KEY TAKEAWAYS: Rebuilding Together New Orleans will launch its online home repair status tool Sept. 9. Applicants can check their status using their property address and date of birth. RTNO receives about 880 applications annually, with some homeowners waiting 12 to 18 months for repairs. Civi lized developed the Salesforce integration to help reduce the 30 to 50 status calls RTNO staff receive daily.   Rebuilding Together New Orleans is launching an online tool that allows homeowners waiting for free critical home repairs to check the status of their applications without contacting the nonprofit’s staff. The tool, scheduled to launch Sept. 9 on the organization’s website, connects directly with Rebuilding Together New Orleans’ existing Salesforce system. New Orleans-based technology organization Civilized developed the integration. The nonprofit said the system is intended to reduce the volume of status inquiries handled by employees and give staff more time to process applications, collect documents and schedule inspections. Rebuilding Together New Orleans, or RTNO, provides free repairs including roof replacements, electrical work, accessibility modifications and weatherization, primarily for low-income homeowners. Many of its clients are older adults or people with disabilities. Demand for the program continues to exceed the organization’s capacity. RTNO said about 880 families apply for assistance annually, with some homeowners waiting 12 to 18 months for repairs. The nonprofit served a record 257 households in 2025 but said its waiting list continued to grow. Staff members also receive an estimated 30 to 50 calls per day, many from applicants seeking updates on their place in the process. “Due to demand, our homeowners wait too long for help,” RTNO Executive Director William Stoudt said. “While they wait, they often become impatient, dejected, or disappointed that we might not be able to assist. Now our families can check in on their status and get answers immediately.” Under the new system, applicants can enter their property address and date of birth through RTNO’s website to receive information pulled from the organization’s Salesforce records. Civilized designed the integration to work with RTNO’s existing website and internal systems rather than replacing them. The connection is read-only, meaning it can retrieve information but cannot alter RTNO’s records, according to the organizations. Applicants also will not need to create an account or download an app. “We didn’t build this from a roadmap. We built it at RTNO’s table,” Civilized CEO Matt Wisdom said. “William’s team told us exactly what was breaking. A homeowner calls to ask where they stand, and a coordinator who should be walking the next family through their paperwork is stuck on the phone instead.” The status-check system is the first project Civilized has developed for RTNO. The organizations said they are also planning a pilot involving RTNO’s landlord repair program as well as tools that could allow homeowners to apply for repairs through an online chat and upload documents for an initial artificial intelligence-assisted review. “Having a trusted partner like Civilized helps us modernize our organization,” Stoudt said. “We’re letting the experts build the tools so our team can do what we do best. This is just one of many tools Civilized is building to streamline our process and make our team more efficient.” RTNO has provided critical home repairs in New Orleans for 37 years and says it has repaired more than 2,500 homes. Its programs primarily serve older residents, people with disabilities, veterans and single-parent households. The organization also operates a Resiliency Center with United Way of Southeast Louisiana to help households prepare for and recover from storms. ...read more read less