Nexus Direct

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of development at a school.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Nexus Direct?

We needed help with an email marketing campaign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Nexus Direct provided email marketing services for our day of giving. The team sent an email before the event and a follow-up email afterward. Additionally, they created a pop-up on our website and sent three versions of a postcard a week before the giving day.

We wanted Nexus Direct to assess if they saw improvement areas in our strategies. We showed them everything we did previously, including a document that chronicled our first outreach a month before the giving day.

We gave Nexus Direct a database section so they could see our giving history and determine who to include in the campaign. We provided Nexus Direct with the marketing messaging to see how that might resonate differently with our community.

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with Kelly. We also worked with Val at the beginning. I was on Zoom calls with Adrianna, who worked behind the scenes on the data. There was another, bigger team because an email had been set up for their digital team.

How did you come to work with Nexus Direct?

A parent at our school who was also on our board worked with Nexus Direct at a nonprofit in our area. She had a positive experience and recommended Nexus Direct to us. We looked into what they offered and decided to use them for a trial year.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $25,000. It was a little less than the initial estimation.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January–February 2025. We plan to work with Nexus Direct next year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We received 24.5% more gifts and 97% more revenue. We plan to use them again next year and expand our use. The team added a power hour at our 6 o'clock hour, and it sort of just went off the charts. It was great. We'll do that again next year.

How did Nexus Direct perform from a project management standpoint?

Nexus Direct delivered the work on time and budget and communicated well. We relied on the team to keep us on the timeline and track, and Nexus Direct did it in a friendly way. We mostly used emails and Zoom calls for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Nexus Direct did exactly what they said they would do, which is what we want from anyone we hire. The team went above and beyond.

On the other hand, I was off work one day, and Nexus Direct sent cookies to my house, which was lovely. The team was friendly and timely from start to finish.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had a tight cybersecurity system, so getting them access to our Google Analytics and email marketing servers took longer. It would've been helpful to have a list of everything Nexus Direct needed access to. Additionally, connecting our data person and looping her into our conversations would have been beneficial early on.

It wasn't our fault or theirs, but we started a conversation with Nexus Direct, and then they started the data communications part with our data person. Having us all in both conversations from the start would've been better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a better understanding of what they're going to need.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the EVP for Membership at a nonprofit organization, where my role was focused on expanding membership among the different demographic markets, as well as maintaining membership through renewals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nexus Direct?

We hired Nexus Direct to build membership among former members (renewals) and new members through direct mail campaigns.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We researched several agencies that conduct direct mail activities and through a series of interviews and client meetings, we chose Nexus as the best partner for the Naval Institute to help us achieve our membership goals.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After a series of discovery meetings, the Nexus team came up with a new direct mail campaign by revising successful past campaigns, and we researched various lists that would effectively speak to our target markets. They worked on data manipulation, printing, mailing and analysis for the entire campaign.

What was the team composition?

I worked closely with the team's Account Executive, the CEO and several other Nexus team members. All were extremely professional.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our membership numbers improved several percentage points, and renewals increased as well. The data they gave to us after the campaigns enabled more effective marketing activities for the remainder of the programs.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had weekly meetings to discuss campaign activities. Communications were clear and professional throughout the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with their commitment to learning about our community - understanding the behaviors of our demographic markets and the differences among the military branches.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

No, I think their work for the Naval Institute was incredibly well done and professional.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Executive Director of the Carpenter's Shelter, a nonprofit providing the widest array of services to people that are homeless in Alexandria, VA. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nexus Direct?

Carpenter's Shelter engaged Nexus Direct to help us better communicate with our supporters and to attract new ones in a manner that isn't as reliant on hard copy mailings (newsletters and hard copy mailings).

This involved marketing and promotion of a virtual fundraising event as well as Giving Tuesday and our end-of-year fundraising.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to build stronger support through digital means of communications in order to raise needed revenue.

In a world where so much has been disrupted and people were more reliant on digital technology as we intentionally stay separate physically, we needed a stronger ability to engage our donors electronically.

This would take the form of more tickets sales to the virtual event as well as funds raised during the Giving Tuesday and end-of-year digital campaign.

SOLUTION

How did you select Nexus Direct?

We selected Nexus Direct after first determining that we did not have the capability and internal capacity to improve our digital proficiency on our own. It was clear that we needed help.

We reviewed two primary vendor options, each of whom had strong connection and direct working experience with one of our board members. Through initial discussions with each, it was clear to us that Nexus Direct was deeply seasoned in the type of work we needed (including elements that we didn't know we needed).

We selected them because of their experience, the direct connection from work done with and for a board member as well as their ability to communicate what would be needed and helpful as our project moved forward.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

In advance of working on a concrete project, Nexus Direct described what they felt the potential was for Carpenter's Shelter, based on their experience working with similar organizations. This gave our organization some idea of the realm of possibility.

We then quickly worked on a fast-approaching virtual fundraising event that we had never done before. It put us all on a team-oriented project that involved marrying their expertise with our self-knowledge. Their communications copy, tools and tactics helped our event surpass revenue estimates.

Lessons learned during that event were then applied to Giving Tuesday, which also included their base strategy, marketing prowess and means to measure and track our performance, all areas in which Carpenter's Shelter knew we wanted to improve but didn't know how to do with our own internal capacity. That part of our work together also over-performed on our expectations, especially compared to what it had done in previous years.

We rolled those lessons learned and that momentum into an end-of-year digital campaign that further improved our performance over previous years. Through each of these phases our work was iterative, with Nexus Direct providing the strategy, base copy and the technical expertise needed to bring those ideas to life.

