Help me think this through please

[NicoleScraps]

Once a year on a Saturday (in April) my kids school host a festival type thing called the Spring Fling. It is a fundraiser for the school. They sell food, have games and activities for the kids, have an auction, and have vendors set up selling stuff. It usually earns 4-5k for the school every year.
Now, I know for sure that I am going to donate a free session and/or a free print package, something like that, to the auction.
I am also planning to buy a vendor spot, set up a display of some of my best prints, and hand out info.
But I was thinking of taking it one step further. I am really good friends with the PTO president and she asked for my help and input about ideas. So I am pretty sure that I can get this pushed through on their end. I just need to make sure that I have all of my ducks in a row.
I was thinking of setting up my backdrops and stuff. Making a spring like scene with a few props. Or seeing if a local artist would like to paint a backdrop that is spring-ish. And then offering for people to be photographed on the spot at the festival. Kind of a commemorative print. I know that I will not be able to print the photos right away. I do not have the equipment for that. So I will have to have them printed and then mail them to everyone.
So I am thinking this-1 4x6 printed at Costco (acceptable quality) 13 cents, 1 regular envelope box of 200 for $5 and 1 stamp 44 cents (I think)....actual cost less than $1 per person.
Charging $5 for the print.....$2 will go to me and I will donate $2 to the school.
My hope for this is not to make loads of money, but to be able to interact with local people and put some dang info about my business in each of those envelopes when I mail them. Maybe include an order form so that if they like the photo, they can order reprints? And also to be able to make a donation to the school.
I was thinking of making a blanket model release form, listing my terms at the top and just have a long list at the bottom where each person ( or parental guardian) can sign off.
Am I missing anything here? Any unthought of detail? I know that I need extra batteries for everything, extra memory cards and all of that. I am not too worried equipment-wise because to be frank, this is not a wedding. If something goes wrong, then I just call it a day and go home. No biggie.
How would you recommend that I keep track of what photo gets mailed to what person?
Anything else?
Thanks so much!

[Biomech]

I say go for it.
Don't forget to take the weather into consideration though.

You could keep a log of the persons name and the image file number. A spread sheet with name and contact and then image numbers - personally I'd probably have a column for a rough description too (girlin red hat etc). If you tether shoot you could have someone else doing that bit I guess on a laptop.

[jpnatale]

This sounds like a really excellent idea! Money for the school, fun and memorable 'deliverable' for the kids/parents, and most importantly GREAT no-cost advertising for your business right to your community!

You could also maybe put something up that says 10% off coupon for a real portrait shoot (if that's what you do professionally).

Logistics-wise, as long as you don't get swamped, it shouldn't be a big problem doing everything yourself. You could always 'hire' one of your kids to help (age?) run the signing up and getting information part so you can focus on the $$ and pictures.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

[Jim Poor]

I do something very similar as fund-raisers for animal rescue groups several times each year. The subjects are different, but the principles are the same.

I went back and forth on what to charge and what to include quite a bit and finally settled on a system that works well for everyone involved.

I charge a (very) reduced mini-session fee, don't include anything in most cases (a mid-size file in some (rare) cases), and host images online for folks to be able to select from. I offer packages and offer 20% off for folks to buy them ahead of time, without viewing proofs. That last bit is hard if the audience doesn't know you, but I'm pretty well known in the area and folks know that they'll see something they like.

A couple notes about your plans first.
1. A regular envelope won't do. Photos will get destroyed in the mail and it will be your fault whether it really is or not. Use photo mailers for any prints you deliver. You can get them in bulk from Uline for $.32 in 6x8 size (what I use for 4x6 & 5x7 orders, they may have a smaller size, but you need bigger than the print you are mailing.. Your postage cost will go up too. If you get someone who knows what they are doing at the PO, or use the self service machine, the run $.88-$.92 to mail as a rigid letter. To many counter clerks will insist that they are a package and then it gets closer to $2.00.

