Case Study: Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative (GCMI)

How automation freed up a small nonprofit to serve more entrepreneurs

The Challenge: Too Much Admin, Not Enough Impact

GCMI empowers low-to-moderate-income entrepreneurs with coaching, training, and access to capital. But with a lean staff, too much time was being swallowed by repetitive admin tasks:

  • Manually capturing meeting notes and action items

  • Onboarding clients into loan and classroom programs

  • Updating Salesforce for every loan application

This slowed down reporting to funders and limited the team’s ability to focus on what mattered most: supporting entrepreneurs.

The Solution: Smart Automation That Works Behind the Scenes

We built a custom automation system designed around GCMI’s workflow:

Seamless Program Support

  • Meeting notes and action items automatically captured from Zoom/Plaud into Notion

  • Action items auto-tagged for follow-up

Faster Client Onboarding

  • Loan and classroom applications flow directly into Notion

  • Enrollment and data syncing happen automatically

Effortless Loan Tracking

  • Salesforce stages update automatically

  • Manual record-keeping eliminated

The Results (Per Month, on Average)

40 hours saved — the equivalent of a full staff week

  1. Onboarding time cut in half — from 1.5 hours to just 30 minutes per client

  2. Accurate records — centralized data means fewer reporting errors

  3. Capacity boost — serving 15–25% more clients without hiring

The Impact: More Time for What Matters

With admin work off their plate, GCMI’s Program Director now spends more time:

  • Coaching entrepreneurs directly

  • Strengthening relationships with funders

  • Expanding community outreach

By streamlining operations, GCMI is able to reach more entrepreneurs, provide stronger support, and amplify its mission of helping small businesses grow in Greater Cincinnati.

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Project Two