Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund

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North-west London charitable company (JIMF) that funds interest-free business loans in East and West Jerusalem through its partner MATI; in 2024/25 it transferred £167,424 to a joint loan fund

Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund

Logo Shuafat Jerusalem 2023.jpg
Shu'afat, Jerusalem (2023); MATI Jerusalem's page on the charity's microfinance programme gives a kindergarten in Shu'afat as a success story
Type Charitable company
Founded 2009-01-08 (registered)
Registration ID Registered charity 1127436; company 06681463
Headquarters London NW11
Area served Israel
Key people Donald Franklin (chair)
Website www.jerusalemmicrofinance.com


Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund (registered as The Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund Limited; JIMF) is a charitable company (06681463) incorporated on 26 August 2008 and registered on 8 January 2009; its registered office is in London NW11.[1][2][3] Its objects are "the relief of financial hardship amongst people in poor communities in Jerusalem by enabling them to establish and grow their own businesses, through the provision of micro finance and technical assistance".[4] The register calls it "a fully cross-communal initiative that alleviates poverty and mitigates inter-communal tension in Jerusalem", and its website speaks of "increasing the economic and life chances of Muslims, Jews and Christians within the City of Jerusalem".[1][5] The directors are Dr Donald Franklin (also secretary) and Rabbi Michael Pollak; Companies House lists both from 26 August 2008, with former directors Shahbaz Husain (to 1 July 2011) and Fiyaz Mughal (to 31 May 2022) (PDF p.2).[3][2] The fund now works through a loan fund operated by "our long time partners, MATI, in Jerusalem"; in the year to 31 August 2025 it transferred £167,424 (2024: £128,901) to the MATI-JIMF fund, whose balance was ₪333,000 (2024: ₪199,000) (PDF p.4–5, 8).[3] It reports 42 loans from the JIMF-MATI facility totalling 694,000 shekels, of which "ten went to East Jerusalem students, and two to West Jerusalem and 29 to East Jerusalem businesswomen", and says "Rehaam Jaber, a Palestinian lawyer, who runs the East Jerusalem office" (PDF p.5).[3] Donations were £49,000 (2024: £164,000), and funds fell from £358,424 to £240,842 (PDF p.8).[3] The accounts were examined by M. S. Emanuel, Chartered Accountants, London W8.[3]

Objects and activities

The charity's registered objects read: "THE RELIEF OF FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AMONGST PEOPLE IN POOR COMMUNITIES IN JERUSALEM BY ENABLING THEM TO ESTABLISH AND GROW THEIR OWN BUSINESSES, THROUGH THE PROVISION OF MICRO FINANCE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.MICRO FINANCE INCLUDES LOANS AND/OR EQUITY FUNDING FOR SMALL ENTERPRISES AND OR THEIR PROPRIETORS, AS APPROPRIATE FOR THE INDIVIDUALS AND FIRMS SEEKING ASSISTANCE."[4]

The register describes its activities as: "The Jerusalem Interest-free Microfinance Fund Ltd is a fully cross-communal initiative that alleviates poverty and mitigates inter-communal tension in Jerusalem, through provision of programmes involving training and micro-finance (loans etc.) for groups (so far, women only) from Jerusalem communities lacking access to bank funding who wish to start or to expand small businesses."[4]

Register classifications: The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty, Overseas Aid/famine Relief, Economic/community Development/employment.[4]

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Israel.[4]

Trustees

Dr Donald Franklin, a director of the charity and, according to MATI Jerusalem, the founder of JIMF in 2009
Rabbi Michael Pollak, a director and the company secretary of the charity, as shown on MATI Jerusalem's JIMF committee page

Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[4]

Trustees of Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund (register, October 2026)
Trustee Appointed Chair Other trusteeships
Donald Franklin 2008-11-16 Yes —
Michael Alexander Pollak 2008-11-16 —

Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)

Trustees shown in archived register pages
Capture date Trustees listed Source
2021-01-08 Fiyaz Mughal (from 16 November 2008) – also trustee of Muslims Against Antisemitism, Alcohol Research UK, Oxford Research Group; Michael Alexander Pollak (from 16 November 2008); Donald Franklin (chair) (from 16 November 2008) [6]

MATI's page lists the JIMF committee as Donald Franklin, described as "Senior Economic Adviser in the UK's Government Economic Service" and former "Chief Economist to Schroders PLC", "Michael Pollack", described as "Educated at the LSE and Hebron Yeshiva", and Jasmina Posen-Griffoul.[7]

Companies House officers

Companies House lists 5 current and former officers of the charitable company (06681463), 3 of them active.[8]

Finances

Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
Financial year end Income Expenditure
2021-08-31 £18,438 £1,598
2022-08-31 £47,000 £9,036
2023-08-31 £40,013 £74,952
2024-08-31 £165,865 £149,783
2025-08-31 £50,935 £168,517

Source: register annual-return history.[4]

Archived accounts

Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the UK Government Web Archive:

  • Accounts for the year ended 31/08/2015[9]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/08/2016[10]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/08/2017[11]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/08/2018[12]

Funding in Israel

  • Year to 31 August 2025: £167,424 transferred to the JIMF-MATI loan fund in Jerusalem (2024: £128,901) (PDF p.8).[3]
  • 42 loans totalling 694,000 shekels were made from the JIMF-MATI facility, to East Jerusalem students and businesswomen and West Jerusalem borrowers (PDF p.5).[3]

Israeli partners

MATI, Jerusalem, which operates the loan fund and provides training; MATI's page says JIMF was "Established in 2009 by Donald Franklin" and names a kindergarten, "Al-Amira", in Shu'afat as a success story.[3][7]

Activity beyond the Green Line and support for the IDF

Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the Israeli recipient organisation, not proven use of UK funds.

Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
Finding Confidence
The accounts name East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem as places where loans were made and refer to an East Jerusalem office; MATI's page names Shu'afat. No addresses are given.[3][7] High (districts named in the accounts)

Support for the IDF: The charity's own accounts state no IDF or military funding. MATI's page on the JIMF programme says "As part of our support for Reservist Families since October 7th, JIMF has extended its reach to women whose partners are serving in the military reserves, preserving the economic resilience of those protecting our homeland"; this is support for reservists' families, not for the IDF itself.[3][7]

Controversies and regulatory action

  • No Charity Commission inquiry, Official Warning or Gazette insolvency notice naming this charity was found, and its register entry shows no regulatory alert;[13] it is not among the charities named in the Commission's cheque-cashing class-inquiry announcements (May, September and December 2025) or in the September 2026 statement of results.[14][15][16][17] The charities in the Commission's settlements class inquiry (opened August 2026) have not been named, so it is not known whether this charity is among them.[18]
  • Examination dated before approval. The examiner's report is dated 29 May 2026, the day before the directors approved the accounts on 30 May 2026.[3]
  • Loan count does not match its breakdown. The report gives 42 loans but the breakdown lists ten, two and 29 loans (PDF p.5).[3]
  • Donations from connected charities. Note 5 says "Donations received include £49,000 (2024: £64,000) from charities on which Donald Franklin is a trustee" (PDF p.12).[3]

Other registers and records

Scotland and Northern Ireland

No entry was found on the Scottish Charity Register for this charity (register export dated 14 October 2026, searched by name).[19] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[20]

The Gazette

Searches of The Gazette for the charity's name returned only Companies House filing lists; no insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice naming the charity was found.[21]

Grants recorded by 360Giving

No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[22]

Sanctions screening

The charity's name, its current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees and officers named in the accounts read for this profile and (for charitable companies) its Companies House officers were screened against the UK Sanctions List and the OFSI Consolidated List. No match was found.[23]

Land and property

The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[4] No title registers were purchased; the HM Land Registry interactive search blocked automated access.[24]

Parliament

Hansard exact-phrase searches for "Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund", "Jerusalem Interest Free Microfinance", "JIMF" returned 0 contributions in total.[25]

Web archive

  • jerusalemmicrofinance.com: 10 yearly captures, first 2013-02-03, last 2026-01-23.[26]

The UK Government Web Archive holds 2 archived Charity Commission register pages used in this profile (cited in the sections above). The 2021 archived full print showed the status "Charity reporting is up to date" and "Other regulators: No information available".[6]

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Charity Commission, The Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund Limited (1127436): full print Register of Charities, retrieved 16 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Companies House, THE JERUSALEM INTEREST-FREE MICROFINANCE FUND LIMITED (06681463) Find and update company information, overview and officers, viewed 16 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Charity Commission, Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund (1127436): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 16 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (tables charity, charity_trustee, charity_annual_return_history, charity_area_of_operation, charity_classification, charity_other_names), extract dated 14 October 2026.
  5. ↑ Jerusalem Interest Free Microfinance Fund, Home page jerusalemmicrofinance.com, viewed 16 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Register entry 1127436, full print (capture of 20210108) UK Government Web Archive.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 MATI Jerusalem, JIMF Microfinance Program mati-jerusalem.org, viewed 16 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Company 06681463: officers Companies House, viewed 16 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund accounts, year ended 2015-08-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20190903).
  10. ↑ Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund accounts, year ended 2016-08-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20190903).
  11. ↑ Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund accounts, year ended 2017-08-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20190903).
  12. ↑ Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund accounts, year ended 2018-08-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200104).
  13. ↑ Charity Commission, Register of Charities, charity overview page (register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/ followed by the organisation number) for each of the 25 batch-22 charities, all retrieved on 16 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" notice; none was shown.
  14. ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
  15. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
  16. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
  17. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator concludes investigation into 4 charities as class inquiry continues GOV.UK, 9 September 2026, with Statement of the results of a class inquiry (same date).
  18. ↑ Charity Commission, Charity regulator opens inquiry into charities working in illegal Israeli settlements GOV.UK, 5 August 2026 (a fact-finding statutory class inquiry initially involving 8 charities which "are not being publicly named at this time").
  19. ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-22 charity names found no matching Scottish registration.
  20. ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-22 charity names returned zero results).
  21. ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund' The Gazette, searched 16 October 2026.
  22. ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1127436 360Giving, queried 16 October 2026.
  23. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-22 screening covered 196 name strings: the 25 charity names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees, officers and staff named in the accounts and websites read for this batch, and the Companies House officers of the charitable companies; the only hits were generic words in charity names (such as "Charitable Foundation", "Trust", "Fund" and "Association") matching listed entities, which were rejected; no person matched. Screened 16 October 2026.
  24. ↑ HM Land Registry, Search for land and property information GOV.UK – the service returned HTTP 403 (bot protection) to automated access in October 2026; no titles were looked up or purchased. Candidate title numbers below come from the free CCOD / OCOD datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.
  25. ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund" Hansard, queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).
  26. ↑ Internet Archive CDX index for jerusalemmicrofinance.com Wayback Machine, queried 16 October 2026.
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