Latino Economic Development Center helps communities thrive through Microsoft technology

A Washington, D.C. entrepreneur sold all-natural ice pops to eager customers on a sweltering summer day. Several dozen women of color in Baltimore graduated from real estate training, beaming and ready to launch their own businesses. And hundreds of people in the region bought their first home, a huge step toward building generational wealth and stronger communities.

The Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) aided each of these individuals—and thousands more—through their housing and small business support for underserved folks throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. As a community development financial institution, it is certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury to provide loans and financial advice to individuals and businesses who may not qualify for conventional financial products. In addition, as a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certified housing counseling agency, LEDC advises clients on tenant rights, financial literacy, home buying-readiness, foreclosure prevention, and more. 

“We serve everyone who walks through our doors. We make sure they’re not alone in buying a home, creating a business plan, or achieving their dreams,” explains Nicole Durler-Montant, Director of Development at LEDC. 

The nonprofit transitioned to the cloud and began working with Microsoft partner FSi Strategies during the pandemic, when they switched in-person services to a remote and then hybrid model. Since then, LEDC has transitioned to Azure and embraced Microsoft solutions to better help clients, scale their efforts, streamline work, and secure important data. 

As LEDC Technology Education and Software Implementation Lead Gustavo Mas says, “Everything we have with Microsoft lets our teams focus on what matters—connecting with and serving our customers.”

Serving more clients, better

People come to LEDC for a wide variety of reasons, from help resolving a tenant-landlord dispute to securing a small business loan. Even though the nonprofit works to direct the most budget possible to this direct service, “we make sure we fund technology,” Durler-Montant says. “We know we can serve more people when we have the right tools.”

SharePoint has transformed LEDC’s operations, smoothing out formerly time-consuming and frustrating processes. Teams used to adopt their own makeshift technology solutions, leading to siloed data and documents. Now leadership estimates that their centralized, searchable intranet saves staff about 30 minutes each time they need to locate an important document. They reinvest that time by fundraising, designing public workshops, and especially helping clients.

“There’s one thing that software and technology can’t do, and that is providing the human touch,” Mas says. “That’s where our staff shines. Microsoft allows them to shine.” 

LEDC recently switched from a third-party scheduling app, which charged extra for add-on functions, to Microsoft Bookings. The app is included in the Microsoft 365 suite, so it made financial sense to utilize a tool that is already integrated into Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and the other apps the organization uses every day. Clients and staff alike have commented how the app removes the back-and-forth hassle of finding common availability and automatically sends meeting invites. “Bookings makes it easier to serve people. It allows us to do so much more, faster,” Mas says. 

FSi Strategies is currently helping LEDC become AI-ready. The nonprofit has created an AI policy and is ensuring its data and cloud apps are structured in a way that will facilitate the smooth use of Microsoft 365 Copilot. Teams are looking forward to helpful Copilot functions, such as the meeting summary functionality in Teams. 

LEDC serves thousands of people every year, and demand for the nonprofit’s efforts shows no sign of slowing. “What we have with Microsoft allows us to do a lot more with the resources we have,” Mas says. “The number of people we help will grow even more as we learn to use technology better.”

Operating efficiently with fluctuating funds

Since its founding 33 years ago, LEDC has weathered a lot of change. During the pandemic, the nonprofit’s operating budget swelled to 11 times its average to accommodate the surge of emergency relief it distributed to struggling individuals, families, and businesses. That budget slimmed down but is now growing again, and “technology is helping us manage these shifts,” Durler-Montant explains. “FSi is the key player to help us transition, update our systems, and find the technology that makes the most of our work.”   

Consolidating organizational resources in the cloud makes it easy to collaborate. For example, various teams work together to complete compelling grant applications that represent LEDC’s powerful impact. Individuals from across the organization contribute to a single Word document stored in SharePoint, adding to and editing the work-in-progress in real time. “These tools allow us to work on projects with many stakeholders, all while maintaining coordination and visibility,” Durler-Montant says.

Teams stay organized with Microsoft Planner. Through the project management app, staff sort projects, assign tasks, and set automatic reminders. The development team in particular relies on Planner to juggle more than 100 grants with different deadlines and in various stages, from application to reporting. “It’s very risky to miss even one step, which could put our funding in jeopardy,” Durler-Montant says. “Planner is a structured way to keep track of every single item and all the moving parts.”  

LEDC is in the process of training staff to use Power BI. The development team plans to build templates in Power BI that automatically populate with up-to-date information. “Showing the impact of our work through data is one of the most important things we can do right now,” she adds. “Visually telling our story shows partners why they should invest in us and communicates the importance of that investment for community development.”

Keeping organizational and client data secure

“Community members trust us, believe in our work, and understand that they have a partner in us,” Durler-Montant says. That confidence leads clients to open up about sensitive topics such as foreclosure, business finances, and financial counseling. “We care so much about our community and clients, so we do everything in our power—including through technology—to protect them.”

FSi Strategies acts as LEDC’s managed services partner, providing a comprehensive IT platform that leverages the entire Microsoft stack to ensure the nonprofit remains at the forefront of security and technology advancements. Through FSi Strategies' Total Care Managed Service, LEDC gains access to a team of seasoned security professionals who bring extensive expertise in utilizing Microsoft’s continually evolving products. This partnership not only enhances LEDC’s security posture but also ensures that their defenses are agile and adaptive to the latest tactics employed by cyberthreats. By transforming IT from a cost center to a competitive advantage, FSi Strategies empowers LEDC to focus on their mission with the confidence that their technology infrastructure is robust and secure. 

“At FSi Strategies, we understand the critical role that organizations like LEDC play in our communities,” says Redha Morsli, CEO of FSi Strategies. “Our commitment to enhancing cybersecurity and technology infrastructure is not just about protecting data but also about empowering employees to focus on what truly matters—their constituents they serve every day. Together, we are empowering employees to do more, enabling LEDC to continue serving their community effectively and securely.”

Recognizing that two-thirds of security breaches exploit staff mistakes, LEDC and FSi Strategies prioritize staff training. FSi Strategies runs phishing simulations through Microsoft Defender for Office 365, directing staff who fall for suspicious emails to additional online learning resources. Since starting these trainings, LEDC staff have seen their actual compromised rate drop to zero. 

Microsoft Entra ID helps FSi Strategies manage LEDC staff identities across devices. With the centralized platform, FSi Strategies controls access to apps, enables self-service password resets, and flags suspicious activity. AI-powered features within Entra ID and Defender monitor and automatically react to security threats around the clock, further shrinking LEDC’s vulnerability. 

“Microsoft and FSi are essential partners, helping protect us from a cybersecurity attack or other breach,” Mas says.

The nonprofit also recently adopted Microsoft Intune to remotely set up, monitor, and secure endpoint devices. Intune smoothly manages onboarding staff and setting up new devices with approved apps—and preventing the download of apps that could compromise organizational or client data, such as unauthorized generative AI tools. 

These security measures help establish LEDC as a reliable partner and establish trust with funders, Durler-Montant says. “Our funders and partners make sure they invest in organizations that protect their information and investments,” she adds. “Microsoft gives us a credibility stamp. It showcases that we are a great steward of their funding. With all the Microsoft tools, we’re closer to achieving our mission of regional stability and a thriving economy.”

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