Neighborhood Trust, a NYC-based nonprofit financial services provider, is dedicated to helping underserved communities achieve financial stability through financial coaching tied to inclusive financial products, benefits, and tools.
As part of their mission to counteract predatory lending and expand access to equitable financial products, Neighborhood Trust had a vision for a new type of auto loan refinancing tool—one that was aimed at protecting users from predatory lenders and connecting them with fair and affordable refinancing options. The tool would target an audience that has historically faced exploitative lending practices, offering an accessible alternative grounded in financial empowerment.
The challenge
A major challenge throughout was balancing these ambitious functional, security, and design goals with a limited nonprofit budget. Neighborhood Trust needed an experienced technical and design partner to translate their mission into a usable MVP (minimum viable product) that could:
- Seamlessly and securely gather sensitive data from users to determine loan eligibility
- Guide users through refinancing options or financial coaching paths with clarity and empathy
- Allow internal teams to monitor applications, track user outcomes, and evolve the product post-launch through a robust, flexible admin dashboard
- Integrate multiple third-party services and APIs without compromising user security
- Reflect Neighborhood Trust’s brand values of trust, transparency, and empowerment in both UX and visual identity
- Serve as a proof of concept to credit unions and banks by showing that financially coached users are strong refinancing candidates
Neighborhood Trust chose HappyFunCorp to help them:
- Design and build a user-friendly MVP for pilot rollout with a secure, scalable backend
- Create an intuitive admin interface with real-time data visibility,
- Evolve Neighborhood Trust and TrustPlus branding with a cohesive, clean UI design
HappyFunCorp's approach
To bring this new tool to life, HappyFunCorp took a holistic, user-centered approach that combined thoughtful design, technical precision, and a deep understanding of Neighborhood Trust’s mission. The goal was to build on Neighborhood Trust's established brand and relationships within the community while making a complex process feel approachable and ensuring the backend infrastructure could support scale, security, and growth.
The team broke the project into four key areas:
User-first product design
HappyFunCorp began by translating Neighborhood Trust’s mission and coaching methodology into a clear, streamlined application flow. The tool had to guide users through a complex process—verifying income, fetching vehicle data, checking eligibility, and applying for loans—all while minimizing cognitive load and technical friction.
The tool was also built to be useful for different types of users, routing those who didn’t qualify for immediate refinancing to Neighborhood Trust’s financial coaching offering. This made sure every user could get value and also increased engagement with Neighborhood Trust’s broader services.
Scale and security
HappyFunCorp’s team built the application using Next.js and Chakra UI for a responsive, accessible frontend, while backend development centered around Prisma ORM and PostgreSQL, which enabled structured, scalable data management.
Security was vital. The financial tool uses JWT-based authentication and CSRF protection, with no sensitive data stored on HappyFunCorp’s servers.
All income, vehicle, and loan data is accessed securely through integrated APIs:
- Gravity for loan application processing
- Conductiv for real-time income and eligibility verification
- NHTSA for standardized car make, model, year, and trim data
To support dynamic content updates and future marketing needs, the frontend also integrates Apollo Client with Contentful’s GraphQL API. Email communication is handled via SendGrid, with customizable templates that NT can modify as needed. This allows Neighborhood Trust to update public-facing messaging and scale content easily in the future.
Admin tools and infrastructure
To support Neighborhood Trust’s operations team, HappyFunCorp developed a React admin dashboard with real-time data from loan applications. This gave Neighborhood Trust full visibility into the user pipeline and also helped with tracking success metrics. The team used OpenTofu to provision and maintain the AWS infrastructure, CodeBuild to ensure continuous delivery, and a Docker-based Elastic Beanstalk setup for flexibility and easier maintenance.
Cohesive branding, inclusive experience
TrustPlus Auto builds on Neighborhood Trust’s brand with a fresh, optimistic interface that balances professionalism with approachability. To support this, HappyFunCorp chose Contentful CMS to make it easy for Neighborhood Trust’s team to create and update marketing pages without engineering bottlenecks. With scalability being top of mind, the platform is also built to accommodate future enhancements like multilingual support and accessibility upgrades.
The results
Today, the TrustPlus Auto application is being piloted with Neighborhood Trust clients who have completed financial coaching. Early engagement and feedback is promising—many users report that the tool is easy to navigate, the refinancing options feel transparent and trustworthy, and the experience aligns with their financial realities.
As the pilot evolves, the tool is positioned to drive several key outcomes:
- Expanded financial access by rewarding users who’ve completed financial coaching with lower rates and connecting them with trusted credit union partners. This approach reduces dependence on predatory lenders and increases access to fair, affordable auto loans.
- Stronger partnerships by serving as a proof of concept for credit unions and banks, and proving that coached clients are low-risk, high-value refinance candidates—which also paves the way for deeper institutional partnerships.
- Improved financial well-being for Neighborhood Trust clients by providing immediate financial relief and empowering individuals and families to achieve sustainable financial stability.
By combining financial empowerment with a thoughtful, well-designed technical foundation, HappyFunCorp helped Neighborhood Trust take a major step forward in closing the financial equity gap—while providing a replicable blueprint for how mission-driven fintech organizations can scale impact in underserved communities.
"This project represented an important step forward in our ability to get our clients out of predatory debt, and into safer and more affordable products from inclusive credit unions," says Theo Vaughn, Neighborhood Trust's Director of Product Services. "Our partnership with HappyFunCorp enabled us to tackle the complex technical challenges of the build while staying focused on the long-term vision. Their project roadmap, expertise in user-focused product design, and understanding of our mission were invaluable."
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