dale Simmons


Otis McDonald


Kim Loan Cao


More than three years after the hurricanes and flooding, small business owners are struggling to borrow the capital they need to rebuild and revitalize their communities. Through 8th Degree, you can engage in the highest degree of “righteous giving,” or tzedakah: lending money to help others improve their own lives.

Too often small business owners working to rebuild their communities right here in the U.S. are invisible. 8th Degree raises awareness of the vital role that small businesses are playing in the redevelopment of New Orleans.

The 8th Degree infinity fund is a loan fund that provides microloans—between $5,000–$15,000—to small business owners to provide them with the capital they need to start and grow their businesses. Through a donation of any size, you can have a positive impact on a business owner, and thus a family and a community. We are matching dollar for dollar the first 5 loans so your money will go twice as far!


Why?
With the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina upon us, communities throughout New Orleans are still in need of support for redevelopment. 25% of stores and restaurants remain closed. Many more are not back to their pre-storm capacity, and low-income communities are experiencing even slower recovery.

Small business ownership is often one of the only routes out of poverty in low-income communities where education rates are low and unskilled labor wages do not make ends meet. Entrepreneurship offers the chance to earn a livable wage that can support a family. Small businesses strengthen communities and create lasting changes for families.


About the Name
According to Maimonides, one of Judaism’s leading Jewish philosophers, there are eight degrees of tzedakah, or “righteous giving.” The highest, or 8th degree, is when a giver makes a loan to help someone in need become self-sufficient. Click here for more details about Tzedakah and lending.