What Is A Good Fundraising Idea? A Personalized Recipe Book!

The economy is in turmoil. People are being more cautious with their spending. Charities and non-profit organizations are now competing for fewer dollars. Therefore, when you are trying to decide which fundraising idea will be the most successful, you have to think of several things.

What Are Those Things?

People are generous as a general rule, but they aren't crazy. They won't just hand over a wad of cash for any old reason. If it is a good cause then they will be willing to open their purses and wallets. But since money is tight nowadays, you need to give the contributors the best value for their dollar. You could sell candy or popcorn, but those can be considered luxury items and may not sell well. An auction is good, but many times the items donated by local businesses aren't things that people really need, like a set of bar glasses with a sports team logo. Value is the key word.

What Is A Good Fundraising Idea, Then?

The family style recipe book. They have been used as successful fundraisers for decades, and they have several aspects of value. First, it is filled with the best recipes from the finest cooks in your organization or community. With fewer people dining out, a good cookbook is a very real way to help families save money by eating at home. The recipes are guaranteed to be good because no one would offer a terrible recipe knowing that their name will be printed next to it.

A personalized cookbook is more than just another good cookbook. When special dedication pages are included it becomes a history book of sorts. Users of the cookbook will see the names of the contributors by each recipe, too. As time passes, people will look in the cookbook and remember the little old ladies mentioned. "Old Mrs. Anderson used to bake these very same cookies and give them to us when we were kids!"

In Summary

Unlike most other fundraising products, the family style cookbook is an item that lasts for years…no, for decades. Many folks collect them just for the history aspect, while others simply enjoy making the fine dishes and desserts contained within its pages. It has inherent value that most other fundraising ideas lack.

The process of creating a cookbook is simple if you are working with the right on-line cookbook publisher. Find one that has on-line tools and options that allow you to have as much creative input as you want. They give you the option to design the cover, to decide which format to use, how to bind the cookbook, what colors of ink, what style of graphics and pictures you want, and what organization you wish to incorporate. Also, try to find a publisher that has a guarantee. There are a rare few cookbook publisher out there that offer a guarantee. You wouldn't purchase a car without a guarantee, would you? Why settle for less when designing a fundraising cookbook?

Get started today. Time is wasting.

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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.