When COVID-19 spread and became a pandemic, several government funding programs were initiated to assist in the sustainability of small businesses during this difficult time. The network of Community Business Development Corporations (CBDCs) received significant budget allocations to provide funding to small businesses across the Atlantic provinces through the Rural Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF). The primary issue was the network of 41 CBDCs was accustomed to fielding applications manually using fillable PDFs. With the lockdown of the economy, and the majority of all CBDC practitioners working remotely (from home), it seemed like a daunting task to possibly manage the level of applications that was anticipated as well as the associated reporting requirements to key stakeholders.
We approached CommonGoals Software, the creators of the ApplyNow Application Management System, and articulated the requirements and scope of the program we were required to launch.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
- Deploy 3 separate Applications for 41 CBDC organizations across Atlantic Canada
- Requirement for CommonGoals to completely administer all applications, configuration, branding, testing, and deployment
- Provide support to both CBDC organizations and their customers (applicants)
- Develop sophisticated dashboard reporting for all stakeholders inclusive of financial position, demographic profiling, pipeline management, and ad hoc reporting
- The most unrealistic requirement was we needed the entire project to be in place within two weeks
We are pleased to report that the ApplyNow Application Management System was a huge success and the professionalism and dedication CommonGoals Software provided was unsurpassed. We have continually leaned on this company to dynamically make modifications to applications, processes, reporting and they did so with incredible expediency. We highly recommend the ApplyNow Application Management System but more importantly, the professional services and support we received from CommonGoals Software. I was not optimistic that the project could come together in the unrealistic timelines that were presented however, CommonGoals Software successfully deployed and managed the project to a high degree of success. As a result, we were able to help our local businesses receive the critical capital they needed to sustain during the pandemic and beyond!
We truly appreciate CommonGoals Software’s efforts and highly recommend both ApplyNow as an application management tool and the professional services provided by CommonGoals Software.
Basil Ryan
Chief Operating Officer
The Atlantic Association of Community Business Development Corporations