Finding the Best Fundraising Ideas - Family Style Cookbooks Could Be The Answer

If you need to know how to successfully raise funds for a charity or organization, you need to do your research. Typically people will consider selling candy door-to-door, or perhaps magazine subscriptions. Maybe it is just me, but I hate it when I see kids on my front porch and I know they are trying to sell a 3 ounce candy bar for a couple of bucks, or some equally overpriced microwave popcorn. To be honest, I simply don't answer the door and hope they go away.

I avoid those charity car washes held in the parking lots of local businesses, too. Once in a while I will attend a fundraiser pancake feed or chili supper, but that is because I am getting something of value in return. Therein lies the reason for this article.

Give Them Something In Return.

Humans are a generous species by nature, but they aren't stupid. In this struggling economy, their keen sense of self-preservation can overcome their willingness to give. In order to prod them into parting with their hard earned cash you need to select the right fundraising idea. I suggest creating and selling a family style personalized cookbook. A cookbook like that is made up of great recipes from the best cooks in your group or community is a sure-fire way of generating funds for your charity or cause.

Why Do They Work So Well?

They are unique. There will not be another cookbook like it anywhere on the planet. Probably not in the entire Milky Way galaxy! Each recipe will have the contributor's name next to it, so it becomes a bit of local history, too…a keepsake.

Now, imagine finally having recipes to all those great dishes you have sampled or heard about over the years. How about "Aunt Mildred's" wonderful crustless zucchini quiche, or Dan Wilson's famous four-layer dessert? My mouth is watering simply thinking about them.

Potential customers will see that they will be receiving a valuable a href="http://www.cookbookpublishers.com/theRecipe/index.cfm">cookbook in return for their donation and be much more willing to hand over their money. It is simply human nature to look for a good deal.

How To Do It.

The key is to locate a reputable on-line cookbook publisher. A simple Google search for "cookbook publishers" will provide a myriad of companies from which to choose. They are not all created equal, though. Find one that has been around for a while. Some have been in business since 1947! Another Google search will verify that statement.

The steps for creating a successful fundraising cookbook are as follows:

Form Your Cookbook Committee

Every event needs some organization and direction. Pick a few responsible people and let them make the decisions.

Gather And Organize Your Recipes

This is not a difficult task. A good on-line publisher will have forms and/or suggestions for the best way to gather and organize them. They can be hand written or put into a computer file.

Recipes will come from all sorts of folks. Start with the members of your group, then branch out to neighbors and co-workers. E-mail makes it easy to gather recipes from friends across the world. Just send a group message and tell them that you need them for a good cause.

Design Your Cookbook

Again, the quality of the publisher can make this part easy. If they provide lots of options for things such as the format of the cookbook, the paper stock and ink, the style of pictures and graphics, dividers and covers, you'll be much better off. Trust me on this one. The fraternal organization to which I belong did a fundraiser using personalized cookbooks, and we found that making our own decisions was best. We didn't want to rely on the publisher to pick a template for us.

Sell Advertising

Advertising, though not a mandatory step, can make quite a difference. Local businesses may be very interested in buying space in your cookbook for their business information. They know that will be seen regularly, and for years to come.

Market Your Cookbook

Each one of your members will surely buy one, and I suspect that almost all of the contributors outside of your group will, too. You have quite a customer base before you even start! The rest can be sold at church events, street fairs, school activity, and in local businesses that will let you put a stack of them on a counter somewhere.

Find the best cookbook publisher that you can, and get started.

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Andy Barber is a retired police/fire/EMS dispatcher. After a quarter of a century of "stomping the pedal," as he likes to call it, he took an early retirement and became a freelance writer. Currently he is working for Cookbook Publishers, a company that has been helping people and organizations raise money since 1947. When Andy isn't writing, he spends time on his eastern Kansas farm with his wife and the 2 younger of their 3 sons. Andy also has a love for Harley Davidson motorcycles. He regularly criss-crosses the USA on his bike to meet with friends and see this beautiful country. Cookbook Publishers has been helping people with fundraisers for years, so check them out and see what they can do for you.