Customizing and implementing a brand new loan management system — the heart of our operations — was a massive undertaking for our small nonprofit organization. Craftsman kept us on track , deftly and quickly handled unexpected challenges, and played an essential role in making this project a success.
Hebrew Free Loan Society
A Free Loan CRM On Salesforce.com
The Hebrew Free Loan Society (HFLS) advances economic stability and opportunity for lower-income New Yorkers within and beyond the Jewish community by making safe, affordable interest-free loans. Since its founding in 1892, HFLS has provided over $380 million to more than 900,000 borrowers while maintaining a loan repayment rate of 99%.
Purpose
HFLS was founded over 130 years ago. Making a capital improvement, such as replacing the central lending system, occurred infrequently. With a legacy system nearing its end-of-life, HFLS sought to take a leap forward onto the Salesforce platform. Craftsman was retained mid-project to help get past the early turbulence the implementation encountered.
Project Details
HFLS needed a forward-looking partner to re-boot and complete the project. Craftsman spent nearly nine months as project manager responsible for coordinating application and offshore partners. They also served as the US-based resource for data conversion, finalizing configuration, training, and documentation. An additional four months of stabilization work was provided. More recently Craftsman created several online applications that directly feed into Salesforce, thereby streamlining the HFLS application process.
Ongoing Partnership
Craftsman and HFLS continue to work together on Salesforce maintenance, related application enhancements, and projects. In 2022 Craftsman led the transition of the HFLS donor management system from DonorPerfect to Salesforce, bringing lending and philanthropy onto the same platform and giving HFLS a 360-degree view of all stakeholders’ and clients’ relationships with the organization.
With Craftsman’s ongoing support and partnership, HFLS has made enormous leaps in efficiency and effectiveness. The organization increased lending from $18 million to nearly $30 million in just three years and is helping hundreds more borrowers every year, continuing and expanding on its 130-year legacy.
Tools + Technology
Craftsman oversaw the deployment of Salesforce. Online applications were created using Form Assembly. Supplemental apps support the online applications through document creation, digital signatures/execution, and document storage.