Support the Payday Jubilee

We are hoping to raise $25,000 to support Alaskans. Can you pitch in today?

Your donations will support:

  • The Payday Jubilee - paying off payday loans for Alaskans who have been trapped by predatory lending practices

  • Reforming the practice of payday lending in Alaska

With the new federal administration and looming threats to federal funding and jobs, Alaskans are experiencing unprecedented instability in all parts of the economy. Alaskans need to prioritize spending for necessities, rather than paying exorbitant interest on loans. The Payday Jubilee project is critical at this moment. The Payday Jubilee will help people escape the debt trap, and change the rules to eliminate predatory lending for future Alaskans.

  • Payday lending is a form of predatory lending for loans up to $500. Currently under Alaska law, payday lenders are allowed to charge up to 521% annual percentage rate (APR). High interest rates make these loans difficult to pay off, and often results in a cycle of debt that only benefits the lending industry. Roughly 60% of payday lending happens online so these predatory loans reach Alaskan communities of all sizes, both on and off the road system.

  • Each year, approximately 15,000 people in communities all across Alaska use payday loans to cover basic necessities. Payday lenders are active in Alaska’s small claims courts and often rely on garnishment. Between 2017 and 2022, payday lenders garnished over $3.7 million from Alaskan’s PFDs.

  • Senate Bill 39 was introduced in the Alaska State Legislature this year to reform payday lending, requiring payday lenders to comply with the existing 36% rate cap. As we work to close this predatory loophole at a systems level, we hope to simultaneously provide direct support to those currently impacted and share their story with decision makers.

  • In 2023, AKPIRG partnered with the Mutual Aid Network of Anchorage to launch a Payday Jubilee, a year-long project offering direct relief to Alaskans struggling to repay payday loans. The 2023 Payday Jubilee was exclusively funded by individual generosity. Donating to this project will support the second iteration of the Payday Jubilee, a direct response to the impact of federal funding freezes on Alaskan communities.