Page 7 - Issue 8

September 12, 2008

Building Hope In The City
Andy Cook and Lauren Geldzahler

Felicia Antoinetta McKoy gazed up into the sky to watch with pride as her new home gently
floated to the ground. She was surrounded by a crowd of about a hundred cheering politicians,
community members and housing activists who gathered with her in May to watch a crane set
this building onto its new foundation. They were there to witness the birth of Preston Place
Homes, a new affordable housing project in Oliver.

Lying between Greenmount Cemetery and the northernmost stretch of Broadway, Oliver is a
classic example of an impoverished Baltimore City neighborhood. Plagued by drugs and violence,
the neighborhood has been in decline for years. The evidence is so dramatic that HBO chose
this neighborhood to film much of its series “The Wire.” But today, its streets are filled with a
renewed sense of optimism.

The philanthropic organization Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ) has raised $1.2 million for this
project, matching funds raised by BUILD (Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development), a
coalition of largely African-American churches (including Memorial Baptist) attempting to
better their neighborhood. A Philadelphia-based group called The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) is
managing the project.

Founded in 2006 as a merger between Jewish Fund for Justice and The Shefa Fund, JFSJ’s
mission is to address the root causes of economic and social injustice across the United States.
Their programs are numerous and varied, though they focus on raising money and encouraging
volunteerism in the Jewish community. The group has offices in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New
York.

Not Just Giving

JFSJ boasts the only national Jewish program for community investing in low to moderate-
income neighborhoods where contributors can make loans instead of grants. They call this
program Tzedec (after a Hebrew term for righteousness and justice).

“This kind of philanthropy comes from Maimonides [the 13th Century Egyptian philosopher], who
said the highest level of help is helping people reach self-sufficiency,” said Mr. Greer. “The
Tzedec fund is the only fund that allows Jews to lend money to help make change instead of
just giving it away. This allows your money to be specifically a Jewish investment.”

Land, Plan, Capital (and Tzedakah)

Jewish involvement in Oliver doesn’t end with the money. JFSJ arranged for volunteers from
Habonim Dror and BBYO to spend the summer working on community gardens in the