HFLA of Northeast Ohio
Planting Seeds, Growing Communities
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
HFLA of Northeast Ohio helps those with unexpected financial hurdles to help themselves through interest-free lending. HFLA is provides initial dollars to small business owners in order to launch their business. HFLA helps fill shortfalls of funds for pursuing education. Improve our borrower's credit score to move them towards having access to traditional lending sources.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
General Loan Fund
We make interest and fee free loans to people who have run into temporary difficulties.
Education
Education - Undergraduate, vocational and technical training, graduate school. Gap years
Small Business Loans
Business loans for businesses that don't have access to conventional funds.
Covid19 Emergency Loan Fund
Expedited interest-free emergency loans of up to $1500 for those impacted economically during the pandemic
Credit building loan
A secured loan for those that are credit invisible to help establish positive credit over the course of a year. Individual must be working with a financial coach to participate in this program.
Pre-Approved Car Loan
A 0% interest car loan of up to $15,000 pre-approved for those without access to fair interest rates when purchasing a car yet have the ability to repay a loan.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Dominion Energy Community Partnership Award 2020
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of loans issued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Seniors, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our lending continues to grow and reach more people in Northeast Ohio without access to conventional Funds.
Total dollar amount of loans issued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Amount lent interest free annually in Northeast Ohio.
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
With program growth we have been focusing on working with foundations to meet the growing need in Northeast Ohio.
Percentage of loans written off
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We take into account up to a 3% default rate on our loans, but the past 6 years have a 1% or lower default rate.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We believe that interest-free loans enable Northeast Ohioans to overcome financial hurdles, pursue education, and contribute to the economic development of our community. We work for a future where everyone has access to the capital that they need to succeed.
Our goal is to increase our loan fund capacity so we can reach more people that would benefit from this resource.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
* To ensure that all Northeast Ohioans are aware of our services.
* To have the capacity to serve all of the demand for our services.
* To be known and trusted by all of the partners who serve our target audiences.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
* HFLA is the only interest-free lender supporting all Northeast Ohioans with a need and an ability to repay.
* We help people overcome financial hurdles, pursue education, and contribute to the economic development of our community.
* We help people escape from predatory loans.
* We help people attend college.
* We help people develop news skill to succeed in the workforce.
* We help people purchase and repair cars so that they can get to work.
* We help people get over unexpected financial hurdles, such as a home repair, an unanticipated tax obligation, or falling behind on bills.
* We help business owners start or scale up a business when there is no easy access to other capital.
* HFLA lends when there are no other providers of capital, we are often the difference between success and failure for our clients.
* HFLA loans have over a 97% repayment rate. This means that the money invested in HFLA is recycled for generations.
* HFLA has made thousands of loans in Northeast Ohio since 1904.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have increased the number and amounts of loans made.
We have started reporting credit for our borrowers.
We served as leaders in Ohio on the Coalition for Payday lending reform, and bi-partisan legislation was passed in 2018 to regulate these predatory lenders.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
HFLA of Northeast Ohio
Board of directorsas of 06/22/2022
Eric Kaston
HFLA of Northeast Ohio
Term: 2022 - 2024
Laura Kleinman
Senior Transportation Connection
Dara Weinerman Steinberg
Consultant
Brian Rosenfelt
Comerica Bank
Lorie Gelb
Self-Employed
Jason Powers
Cleveland Neighborhood Progress
Stuart Ostro
Corporate Search
Carol Willen
Retired
Irwin Lowenstein
ReThink Advisors
Christine Weiss
Social Activist
Jonathan Brown
Retired
Eric Kaston
Retired
Marquettes Robinson
Eaton
Duane Johnson
U.S. Bank
Ricardo Leon
Cuyahoga Land Bank
Margaret Eigsti
Sisters of Charity Foundation
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/28/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.