The highest level of tzedakah
Tzedakah & chesed
The Rambam lists eight levels of tzedakah. Higher than any gift, even an anonymous one, is helping a fellow Jew before he falls: giving him a loan, a partnership or a job so that he never needs to ask for charity. The highest tzedakah preserves a person's dignity and independence, strengthening him so that he can stand on his own.
Source: Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Matnos Aniyim 10:7