Our role was to review and shape content, making sure that key elements of our story, brand and reputation were included. We needed the messaging to connote us, and Nexus Direct's team did a lot of listening and adapting based on our feedback to what they presented. Clearly, that worked.

Our work with Nexus Direct definitely gave us an understanding of how much untapped-potential was there for us to work toward. It also gave us an idea of what sorts of tools and tactics were possible as well as how they could more effectively garner support from our existing audience and also attract new supporters.

These were concepts we understood in theory but hadn't seen materialize in reality through digital means. Our work with Nexus Direct has definitely had us on a learning curve that is making us better.

What was the team composition?

Nexus Direct's team involved in our project numbered around six people, with them bringing in people with different specialties as needed. We were fortunate to have the CEO involved in big picture conversations, a project lead, team members well-versed in the technical aspects of social media advertising, website creation and editing.

Our main communication was with the project lead but individual team members engaged us as appropriate. I would characterize their approach and our interface with them to be efficient and effective.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The outcomes from our work with Nexus Direct are impressive and definitely motivating for us to continue our work in the digital vein. For each of the three part of our work together we markedly exceeded goal.

With our virtual fundraising event, we had no similar past event upon which to benchmark. So, we set what felt like an aggressive revenue goal and surpassed it. For Giving Tuesday, the financial performance was roughly 10x what we had raised with that online event the previous year.

For the end-of-year digital campaign, it more than doubled our stated goal, despite that stated goal feeling like a huge stretch. Amid all of this, Nexus Direct continued to push us to be better in our performance, not content solely with meeting goal.

Their focus was much more on feeding on the pieces of the process that were effective and clearly working. They did not let up until the time for each component had fully passed.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The bulk of our workflow was with and through our project lead on the Nexus Direct team. All email that we provided to a member of their team was sent to a specific email address that their entire team had access to.

We also did some planning video-calls and check-in meetings midway through as well as an after-action report out. Telephone, video calls and emails also happened as the project was occurring as much as needed. If we ever asked for a check-in, they responded quickly, and vice versa.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Nexus Direct clearly knows what they are doing in this arena. Our agency is better resourced today because of our work with them and I'm so grateful for their patience, willingness to teach and their openness to shaping copy to reflect who we are when communicating with our audiences.

When I think of their strengths, they revolve around a multi-faceted team that is fast-paced, quick to shift and adjust as needed based on real-time results and that they are informed by deep experience in the field with other organizations.

I think our performance with Nexus Direct is even more impressive because the Carpenter's Shelter team was starting from a place of so little understanding for the digital work we were undertaking.

They led us, educated us, encouraged us and celebrated with us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

When I think of the areas for improvement on our work with Nexus Direct, they are things that the Carpenter's Shelter team could have done differently and better.

I do know that Nexus Direct's team showed great patience when explaining some aspect of what we were doing multiple times and the Carpenter's Shelter team just didn't seem to get it. It had to be frustrating for them and yet they hung in there with us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Senior Associate Director of a nonprofit.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Nonprofit organization that provides programs and resources to the greater military and uniformed services community regardless of rank or branch of service. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Nexus Direct to accomplish?

• Deploy direct mail campaign
• Design email appeals
• Design direct mail collateral

SOLUTION

How did you find Nexus Direct?

Referral

Why did you select Nexus Direct over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Nexus Direct were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Nexus designed two email campaigns and a direct mail soliciation. For each, they helped design our emails, segment our audiences, and handled all aspects of the direct mail solicitation.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We surpassed all of our fundraising goals with the help of Nexus and everything got out on time! 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Kelly King was a rockstar project manager! She kept us in the loop of everything happening and made sure things were completed in a timely manner. 

What was your primary form of communication with Nexus Direct?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Nexus was able to operate quickly and efficiently. I could tell they cared about helping us and felt more like teammates than a vendor.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Nexus Direct could have done differently?

No! Absloutely love the work that Nexus produced. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

In 2015-2016 I served as the Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nexus Direct?

We hired Nexus Direct to run our fundraising direct mail program.

SOLUTION

How did you select Nexus Direct?

Nexus Direct was a longtime vendor of the DSCC and we continued to use them because of their experience, communication, ability and results.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Nexus Direct was our direct marketing fundraising consulting leading the work with telephone solicitations and direct mail solicitations. They managed the production, list use, approach, budget, cashing, caging, and results. They were a vital part of our work.

What was the team composition?

I primarily worked with the firm's CEO and one account representative, though we always had sufficient customer support from the larger team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We grew our fundraising lists, and revenue which helped to fund the important work of the organization.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We always had good, clear, timely communications resulting in strong programming.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The accessibility of the CEO and senior staff. The team's high-quality work product and customer service were impressive.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The NMH Foundation is a charity that raises funds for research, innovation and equipment for the National Maternity Hospital in Ireland. I am the executive Director at the Foundation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nexus Direct?

I hired Nexus Direct to set up and track online fundraising for the charity.

What were your goals for this project?

The primary goal was to set up connections and tracking of online fundraising platforms to build the donor audience and raise funds.

SOLUTION

How did you select Nexus Direct?

I worked withNexus Direct previously and found their work to be excellent.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Setting up google ads, analytics, connecting to Facebook and Instagram. Also developing an omnichannel fundraising campaign for Christmas

What was the team composition?

Project manager, digital manager, copywriter, creative.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The Foundation is now fully capable of raising funds online, also able to track and test. This wasn’t possible before as the foundation is small and didn’t have the expertise in this area.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. A full brief was prepared and agreed, cost agreed, progress reports and full access to the Nexus In Country project manager throughout. Nexus also provided a project end report and further suggestions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their level of expertise is second to none, and not available from other agencies operating in Ireland.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No