A Hand-up, Not a Handout

Helping People Help Themselves

We help families with financial stress. We help couples with money trouble. We help professionals with financial instability. We help couples with debt. We help families with debt. We help couples with financial struggles.

Collective Kindness assists Jewish families from all backgrounds to get back on their feet by achieving long-term emotional and financial stability, through CK and a growing family of specialized programs.

We provide a “hand-up”, empowering families to take charge of their own lives and futures. Our professional staff are uniquely positioned to work closely with each family to find solutions tailored to their needs.

Founded 2023 · 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

The hardest financial struggles in the Jewish community are the quiet ones. The growing debt in private. The late mortgage payment(s). The family that looks fine from the outside, except they aren't. These are the families in the messy middle, and they're the ones we built Collective Kindness for.

Supported by

UJA-Federation of New YorkThe Natan FundWalder FoundationCommunity ChestDaily GivingFischel Foundation

Five branches,
one organization.

Each program is uniquely designed for different needs and experiences.

Is Collective Kindness right for you?

Collective Kindness involves intensive services for Jewish families ready to get back on their feet and take their lives into their own hands. It works where four things are true. If you mostly just need debt help, Kosher Debt Help is the better front door.

  • 01You're based in the United States.
  • 02Your monthly deficit is under $5,000.
  • 03The primary breadwinner is currently employed.
  • 04Both spouses are willing to do whatever it takes to change the situation.

Smart Chesed, in their own words.

Kosher Money host Eli Langer sits down with philanthropist Dovid Lichtenstein to unpack what Collective Kindness is actually doing, and why a “hand-up” beats a handout, every time.

Quiet, professional help for Jewish families in financial trouble. A hand-up, not a handout. It started, of all places, on a WhatsApp status.

Our story →

Our partners

JUF ChicagoHebrew Free Loan SocietyFlorida Ozer CenterMesilaLiving Smarter JewishSister to Sister NetworkREEF NJCrown Heights JCCLRR CenterAchiezer
Impact since 2023 By the numbers
5,971
Lives changed (avg. 5 kids + 2 parents per family)
853
Families served, across every program
2,450
Donors partnered
8
Chapters nationwide
1
Mission: helping Jewish families get back on their feet with smart chesed
How we help

A team of experts. One journey.

When a family applies, they don’t get a case worker. They get a team of professionals who partner with the household across four phases until the math, the calls, and the calendar all line up again.

  1. 01

    Listen first

    Before any plan, a confidential conversation. The whole picture, in your words.

  2. 02

    Take the weight off

    Creditors, cash flow, the calls you’ve been putting off. We step in where it’s bleeding.

  3. 03

    Reclaim the math

    Tax, tuition, budget. We find every dollar, then put each one to work.

  4. 04

    Rebuild the runway

    Savings, planning, stability. Built so a family doesn’t end up back here.

A dedicated case manager and a vetted team of specialists, working with you across every phase. All confidential.