fundraiser welcome guide
Thank you for booking a portrait day fundraiser for your school! We are so looking forward to working with you and the families who attend your school, all for the goal of creating beautiful images while benefiting your organization. Please read through the information below to find out how to get started.
what you'll need to get started
Welcome guide (what you are reading right now!)
Personalized fundraiser webpage - provided before launch date
PDF flyer to print and distribute electronically - provided before launch date
Your fundraiser website details the location, dates and other information that your school and families will need. A booking link will launch (30) days prior to the fundraiser date, at which time families will be able to select their time slot. We can accommodate up to 30 families, starting with single booked sessions and adding double booked sessions (two photographers) if the demands is there.
Each family participating will pay a $30 session fee to reserve their time. Your school/organization receives 100% of the profits from this session fee. We collect the session fees via credit card, through our booking system. We find credit card payments to be the easiest, as our booking system collects payment right away, which ensures prompt payment and avoids the issue of families taking up a time slot and then not paying. We will send booking updates to your point of contact weekly.
If a family needs to cancel their session, we ask for them to give us preferably 48 hours + notice so that we can make their spot available. We do not recommend refunding session fees unless the event is cancelled, and instead, having the session fee apply strictly as a donation to the organization in the event of individual cancellations. However, this is at your discretion.
Once families receive their gallery of images via email, they’ll have the option to purchase what works best for them. No minimum purchase is ever required. Prints begin at $20.00 for a 4x6 prints, and digital images are available for $30.00 per image or $200.00 for the full set of images (8-10 images). Digital images are the most popular and cost effective option.
booking, session fees & payment options
fundraiser timeline
We work diligently to ensure that our fundraisers are a high value, low maintenance event for your team. From start to finish, we recommend the following as a timeline of events for a successful portrait day:
6-8 weeks prior: Send a 'Save the Date’ announcement made via your social media outlets, emails, newsletter (optional, but with families' busy schedules, we find this is helpful!).
5 weeks prior: Schools: print PDF flyer to send home in backpacks, with all booking information--additionally posted on social media, school newsletter, emails from teachers, etc.
~4 weeks prior: Booking link becomes active. The link is launched 4 weeks prior at 8 AM to give families an equal, fair chance at booking a session.
2 weeks prior: Continue with additional outreach to fill remaining spots. Send another flyer home as a reminder, and continue with social media or email marketing.
1 week prior: Final outreach for any remaining sessions, including reaching out personally to interested families who did not book or any other families who may be interested. Booking deadline arrives (typically 3-4 days prior to the fundraiser date). "Day of" email with directions and instructions sent to families 1-2 days prior.
Day of: Representative on site during your time block to greet families and ensure everything runs smoothly
2-3 weeks after: Families receive their online gallery for review, as well as ordering instructions. You, and the families, with be notified of the exact date they can expect to receive their gallery while at the fundraiser.
Four weeks after: Order deadline
what you can expect from us
We are committed to making our family portrait fundraisers a smooth, easy, and financially beneficial event for your school. To do so, you can expect that we will:
Guide you throughout the process, from setting a date to finalizing the session schedule
Provide you with a smooth, easy booking process, where we accept sessions fees via credit card and will keep your representative aware of progress and how many remaining sessions are available; a booking "progress report" will be emailed to you 1x a week
Support your school/organization in publicizing the event, through customize flyers or information sheets for widespread exposure
An exceptional, successful experience for each family on portrait day
Turnaround of the images within 2-3 weeks, and timely responses to families' questions about ordering
Instant delivery of digital images and delivery of prints/products within (3) weeks of order deadline
Delivery of the session fees & percentage of sales to your organization via check within (4) weeks of order deadline
tips for success
The beauty of our portrait fundraisers is that very little effort is needed by your organization. We handle the booking, day itself, editing, ordering... the only aspect that your school is in charge of (and its an important one!) is the promotion of the event. Naturally, your organization is best connected and in tune with the families at your school, as well as the daily process and procedures, so we trust that you know the best ways to promote our fundraiser. Our fundraiser timeline serves as a general guide, but feel free to tweak as you see fit... for example, if you feel that your families would be more responsive to frequent hard copy materials send home in backpacks or via snail mail, great... send away! If you find that your parents are very active on social media and respond best to email blasts, perhaps more frequent targeting in this fashion would be best. The more places to distribute the information (i.e. teacher's break room... staff tend to love these fundraisers!... hallways, other events, etc.), the better. We also find that having organizations members reach out personally to families that they know well and that might be interested works great. Please click here for some specific ideas and strategies from garnering bookings.
Fundraiser days do not require a minimum number of families participating, but naturally, the number of families participating and the amount of enthusiasm generated directly impacts the financial return of the fundraiser. We find that the vast majority of families are thrilled with their images and we have a very high rate of orders and average sales. The majority of families tend to order the full set of digital images ($200.00) but we assume a $100.00 average. Here's a few scenarios.
Fundraiser w/ 8 families participating
8 families x $30 session fee = $240.00 (minus credit card processing fees)
8 families x average sale of $100.00 = $800.00 = $80.00 (10%)
Total: ~$260.00
Fundraiser w/ 15 families participating
15 families x $30 session fee = $450.00 (minus credit card processing fees)
15 families x average sale of $100.00 = $1500.00 = $150.00 (10%)
Total: ~$487.50
Fundraiser w/ 25 families participating
25 families x $30 session fee = $750.00 (minus credit card processing fees)
25 families x average sale of $100.00 = $2500.00 = $250.00 (10%)
Total: ~$812.50
Many families have never worked with a custom photographer or participated in this type of fundraiser. The most successful fundraisers are those where the PTA/PTO rep acts as an evangelist for what we do! Talking up the experience... the benefit, the ease, the affordability, etc... may be the key to giving some families the extra nudge they need to book a session. We recommend highlighting our work and experience by referring families to check out our website, and stressing the low obligation nature of our fundraisers. We very rarely find that families do not love their images and choose not to place an order, but in the worst case scenario, it's a very small time investment for each family and the only money paid up front acts as a donation to the PTA/PTO.
On the day of the fundraiser, the on site PTA/PTO rep has a simple job, but it is a huge help to us. We will ask that they "camp out" in a central location where arriving families can easily spot them. The rep's job is to greet arriving families, brief them on how the process works, answer any questions, and help to keep the schedule intact.
We want your fundraiser to be a huge success and one that garners lots of interest and benefit. We are here and happy to help in any way, so please do not hesitate to call or email if we can assist you or answer any questions. Our best chance for success is working together as a team, and we are confident that portrait day will be a huge hit! Thank you for your efforts!
Ashley Brown LLC