Fundraising Idea For Over 50 Years - Personalized Cookbooks

Over 50 years! That's pretty impressive. Yes, the fundraising idea of selling family style cookbooks has been a successful endeavor since 1947. (Simply do a search for "fundraising cookbooks 1947" if you want to see for yourself.) If an industry designed to help fundraisers has been around for that many years, it must be a good idea. Your club or organization can benefit from this fact, and it isn't a difficult process.

How Easy Is It?

Now that you have chosen your fundraising idea, you need to get to work. Your first priority is to decide if you want to do it completely by yourself, or if you want to tap into the experience and knowledge of an established company that does this for a business. Personally, I prefer the latter. There are many on-line cookbook publishers from which to choose. Here are a few guidelines to assist with your selection process.

1. Has the company been in business for any length of time?

2. Do they provide on-line tools and assistance?

3. Must you pick from a handful of templates, or do they let you customize it to your specifications?

4. Do they offer a guarantee?

If any of those are missing from a company, I suggest you keep looking. There are publishers out there that meet these criteria.

Next?

The following is a list of things to do. Under each category there is a very abbreviated synopsis of the task. The cookbook publisher website will have the detail version.

Form your cookbook committee.

As with any endeavor, it needs some organization. You will need to determine your fundraising goal as well as a delivery date.

Gather and organize your recipes.

The committee can help the people in your group draw up a list of potential recipe donors. It pays to get recipes from civic leaders and local notables, too. Generating excitement is helpful. Tell people it is "their" cookbook, and many people will be using it. (Everyone is looking for their 15 minutes of fame, and this might give it to them.)

Design your cookbook.

You have the covers, the dividers, format, paper stock, and introductory and special pages to think about.

Sell advertising.

Though not a necessary part of a successful fundraiser, selling advertising in the cookbook can make it even more profitable. The retailers who do purchase space in your cookbook will have their business before the eyes of cooks and chefs for years.

Market the cookbooks.

Obviously, most of your contributors will be customers. They will be an "easy sell." You will be able to sell many at places like street fairs, school or church activities, or by contacting your friends and relatives.

People are very generous as a rule. They will freely give to a good cause. If you add a valuable family style cookbook to sweeten the pie, so to speak, you may find that they will be even more eager to part with their money. So, find a reputable cookbook publisher and get started today.


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Andy Barber writes for Cookbook Publishers, which is a company that has been printing fundraising cookbooks since 1947. When he isn't writing or enjoying his family on his 6 acre farm in eastern Kansas, he is riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle across the US to visit friends and see the country.