Why Stories Matter: Putting a human face on interest rates
During her first year as the Executive Director of Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia, Anna Marx had a lot on her plate. Balancing the management of finances, the distribution of loans, and the raising of funds, there were only so many hours in the day.
Anna saw the need for HFL to find a marketing communications partner to help HFL tell its story. She reached out to Tiny Windows for support. The partnership between TW and HFL began small, in the form of a baseline digital audit and some high-level marketing recommendations. This partnership quickly grew into TW acting as the fractional marketing communications team for HFL, capturing stories of personal borrowers, business loans, board members, guarantors, and more, and supporting multiple campaigns.
“It feels like we have a larger team,” reflects Anna. “TW feels like an extension of our team."
But, hold on, what is a free loan society?
A free loan society is a Jewish organization that collects funds to distribute personal and business loans to borrowers… with no interest. Stemming from the biblical verse that reads “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, do not act towards them as a creditor; exact no interest from them” (Exodus 22:24), which commands the Israelites not to charge interest to their neighbor, free loan societies distribute funds without the burden of added financial cost. Standard loan-issuing institutions are often predatory, especially to individuals in crisis. TW CEO Miriam Brosseau calls free loan societies the “underappreciated gem of the Jewish community.” These are organizations whose entire goal is helping their neighbors, directly, based on their individual needs and circumstances. They ask for nothing in return apart from repayment of the principal loan (HFL boasts a 99% repayment rate, which they then redistribute to the next borrower).
What do stories have to do with free loans?
We will say it, on the face of it… loans are not sexy. So, often when someone hears the word loan, they think about their monthly car payments or the student debt they have been paying off for 20 years. Marketing a loan-issuing organization comes with unique challenges and opportunities. Because there’s always a human face to the work.
HFL was founded over 40 years ago and has issued $1 million in loans to borrowers in 2025 alone; its biggest year yet. With 241 active loans, each representing local people and businesses whose lives were changed by these services, TW had the honor of helping make the invisible visible, revealing the stories of those who have benefited from these loans and the stories of those who give to HFL.
Partnership and Impact
Bridging the gap between finances and human-centered stories involved speaking with people from all different walks of life, from individuals with outstanding medical debt to small business owners needing to stay afloat. TW was able to highlight the incredible impact that HFL has had on hundreds of borrowers, fueling greater interest and investment in their work.
"We wanted to be able to professionalize and be more consistent in our digital communications,” Anna shares. “Working with TW has been very successful. People have been noticing and getting the word out better than before."
What began as a digital audit evolved into something much deeper. Through storytelling, HFL did not change its mission; it clarified it. The work of issuing interest-free loans remained the same, but the way the organization showed up in its community transformed. Stories created visibility. Visibility built trust. Trust inspired giving.
By centering the human impact behind every loan, TW helped HFL grow its presence as a community engine of dignity and stability. The numbers matter—loans distributed, dollars raised, followers gained—but the stories are often what move people to act.
In a world where financial institutions are often associated with profit, HFL demonstrates a different model: one rooted in mutual responsibility and care. And through intentional storytelling, that model can be seen, shared, and sustained.
