THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S GUIDE
TO SCHOOL DONATIONS
GIVING BACK IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS
Donate your photography to charity the right way and bring home the right clients for your business.
Improve Results
Raise more money for your school than ever before
Be Seen
Build important relationships & exponentially increase your business visibility
Grow Your Business
Attract the right type of clients to build your business
YOU CAN BE A FORCE FOR GOOD AND GROW YOUR BUSINESS AT THE SAME TIME.
Nothing’s worse than the wrong type of donation offering – the kind that falls flat on the auction block, failing to raise the kind of money you envisioned. Or your donation is the target of bargain-hunters, making little money for the school and giving you the wrong client.
Or worse, you spend too much time and money on your donation, become overwhelmed and swear off charities forever.
As a photographer you have power to create images that tug on the hearts of the people attending the charity auction. Hearts that are tugged cause hands to pull out wallets and donate generously to the cause.
Giving Back is Good for Business
– a simple system that will help you:
- Avoid the trial and error of school auctions
- Increase the money you raise for you community
- Position yourself as the go-to photographer in your area
3 KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL GIVING:
Smart Giving
Present schools the opportunity to dramatically increase their fundraising capacity and meet their financial needs.
No More Hard Sales
Introduce 100’s of families to your photography and earn the kind of trust that wins new clients.
Stop Guessing
Get everything you need to pull off the best fundraiser — detailed steps, customizable templates and more.
INCLUDED IN THE KIT:
- 56 pages of step-by-step instruction for creating your own Portrait Project
- Bring HUGE fundraising potential to a school or charity auction
- 15 customizable documents (.doc, .xls, .psd)
- Grow your business through trust and respect not a hard sell
- Clients seeking YOU out to book their portraits
- 90-day money-back guarantee
PURCHASE YOUR KIT HERE:
I’ve Made All the Mistakes–So You Won’t
The first year I donated photography to a school fundraising auction was a disappointment. Instead of the euphoria that comes when a good cause is funded, I was served a piece of humble pie.
After the auctioneer finished her sing-songy pitch of my large portrait package I heard nothing but crickets – all because I’d failed to find the right match-up of my skills to the needs of the crowd.
Undaunted, I invented the Portrait Project to touch the parents’ hearts and encourage their donations.
The next year gala attendees were greeted with a field of beautifully packaged 5×5” black and white portraits. Excitement filled the air as parents searched for their child’s portrait and gushed over the other students’ photos.
That night we sold 80% of the portraits and raised $3,200 for the school.
Because parents go home with a meaningful keepsake, the enthusiasm for our fundraiser grows stronger every year. They can’t wait to add the next portrait to their collection every year.
In 9 years we’ve raised approximately $60,000 for local schools! We’re raising the percentage of sales and increasing the number of families participating.
I tell all my friends of all the items I’ve ever purchased at the Spring Gala, your portrait package was by far my favorite! I walk by them every day and still love them. You do fantastic work!
Learn the Formula that Builds Success
As photographers it’s natural to want to give your time and skills to a cause you love. You crave results that keep parents talking and fundraising-chairs dying to have you back next year.
But you hesitate because you don’t know where to start. Or maybe you’ve tasted the bitterness of a flopped donation.
Often, the only thing lacking is the right plan. Once that’s in place:
- You can raise tremendous amounts of money for a school.
- You can rally supportive volunteers around the project.
- You can create valuable relationships with future clients.
- You can avoid the pain of bargain hunters at the auction.
- You can connect with qualified clients.
- You can use the slow season to fill your calendar with new clients.
- Other schools will beg you to expand the project.
The photo project was not only a huge success but something that I LOVED being a part of. Every step of the process was amazing.
$5,000 raised the first year
Laura has created a wonderfully useful marketing tool that helps both the charity and photographer build a relationship, while helping those in need. I wished I had known about it before I went to the effort of learning by trial and error.
The Better Kind of Advertising
To build a sustainable business you need to know where your next client is coming from, but large marketing campaigns are costly and have varied and even unpredictable results. You can throw lots of cash around trying to build name recognition but people rarely call a photographer they don’t know.
The Portrait Project builds a word-of-mouth referral program at very low out-of-pocket expense.
There is real magic in the relationships you build as you put the Portrait Project into place. The wild success of the fundraiser translates into enthusiasm for your photography and key players in the school and community become your word-of-mouth marketing team.