Honestly, this is one case where I would say it is better to give them a file. Size it to 4x6, email it (or use PhotoCart to let them download it) and be done with it.

2. Keeping track of who gets what is easy if you're not swamped, tough if you are or if you forget just one time to track it. For events, we take the frame number of the last frame and write it on the customer's order form, where we also collect all the mailing info, etc. Forget just once and it's a PITA to straighten out unless you know the subjects by site.


3. Fund-raising is great, but fundraising with cheapo prices isn't really all that beneficial. Are you charging a mini-session fee? Whether you are or aren't, $5 for a 4x6 is toooooooo low. Say you do 30 and the school gets $60. Hardly worth the effort.

Charge a mini-sitting fee, however, and things get better quickly. We have been donating 40% of our mini-sessions. We started out donating a portion of sales and 10% of session fees, but that was too complicated to keep up with, so we raised the sitting donation and did away with the print percentage.

There are a couple key things to consider - sales from this event and future business. Are the people attending part of your target market or are they likely to be bargain hunters? I'm betting on the latter, so it will important for you to make you sales up front and not rely on future business. You may get a few referrals or returns, but don't count on it.

This is sort of the progression of what we offered from the very beginning to now.

$15 mini session -10% of sessions and sales back to the cause. We did instant, on-site proofing and it was a nightmare.

$15 mini session, $10 from each back to the cause. Online proofing, no percentage of sales donated.

$25 mini-session, $15 back to the cause. Online proofing, packages 20% off at the event, sight unseen (no proofing on site).

$35 mini-session, $20 back to the cause. Online proofing, packages 20% off at the event, sight unseen (no proofing on site).

Last year, we started doing fund-raisers in the studio over a given time period rather than at mass events, but we still do a few choice mass events as well so now we have two models.

Mass - $50 mini-session, $25 back to the cause. Online proofing, packages 20% off at the event, sight unseen (no proofing on site).

Studio $100 off private sitting (Normal rate $350) $100 back to the cause. In person proofing & sales about a week later, followed by an online gallery for future purchases.

The "cause" appreciates a $100 donation x 20 sessions a lot more than a $20 donation x 20 sessions, even if they all happen on the same day.

FWIW, around June, our mass event sessions will likely go to $100, by appointment only for 1 event per quarter.

[Jim Poor]

Oh, one other thought. Photos of the kids doing the activities might be a great seller as well, but you'd definitely have to go to an online gallery and have parents dig through them a bit.

We developed a ticket system for that sort of thing for a festival a couple years ago.

Colors (stickers on my business cards) we assigned to an activity and a time slot which helped divide the galleries up into sub-galleries that were easier to navigate.

[NicoleScraps]

Well, thanks for all of that Jim! A lot of food for thought! I appreciate it.

[zona5101]

i'm not so sure i'd be as flippant to say if it doesn't go right you'll just pack it up and go home.... these are all of your potential clients who will watch you fold.

At a minimum, I think people will want to see the image they are buying before they leave. At least that's what I would want.

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by zona5101

At a minimum, I think people will want to see the image they are buying before they leave. At least that's what I would want.

That's somewhat easy to overcome with few good samples. Even better if they are on the backdrop you are using at the event.

Once folks know your work, it won't be an issue to most, and don't worry about the ones for whom it is an issue.

[Jim Bryant]

You're gonna kill yourself for giving almost 50%. Normally it's a 10% donation back.

[NicoleScraps]

Originally Posted by Jim Poor

That's somewhat easy to overcome with few good samples. Even better if they are on the backdrop you are using at the event.

Once folks know your work, it won't be an issue to most, and don't worry about the ones for whom it is an issue.

Yeah, I was planning to set up the backdrop ahead of time and do a few test shots to print and display that day as examples.

And I didn't mean to sound flippant. All that I am saying is that I am not going to do the thing like everyone says when talking about events-having duplicate equipment and all of that. And if heaven forbid, something did happen to my equipment that day, I probably wouldn't go home home...but shut down the photo taking part and continue to just pass out information about my business.