Frequently Asked Questions
What is Shoparoo?
Shoparoo is a free iPhone and Android app that turns pictures of your shopping receipts into donations to the school or charity of your choice. It's quick, easy, and convenient – shop anywhere you want, buy whatever you normally buy. Just take a few seconds to snap a quick picture of your receipt and voila, you've made an instant cash donation to the school of your choice.
What kind of smartphone or tablet is required?
Shoparoo will work on any Apple or Android smartphone or tablet sold in the past two years. Shoparoo requires the device to have a functioning camera with good resolution (2MP+) to ensure legible receipt images are provided. That means that almost two-thirds of Americans can donate to your school through Shoparoo – and that percentage is growing rapidly each month!
How much money can be raised with Shoparoo?
There is no limit on how much money you can raise with Shoparoo, but for most schools, the amount will be similar to the amount raised from other popular grocery label collection programs. This means that a school or charity with roughly 50 active supporters can raise $1,000 per year through Shoparoo. There's no minimum threshold for payment, nor is there a maximum. This means that a larger school with strong parent participation could set a goal of $10,000 this year!
In addition, for schools that promote Shoparoo among their parents when school resumes, we'll guarantee at least a $1 donation per parent who designates your school as their cause by September 15th, 2012.
How will schools and charities receive these funds?
Shoparoo users designate the school or charity of their choice when they first use the app and may change their designation at any time via the app's profile menu. Every time Shoparoo users open the app, they'll be able to see how their school's fundraising efforts are tracking. Shoparoo will then mail a check to the school's principal (or charity headquarters) in August 2013 based on the total amount raised by registered supporters as of midnight Pacific Time on July 31st, 2013. That's it – there are absolutely no strings attached!
How can you afford to pay these donations?
Major consumer goods companies pay us to turn the receipt data into anonymous market research reports and for the marketing rights to sponsor additional donations themselves. For example, these companies pay for information such as: "Families in Phoenix are 20% more likely than the rest of the country to shop for soap at a supercenter than a traditional grocery store." In addition, brands may provide sponsored offers such as: "Receipts containing purchases of Brand-X products earn double donations during August."
How is Shoparoo different from other school fundraising programs?
There is nothing to collect, count or mail in which means there's almost nothing to coordinate. In addition, all participants can remain completely anonymous since Shoparoo does NOT require a person's name, age, gender, address, phone number or bank/credit card information. Finally, parents can shop wherever they want and purchase any products they want – their receipts will still result in a donation to your school! As you can see, when compared to other programs, Shoparoo is truly hassle free!
Does my school need a designated coordinator?
No. Shoparoo is truly hassle-free! There is nothing to collect, count, mail or track – it's all done automatically for you!
That said, it does make sense to have a Shoparoo champion at your school to help remind parents of the great opportunity they have to raise money for their school by simply snapping pictures of their receipts. This person will typically be the school's coordinator of other grocery label collection programs to help streamline communications out to parents. (e.g., "Don't forget to return those box tops and snap those receipts!")
This all sounds great, but how much work is it?
One of the best things about Shoparoo is how EASY it is – it takes just a few seconds after each trip to the grocery store. And, since there is nothing to collect or mail, your school won't even require a coordinator! Shoparoo digitally manages the tracking and donations for both you and the school. And, our great team is always available to answer any questions and provide support!
Is my school eligible to participate?
All accredited K-12 schools, colleges & universities in the United States are eligible to participate. If you do not see your school listed within the Shoparoo app, please contact us at Shoparoo@shoparoo.com.
Sounds too good to be true... is Shoparoo a scam?
Not at all! We are former teachers & retail industry executives who have found a novel way of matching schools' ever increasing needs for financial support with major consumer goods brands needs to understand and engage with grocery shoppers. Your receipt data along with the answers to any survey questions you answer will be made anonymous and summarized in market research reports for the brands that purchase this data. It is these proceeds that flow through Shoparoo to your designated school or charity.
If you haven't released the app yet, how do you know it will work?
We've been working on the technology for quite a while now and are currently testing and perfecting it via a beta application called Receipt Hog that you are welcome to download from the iTunes App Store. The application is already being used by thousands of random people throughout the US and Canada who earn points redeemable for cash or charitable donations after each receipt upload.
Can Shoparoo be used as a fundraiser for a school's specific class (e.g., Art / P.E.) or sports team?
School administrators may choose to designate the funds raised through Shoparoo to a specific class, sport or activity. However, at this time, Shoparoo will only send schools a single check payable to the school itself.
Can Shoparoo be used as a fundraiser for my church, club, team, etc…?
Unfortunately, we're not quite ready to handle the complexities associated with supporting various causes. However, we're always interested in learning about how you think we can help. So, feel free to send an email to Shoparoo@shoparoo.com with a description of your organization, the timing & amount of your fundraising needs, and how many adults you think would be willing to donate their receipts exclusively to your cause.
Sounds great! How do we get started?
There are many ways to get your school's parents started with Shoparoo. Here are a few easy places to start:
- Feature Shoparoo in any summer newsletters / emails sent out to parents;
- Mention Shoparoo in any fundraising program announcements or alongside any reference to your existing label collection fundraisers;
- Bring up Shoparoo at any PTO or PTA meetings.
If you would like help getting started, please contact us at the address below. In addition, we'll be adding messaging guides, form letters & one-pagers to this website as August approaches.
For any additional questions or feedback, please send an email to shoparoo@shoparoo.com