No Need To Go Door-to-Door; Personalized Family Cookbooks Sell Themselves

Do you have an organization or group that needs a good fundraising idea? Boy/Girl Scouts, church groups, school bands or sports teams, motorcycle clubs, or anyone who wants a good fundraising idea can benefit from making and selling a family style cookbook.

Just What Is A Family Style Cookbook?

Personalized recipe books are professional looking cookbooks that are filled with the best recipes from the finest cooks in your club or community. You gather the recipes from everyone you know and insert them into a well-organized cookbook. The cookbooks can then be sold at fairs, school or church functions, in businesses, on-line, and even door-to-door if you choose.

Why Are They So Successful?

Imagine owning a cookbook with all those wonderful recipes. You know…the ones from all the little old ladies in town. The recipes that have gained local fame over the years. Of course they won't all be from little old ladies. I'm a 58 year old guy who retired from law enforcement, and I contributed 2 recipes for a personalized cookbook done by our local Grange. It was a resounding success…even with my recipes included.

So, when the cookbooks are finally printed and available, everyone that contributed recipes will buy one. You have a built in customer base before you even start the process! The rest of the citizens in your area will be interested in buying one, too. Humans are a very generous species, and they will gladly help out a charity or good cause. But if you offer to them a professional looking cookbook that is unique and special, they are generally more anxious than ever to part with their hard earned cash.

What Is The Process?

It isn't difficult. It isn't rocket science. It doesn't take lots of labor, either. A committee that you form will discuss the logistics like who/what/when/where, etc. The next step is to gather the recipes. You will be amazed at how willing people are to give up their "secret" recipe when they know it is for a good cause. When enough recipes are collected, you must design the cookbook. By this time you should have already chosen an on-line cookbook publisher that has the on-line tools and options that let you design it. Of course they will help you avoid pitfalls and mistakes, but they should let you make most of the decisions if you wish.

Selling The Cookbooks.

This fundraising idea almost sells itself, as mentioned above. Additional avenues for selling them might be local businesses. Many times they will let you put up posters with details on advanced sales, and will let you sell them in the store when they are finally printed. My wife kept a half dozen of our Grange cookbooks in her car and sold them to friends/co-workers when she was visiting/working.

Bottom Line.

Find that perfect cookbook publisher. It should be one that has been in business for a while. One that I know of has been publishing cookbooks for fundraisers since 1947. That's a pretty good track record. Then get started on raising those funds.

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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.