Case studies

Welcome to Neighborly Software’s library of case studies. Here you read and discover how some of our many Neighbors have achieved their goals through the use of our software solution.
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Central Nebraska Joint Housing Authority

Meet our Neighbor

Central Nebraska, a crucial waypoint for American pioneers heading westward, boasts a history of historic trails that facilitated the settlement of new towns on the prairies. The Tri-Cities—Grand Island, Kearney, and Hastings—are key centers in the region, with a combined population exceeding 140,000. The Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island draws over 300,000 attendees yearly, and Husker Harvest Days, one of the world’s largest farm shows, attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually.

Central Nebraska Joint Housing Authority serves 21 counties: Blaine, Boone, Boyd, Brown, Colfax, Custer, Garfield, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Holt, Howard, Keya Paha, Loup, Merrick, Nance, Platte, Rock, Sherman, Valley, and Wheeler. Aside from their Housing Choice Voucher Program, they also administer Owner Occupied Rehabilitation, Weatherization, Family Self-sufficiency Program, and offer Property Management to 32 Low-Income Rental Properties.

Programs Used

  • Housing Choice Voucher Program Management

Challenges

  • As a small PHA, the Central Nebraska Joint Housing Authority was priced out of big software solutions.
  • Had a hard time working around the limitations and challenges of HUD’s Family Reporting Software (FRS).
  • Especially struggled with recurring PIC submission errors.
  • High workload for new intake, since the PHA used mostly physical documents and pen-and-paper applications.

SPECIFIC GOALS

  • Eliminate the pen-and-paper processes and move onto a digital platform.
  • Reduce workload or personnel since there are 21 counties in their jurisdiction.
  • Find a reasonably priced solution for a small Housing Authority.
  • Have a short implementation timeline.

Key Results

In partnering with Neighborly Software, Central Nebraska is benefitting from a comprehensive, user friendly, software solution that has helped them:

Eliminate endless paperwork and go digital first.

Move to a platform with a modern look and feel without the need to change policies and procedures, even preserving documents from the late 80s to 90s.

Fully implement the new solution and go live in a matter of weeks.

Move away from FRS.

“I had been diligently searching for a software solution for small PHAs for 5 years. After speaking with Neighborly Software, I just remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, after five years, is this seriously happening?” It’s like they built this entire platform to meet my needs exactly the way I wanted.”
Amber Beck Executive Director Central Nebraska Joint Housing Authority
Amber Beck

THE CITY OF Yankton, SD

Meet our Neighbor

The City of Yankton is South Dakota’s most historic town, nicknamed “Mother City of the Dakotas” and is located on the North Bank of the Missouri River in the southeastern part of South Dakota. The city has a population of 15,411, with over 23,000 residents for the larger Yankton Metropolitan Area. Yankton is also known as the “River City”, and borders Nebraska and Iowa. The city on the river is a hub for manufacturing, healthcare, tourism, education, agriculture, finance, and so much more!
The Yankton Housing and Redevelopment Commission serves tenants within Yankton County, Lake Andes City Limits, Bon Homme County, Gregory County, and Tripp County.
They manage 164 vouchers, spread out over a large geographical area.

Programs Used

  • Housing Choice Voucher Program Management

Challenges

  • The housing authority used multiple applications such as Word, Excel, FRS, as well as pen-and-paper and hard files to manage their vouchers.
  • Unit inspections were done manually with a clipboard, over the large geographic area managed by the Housing Authority.
  • As a small agency, they did not have the bandwidth to manage all the necessary tasks.
  • The reduction in size of team, and employee turnover increased their urgency in finding a technology solution.
  • Training new team members was difficult. Pen-and-paper procedures and handling of physical files presented a unique challenge for the more technology-inclined generations.

SPECIFIC GOALS

  • Quickly and easily transition to a technology platform.
  • Notify tenants and property managers of upcoming events through platform.
  • Use task report to see which tasks are outstanding.
  • Implement a waitlist for applicants.
  • Streamline participant application process.
  • Decrease amount of time spent on administrative load, reducing burnout.
  • Modernize the Housing Choice Voucher process and bring innovation to the field.

Key Results

In partnering with Neighborly Software, Yankton’s Housing Authority is benefitting from a comprehensive, user friendly, software solution feauturing:

11-WEEK IMPLEMENTATION

Successfully conclude the implementation process and data import within 11 weeks.

