Reaching 5,000 families at once: 18th Ward’s unique SMS approach to community outreach

Discover how a local nonprofit turned to texting to cut through inbox clutter and stay connected with families across New Orleans.

Use it. Our families are much more likely to read a message from Textmagic than read an email.

Lowrey Crews

Founder and CEO

Company:

New Orleans

United States

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Industry:

NGO

Products used:

Mass texting

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About The 18th Ward

The 18th Ward is a nonprofit organization based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The team is dedicated to building stronger communities through high-quality, affordable sports and workforce development programs. Committed to opportunity for all, their mission is to bridge gaps and support growth at the community level.

The business challenge

When The 18th Ward first started, it served about 40 families. Six years later, that number has grown to over 5,000. Reaching 5,000+ families meant the old communication methods no longer scaled. Email wasn’t cutting it. Communication needed to be timely, accessible, and scalable across diverse neighborhoods and devices. The team needed a dependable solution that was fast and could support rapid program expansion.

How Textmagic helped

Textmagic delivered on all of those fronts. Managing lists and sending bulk updates became a task they could handle on the go. Their favorite part of using Textmagic? “Using the app on my phone to send important messages to thousands of people with the click of a few buttons,” says Lowrey Crews, Founder and CEO. The setup was fast and seamless. Outreach didn’t have to wait until someone was back at their desk. It happened in real time.

The results

Since adopting Textmagic, The 18th Ward has sent over 10,000 messages to families across New Orleans. It allowed them to expand without sacrificing clarity or consistency. Engagement improved the moment they met families where they already were: on their phones. Program participation is up, and important updates are getting read fast. “Uploading information into the system is quick and easy. We’ve sent over ten thousand messages in the last five years. It’s easy and cost-effective.”

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