Make Fundraising Fun With A Personalized Recipe Book

When you think of fundraising ideas, many of you imagine going door-to-door selling magazine subscriptions, over priced candy or popcorn, or perhaps holding chili or pancake feeds. Though the organizers' intents are honorable, their efforts could be more productive if they were to utilize a fundraising product that yields a good ROI…more commonly known as Return On Investment.

Explain?

ROI is the return you realize for the time/money that you sink into a project. Some fundraising activities require hours and hours of work from lots of people. Others, such as door to door sales, require not only that…but often times the children are sent out to do the work. I am retired from police work, and I wouldn't send my children to go door to door. It is simply too dangerous in this day and age. Well, my oldest son is 29 years old, so I think he'd be OK, but if I had younger children I wouldn't allow them to engage in that risky behavior. But that's just me.

Anyway…

One fundraising idea that doesn't require tremendous amounts of labor or danger is the family style cookbook. Personalized custom cookbooks have been a popular and successful fundraiser for decades. Some cookbook publishers have been in business since 1947. Do a Google search to find out for yourself. Any business that has been doing the same thing for over 60 years must be doing something right.

Why Are They So Popular?

Imagine owning a cookbook that is filled with the finest recipes from the best cooks in your organization or community. Everyone knows of some "little old lady" who has a famous recipe. A cookbook jam packed with dozens and dozens of them would be a truly valuable item.

Selling Them.

First, most everyone in your group will buy one. You have a built in customer base already, and you haven't even begun the process! Second, people are generous. They willingly give money for a good cause or charity, but imagine how easy it will be to get them to do that if you offer a fantastic cookbook to them in return. People are generous, but they aren't stupid. They can recognize a good deal when they see one.

Many groups have pre-sold their cookbooks. Willing local businesses allow them to put up posters with details about the cookbook, to include how to order one ahead of time. Those same businesses may also sell the final product for you after they are printed. You can sell them at church and school functions, at street fairs, the county fair, craft sales and flea markets. The possibilities are endless.

How Do I Make One?

Find an on-line cookbook publisher that has been around for a while to help with your fundraising idea. Pick one that has on-line tools and options, and one that will allow you to design the cookbook. You should have control over the format, type of graphics and pictures, the paper stock, the organization, and whether you want to have dedication and/or advertising pages.

They should provide a step-by-step process and be willing to help you make the right decisions. If you can find one like that, take the ball and run. You won't be disappointed.

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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.