In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, North Peak began to field more requests from housing support agencies seeking assistance with data strategy and database implementation. Through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Congress invested significantly to increase access to affordable housing and housing education programs. This was good news for agencies in the housing services sector, but it also meant that programs had to grow rapidly to serve more communities in need. This required organizations to quickly scale up existing systems and implement new solutions to meet their expanded mandate.
One such organization that North Peak has been proud to work with is the Detroit Housing Network (DHN), an alliance of housing agencies that connects Detroiters to a wide variety of housing services. Managed by CHN Housing Partners, DHN was formed to help aggregate Detroit housing resources under one umbrella so that Detroiters are able to obtain multiple services in one place.
Project Challenge: Develop a Shared Technology Platform to Support DHN Programs and Services
DHN contracted with North Peak to develop a shared technology platform to support their housing services network. At the time, there was no reliable, central database in place for the different agencies to use. This meant there was no source of truth for tracking program data across the network, making it difficult for individual agencies to report impact data to funders and key stakeholders.
The new, shared technology platform needed to be agile enough to manage client application and service delivery information in a consolidated manner, while also providing useful analytics to inform program improvement and support reporting to DHN leadership, as well as external stakeholders.
We wanted to create a product that would increase DHN network members’ efficiency and capacity, reduce client barriers to housing programs and provide the City of Detroit and funders, like the Gilbert Family Foundation, with a central data hub for Detroit housing programs.
Solution: Implementing Salesforce + HomeKeeper
Salesforce is one of the most versatile CRM databases available to nonprofits, and with its extensive customization options, it was the obvious choice for building DHN’s shared technology platform.
We decided on Salesforce mainly because it’s so customizable, allowing us to build an evergreen platform that can be enhanced and modified as our business needs change. It’s also fairly ubiquitous – we knew that integrations and other apps would be easier to identify and implement if Salesforce was the primary CRM. We chose HomeKeeper because it meets all HUD housing counseling reporting and program requirements, which all of the DHN members require of a platform. We’ve also benefited from peer-to-peer learning with HomeKeeper’s network of housing organizations, and we’re pleased with the good user support they provide.
We’re excited that DHN has chosen HomeKeeper as its core platform. This demonstrates the flexibility of our platform to meet the needs of Housing Counseling management and reporting for coalitions and individual organizations, as well as the platform’s ability to serve as a program eligibility tool to achieve integrated services.
In addition to the Salesforce + Homekeeper implementation work, North Peak also engaged in strategic planning and discovery with DHN and their network of agencies to create an application process and a counseling management system to pair Detroit residents with counselors across the DHN network.
Other, similar projects included building multiple DHN Salesforce Experience Cloud Sites, aka Portals. These include:
- An application portal where Detroit residents can apply for various DHN housing support services
- A collaboration portal where DHN can refer residents to external agencies for non-housing support and where those agencies can refer residents to DHN for housing support
- A portal where the City of Detroit can review applications for Homeowner Property Tax Exemption (HOPE) from DHN clients.
These portals represent DHN’s impressive efforts to partner with entities outside the network to better serve residents in the Detroit area.
Result: A Flexible Platform that Centralizes Data, Streamlines Program Management & Simplifies Reporting
Since launching the new technology platform, DHN has seen positive results across the board. Individual housing counseling agencies have moved away from time consuming manual processes and outdated systems, and are now utilizing the database to track all program and participant information.
The City of Detroit and funders now have access to centralized data to monitor program and housing trends, identify gaps in programming, and more. Additionally, the process of referring DHN member agency clients to housing programs is much more streamlined, which saves both clients and staff valuable time.
Stakeholders now look to DHN for solutions to large-scale problems, like the overhaul of the way in which program applications are processed. DHN has become a thought partner in the housing services field, and we have the data to back up ideas and innovation.
If you’re considering a move to Salesforce, or want more information on how a high-functioning database platform can streamline workflows to increase efficiency, please reach out today.
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