EASY ONBOARDING

Since younger generations are more adept to technology, new hires are now onboarded quicker.

PROPERTY MANAGER PORTAL

Managing RFTAs online, now eliminating the need for pen-and-paper.

WAITLIST AND APPLICANT PORTALS

Portals are now live and receiving and processing applications.

EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDER PORTAL

Community Action agencies review their own caseloads, upload documents, and notify PHA of household changes.

TECHNOLOGY TRAILBLAZER

Yankton is an early adopter, working alongside Neighborly Software to continually innovate our solution.

“Working with Neighborly Software has been a game changer since it was designed to fit the needs of smaller PHAs like ours. Previously, we had been priced out of most technology solutions and were stuck using multiple applications and hard copies to manage our vouchers.”
Camille MertensExecutive Director, Yankton Housing and Redevelopment Commission
Camille Mertens

CITY OF FORT WORTH, TX

Meet our Neighbor

Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas and serves a population of over 950,000 people. To date, the City of Fort Worth has leveraged Neighborly Software to administer $134+ Million in pandemic and annual federal and state funds that provide affordable housing, a safe living environment, and create economic opportunity.

Programs Used

  • Affordable Housing
  • Lead-Safe Housing
  • ERAP Subrecipients
  • Emergency Solutions Grants
  • HOME-ARP NOFA
  • CAP
  • Healthy Homes for Heroes
  • HOPWA
  • Permanent Supportive Housing
  • Public Service Agencies
  • Tenant-Based Rental Assistance
  • regular HOME
  • HUD Notice of Funding Opportunities
  • Multi-Family Weatherization Assistance
  • Non-Government Organization Grants
  • Priority Repair
  • Asset Module
  • DR

Challenges

Fort Worth realized the need to modernize the delivery of its program funding and overcome the following challenges to better meet the critical needs of its community:
  • Case file information existed in multiple locations and formats and became unmanageable.
  • Tracking was manually updated, required external department involvement, and was inefficient.
  • We had difficulties administering funding quickly and in a user-friendly way.
  • Reporting wasn’t real-time and compliance was very difficult to track.

Key Results

Neighborly Software provides the City of Fort Worth an automated and efficient way to manage multiple programs with:

Optimized Reporting

Budgeting and spending is tracked and managed from a single view and is streamlined.

Fully Compliant

CDBG funding is automatically structured in the system’s configuration. The audit log allows for use internally and externally.

Centralized For All Users

Staff and community members alike find the software intuitive and easy to use. They can check on project and case status, and easily request draws.

Fully Configured

Application structure, processes, and reporting are fully configurable, enabling us to have greater community impact.

"Neighborly Software is not just a management tool; it's a gateway that bridges the gap between funding sources and the communities we serve, making the entire process accessible, efficient, and citizen centric."
Terrence JonesNeighborhood Services Manager City of Fort Worth
Terrence Jones

City of Columbia, MO

Meet our Neighbor

Founded in 1821, the City of Columbia is the fourth most populous city in Missouri and is home to the University of Missouri Tigers. As a Midwestern college town, Columbia has a reputation for progressive politics, persuasive journalism, and public art. The City’s Community Development Department allocates ~$1.4M annually in federal CDBG/HOME funds to meet a variety of housing, infrastructure and economic development needs for low to moderate income households and neighborhoods.

Programs Used

  • Down-Payment Assistance
  • Minor Home Repair
  • Housing Rehabilitation
  • Community Land Trust
  • CDBG Public Services
  • Property Acquisition & Demolition

Challenges

Compliance and transparency have always been the cornerstone of the City of Columbia’s Community Development Department. However, as their programs expanded and their loan portfolio grew, more of the staff’s time was being dedicated to compliance and audit activities. The City needed a more efficient way to manage its programs and ensure compliance.
  • Eliminating the multiple spreadsheets and legacy Access database used to administer and track programs and loans.
  • Providing greater transparency into funding decisions.
  • Reducing staff time required to prepare for internal and external audits.
  • Providing an auditable way to track and report on program accomplishments.

Key Results

Neighborly Software enables the City to efficiently manage all of its intake, compliance, reporting, funding, and loan management activities in one comprehensive solution – a solution specifically designed for Housing, Economic and Community Development organizations:

Managing a complex and growing loan portfolio, consisting of 750+ amortizing, deferred and forgivable loans.

Providing more transparency in the application scoring and funding decisions of proposed public service projects.

Enabling real time visibility into funding balances by year and program, including required set asides.

Reducing staff time by 20% in preparing for internal and external audits.

“Neighborly Software provides us peace of mind by enforcing compliance and audit controls and providing me real time visibility into our program spending and results.”
Gary AnspachManager Housing Programs
Gary Anspach

Habitat for Humanity Greater Fresno Area, CA

Meet our Neighbor

Habitat for Humanity Greater Fresno Area serves a combined population of 1.15 Million people and improves the housing conditions of 100 families per year.
To date, Habitat of Greater Fresno Area has leveraged Neighborly Software to administer $1.6 Million in Housing Rehabilitation (CDBG) funds. This funding has provided assistance to over 150 families by preserving existing housing through minor beautification and major rehabilitation projects.

Programs Used

  • Housing and Rehabilitation

Challenges

Prior to the pandemic, Habitat of Greater Fresno realized the need to modernize the delivery of its program funding and overcome the following challenges to better meet the critical needs of its community:
  • Case file information existed in multiple locations and formats and became unmanageable.
  • Tracking was outdated, required external department involvement and was formatted incorrectly.
  • Family Services (Intake), Construction, Project Management, and Accounting were disconnected and required additional administrative oversight to compile information.
  • CDBG compliance was very difficult to track.

Key Results

Neighborly Software provides Habitat of Greater Fresno Area a streamlined and efficient Housing Rehabilitation program administration through:

Optimized Reporting

No longer relies on the accounting dept. for outdated financial information.

Fully Compliant

CDBG funding is automatically structured in the system’s configuration.

Centralized Contractor Management

No longer looking through emails for information.

Fully Configured

Application structure, processes, and reporting are fully configurable, enabling us to have greater community impact.

“With Neighborly Software, we now receive real-time data which is HUGE when managing multiple programs and projects. This has enabled us to become much more efficient in making sure everyone is being served. Reporting is another tremendous benefit we are leveraging. We now have full visibility of our costs and payments which is critical. The system is naturally structured for HUD and CDBG and allows us to easily process information and move cases forward in a compliant manner!”
Jerry ZunigaDirector Housing Preservation & Aging Services
Jerry Zuniga

Pompano Beach, FL

Meet our Neighbor

Located just north of Fort Lauderdale, in the heart of Florida’s Gold Coast, the City of Pompano Beach is home to clear ocean waters, golden sandy beaches, accessible marinas and a colorful offshore coral reef. Over 110,000 people call Pompano Beach home with just over 23% of its population living below the poverty level. The City’s Office of Housing and Urban Improvement (OHUI) is responsible for administering roughly $2.3M annually in federal and state funds to assist in the development and redevelopment of a viable community which provides affordable housing, economic opportunity, and a safe living environment.

Programs Used

  • Housing Rehabilitation
  • Emergency Housing Repair
  • Down-Payment Assistance
  • Wind Mitigation
  • Public Service Grants (CDBG)

Challenges

The City of Pompano Beach’s Office of Housing and Urban Improvement (OHUI) was tasked with modernizing the way it delivered its services. The leadership team was searching for a solution to enhance program compliance while reducing its administrative expenses.
  • Reducing the risk of noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations associated with failure to follow established procedures.
  • Eliminating the inefficiency and compliance risk associated with paper applications and multiple Excel spreadsheets used to track and manage OHUI programs.
  • Reducing administrative expenses related to paper, printing and document storage.

Key Results

In partnering with Neighborly Software, OHUI is leveraging the system’s workflow to ensure that all compliance steps and approvals are completed. The software is simultaneously reducing OHUI’s administrative costs by automating routine tasks and reporting requirements:

Reducing the time to produce monthly CAPER and compliance reports from 3 days to 1 day.

Avoiding the need to replace an open intake position, thereby reducing personnel costs by $32,000 annually.

Decreasing paper, printing and document storage costs by an average of $780 per month ($9,000+ per year).

Reducing the average time to process subrecipient and contractor reimbursement requests by 2 days.

“Neighborly Software more than pays for itself; it has enhanced our program compliance, reduced our administrative costs and allowed us to allocate more money to our housing and community development programs”
Miriam CarrilloDirector Housing and Urban Improvement
Miriam Carrillo

Prince William County, VA

Meet our Neighbor

Located on the Potomac River in Virginia, Prince William County is the second-most populous county in the state and home to over 470,000 people. PWC’s Office of Housing and Community Development is responsible for administering roughly $19M in Pandemic and annual federal and state funds that provide affordable housing, create economic opportunity, and a safe living environment.

Programs Used

  • Rehabilitation (CDBG)

  • First Time Homebuyer (HOME)
  • Emergency Housing Assistance (CARES Act)
  • CDBG Competitive Grant (CDBG)
  • Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)

  • Affordable Rentals

Challenges

Prior to the pandemic, PWC OHCD realized the need to modernize the delivery of its program funding to meet the critical needs of those in its community. An outdated, inefficient system, cumbersome reporting methods and manual workflows were just a few of the challenges they faced. The leadership team realized it was time for a solution that would enable them to implement programs with speed, accuracy and empathy.
  • Inefficient processes & manual workflows.
  • Untimely delivery of program funding.
  • Incomplete reporting and data sharing due to outdated system.
  • Inability to accept online applications for program assistance.

Key Results

By partnering with Neighborly Software, PWC automated routine tasks and reduced administrative inefficiencies. With a newly established set of tools, templates and technology, PWC is able to accelerate program execution, achieve precision with loan reviews and underwriting, generate good data for reporting, effectively manage costs and meet schedule objectives. This translates to on-time performance and cost efficiency and a lasting, positive impact on PWC’s community:

Reduced production time of federal & local Compliance reports.

An online application feature crucial in helping 833 households with CARES Act Funding.

Precision with loan review, cost management and project execution.

Ability to meet expedited program timelines.

“Neighborly Software is incredible; their support team goes above and beyond and the solution has dramatically improved program efficiency, increased our productivity and enabled us to deliver critical program dollars to our community in a timely manner.”
Joan Duckett Assistant Director Housing & Community Development
Joan Duckett

City of Savannah, GA

Meet our Neighbor

The City of Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia and the fifth largest city in the state (~140,000 pop). Savannah is a thriving seaport community that is aggressively addressing its affordable and workforce housing needs. The City’s Housing Department and its partners, including banks, businesses and non-profits, use ~$1.6M annually in federal CDBG/HOME funds along with the Savannah Affordable Housing Fund to leverage millions of other dollars to improve, develop and sell housing for low- and modest-income residents.

Programs Used

  • Down-Payment Home Purchase
  • Employer Assisted Home Purchase
  • Volunteer Home Repair
  • Veteran Home Repair
  • Disaster Home Repair
  • Home Repair/Rehabilitation
  • Home Construction/Development
  • Rental Property Repair/Construction
  • Rental Property Development

Challenges

The City of Savannah Housing Department was using paper based applications, multiple excel spreadsheets, and manual processes to administer its housing programs. The City was searching for a way to not only drive administrative efficiency, but also to improve customer service. Specific goals, included:
  • Reducing staff time spent chasing incomplete applications and/or missing documentation.
  • Reducing staff time required to input, manage and tabulate data in excel spreadsheets.
  • Tracking and managing a diverse range of projects with both singular and multiple funding sources.
  • Reporting real time program results to key stakeholders.
  • Providing an easier way to securely store and retrieve sensitive data related to personally identifiable information.
  • Increasing staff capacity for customer outreach and service.

Key Results

In partnering with Neighborly Software, Savannah’s Housing Department is benefitting from a comprehensive, user friendly, software solution that has helped the Department:

Improve customer service, responsiveness, and oversight.

Increase by 95% the speed and accuracy of data inputted and managed by staff.

Reduce by 50% staff time spent reviewing and qualifying applicants.

Reduce monthly reporting errors by 96%.

Reallocate ~10% of staffs’ time to customer outreach and program activity.

“Neighborly Software has enabled our staff to become much more efficient, organized, timely and accurate in assisting our customers and partners. Our staff loves the software and our customer service is on the rise!”
Anita Smith-DixonHousing Department
Anita Smith-Dixon