Picateers Eases School Fundraising Fatigue, Introduces 50 Percent Cash-Back School Portrait Program.

Bay Area Company's Portrait Service Provides Effective Fundraising - Little Time Commitment Needed

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Parents exhausted from traditional school fundraisers can now help their children's schools and organizations raise funds by simply buying school pictures. Picateers, Inc. (www.picateers.com) today announced a new portrait fundraiser program that allows schools, athletic teams and other children's organizations to run their own portrait programs and automatically collect 50 percent cash back from sales.

Chronically underfunded schools are constantly searching for innovative ways to boost funds for supplies, field trips and other extra-curricular activities, so the timing couldn't be more perfect.

With 85 percent of schools conducting at least two fundraisers annually, parents are facing fundraising fatigue, according to a recent national online survey conducted by Picateers of 1001 parents with children in grades kindergarten through high school. The survey found that 90 percent of parents are involved in school fundraisers, and 86 percent felt that more creative fundraisers are needed.

Picateers founders, CEO Larry Jacobs and Susan Doherty, vice president of marketing, developed the program because they felt schools and children's organizations needed an easier way to raise money. Doherty, whose daughter's school held 12 consecutive fundraisers over a six month period, teamed with Jacobs to find an effective way for busy parents to help with little or no time commitment. They focused on school pictures, which most parents already buy.

"Little has changed in the past 100 years in the $2 billion school portrait industry," said Jacobs. "By combining the power of the Internet with digital photography, we were able to develop a business model that helps schools raise funds and offers parents portrait packages that fit every budget."

"It's about time that someone shook things up in the school portrait industry," said Shripati Archarya, founder of Snapfish who serves on the board of Picateers. "I look at the Picateers model as part of the user-generated content trend."

50 percent cash back on school portraits

Picateers' portrait fundraiser program is simple: Picateers helps schools find a talented volunteer photographer from their school community and provides guidance on setup, lighting and photo day planning. The volunteer snaps the photos, and Picateers takes care of the rest - from providing order forms and proofs to delivering the portraits. The school then gets 50 percent cash back on sales to be used at their discretion. As a point of reference, Picateers pilot schools raised an average of $10-$15 per student.

"It's easy for schools to find a talented parent or faculty member that's happy to volunteer, especially given the growing trend of digital single lens reflex (SLR) camera adoption among consumers," said Doherty.

Natural Smiles, Better Pictures

Picateers' program yields better pictures with natural smiles because the photographer spends more time with students. More natural smiles lead to increased purchase rates. That's the experience of Mary Magee, vice president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Mountain Elementary School in Soquel, California.

"Before Picateers, we never had more than 30 percent of parents buying school pictures. But because the pictures were better and the parents could see the poses before ordering, 80 percent of the parents purchased portrait packages. Our school of 165 students raised over $1,700 without any hassle," said Magee.

About Picateers

Picateers is an innovative online portrait company that enables schools, athletic teams and children's organizations to run their own portrait programs and turn them into successful fundraisers. The company collaborates with schools and organizations to find a talented volunteer portrait photographer for School Picture Day. In return, schools receive 50 percent cash back from all sales of picture packages to be used at their discretion.

Funded by Norwest Venture Partners and angel investors, the company is headquartered in San Mateo, California.