After seven years and nearly 1000 photos taken, the Portrait Project has proven to be a much valued tradition in our school. Not only does the project drive ticket sales to our school auction, it breathes excitement and enthusiasm into the event itself. Laura’s professionalism and talent bring credibility to the project which is evident in the loyalty of returning families year after year. The homes of our school community are now adorned with the historical images captured in the hundreds of portraits she’s taken of the children’s faces. Over the years, the Portrait Project has consistently brought in at least ten percent of the auction total, becoming the largest single fundraiser of the event. Our Education Foundation really counts on this project now as a marketing tool and morale booster in their fundraising efforts and the families look forward to their reward that has become a time capsule of their children’s elementary school years. It’s a fantastic Project and I’m proud to have been a participant in its development.
The Portrait Project will build that kind of strong praise for your business too!
Giving your time and talent forges strong relationships that translate into solid referrals.
In addition to building my reputation, my auction chair gives me free advertising and prime exposure to auction attendees. People know and trust me and my photography schedule is filled with clients who find me through the Portrait Project.
Success is More Than Great Photography
The Portrait Project Charity Kit gives you everything you need to generate huge donations at your fundraiser.
This step-by-step guide walks you though the entire process. From finding allies on the fundraising committee — to taking the portraits — to what to do on the night of the fundraiser…you won’t be caught without a plan.
Gone are the headaches and stress that accompany large-scale projects. Even as success grows the scope of the work, you’ll sail through with confidence and the organization needed to create a winning event.
In the Portrait Project Charity Kit You Get:
- A detailed guide to building the project from the ground up (it’s 34 pages of actionable items)
- Helpful real-life examples and applications
- Fully customizable marketing templates to advertise the Portrait Project and your business (posters, flyers, program ads, etc.)
- 7 easy-to-follow assignments that walk you through executing the project
- Pitch-sheet and FAQ guide so you can sell the idea to the event committee
- Customizable guides for engaging parent volunteers, teachers & administrators
- The best sources for affordable and quality materials
- How-to instructions with detailed pictures for building a portrait display
- Tips and tricks to streamline the workflow
- Time and money saving tips for editing and printing
- How to drive up the bidding price on portrait packages
- Timeline of steps to keep you stress-free and enjoying the process
Photographers using my system are repeating the success and growing their business.
The cool thing is, you don’t even need a high-income area to make this project work. Parents everywhere want quality pictures of their children. The Portrait Project Charity Kit can work in any area.
PURCHASE YOUR KIT HERE:
We had a great event! Even in a depressed location, the whole event made $17,000 and the portrait project brought in $3,000. I got a few new clients from the event itself, but even more important, I gained the contract for their softball team photos. This is the foot in the door I was hoping for and now I’m looking to get their
This is a great concept and worth the money to save time in templates and presentation of ideas. You save us a lot of time and work! Love your heart to share with others!
How Does it Grow My Business?
Giving from your heart opens doors and increases visibility for your business.
- Showing up year after year builds loyalty among the participants
- Parents go home with your “business card” and proudly display it rather than shove it in a drawer
- You’ll weed out bargain hunters and attract the right clients for your business
- You’ll become “their” photographer – top of mind when they are ready for portraits
The portraits are beautiful. I’m sad that my ‘wall of Laura’ ended this year. I have 6 years of gorgeous photos that you have taken of Gracie and Matt. I love every one of them.”
When the time is right, they will come to you for their portrait needs.
My first year I had a few added sales, but last year I can directly attribute $9,000 in sales to my giving to just one school. Now that I’m adding more schools, that number will only grow
Start Making Your Connections
No matter what time of year it is, PTA’s are always brainstorming ways to raise more money for the school. The list of needs is long. Start making your connections with the fundraising planners. But don’t start until you have your plan ready to go.
For your investment you will receive:
- 56 pages of step-by-step instruction for creating your own Portrait Project
- HUGE fundraising potential for your school or charity auction
- 15 customizable documents (.doc, .xls, .psd)
- Tools to grow your business through trust and respect, not a hard sell
- Action packed kit filled with guidance, tools and templates to easily earn your investment back quickly
- 90-day money-back guarantee
PURCHASE YOUR KIT HERE:
If you are hesitating on making this investment, I want to share with you that you can make your money back with the first FIFTEEN charity portraits sold!
THAT’S RIGHT, FIFTEEN CHARITY PORTRAITS IS ALL IT TAKES TO PAY FOR THIS KIT!
Get this All-Inclusive Kit for ONLY $147
(A total deal considering the wealth of information, templates and helpful hints)
Years of experience have shown me the value and magic of this School Kit.
it really is true, giving back IS good for business!
PURCHASE YOUR KIT HERE:
