Creating a professional-looking cookbook to raise program funds
Abstract
A personalized cookbook is a great way to raise funds for programs. Cookbooks are affordable and highly profitable, selling from two to three times their cost. And cookbooks not only preserve recipes, history, and traditions, but can also be a way to build team spirit and unity. Additionally, they can be used to get the word out about a program. In Central West Texas, Dolly Irish published recipes collected from her Senior Companions and sold 200 cookbooks for almost three times their cost in as little as two weeks.Issue
Fundraising ideas that also help unify program participants may seem difficult to generate and even more complicated to execute.Action
Developing and publishing cookbooks for your program is easy, affordable, and highly profitable. Using a publisher such as Morris Press, duplicate the following steps to develop a cookbook for your organization:
Step 1: Form the committee
Appoint a chairperson who
- Helps coordinate the project by creating a timeline which includes meeting dates, completion date, delivery date, sales dates, and payment due dates
- Oversees decisions
- Acts as the main contact with the publisher
- Orders, receives, and inspects cookbooks upon arrival
- Collecting, organizing, and proofing recipes
- Writing personal pages content
- Making decisions on design for cover, divider. and recipe layout
If your organization is large enough, create sub-committees to decide on options, cost, profit goal, marketing, and distribution. If your organization is smaller, distribute responsibilities among members.
The chairperson should order the free starter kit, which includes everything needed to publish the cookbook. Once the decision is made to submit recipes online, start by distributing recipe collection sheets. Recipe collection sheets provide a quick, efficient way to collect recipes. A letter explaining the project and an order blank are printed in the back of this sheet so recipe contributors can pre-order copies of the cookbook.
Step 2: Collecting and Submitting Recipes
Using Morris Press, there are four options:
- Have Morris Press typeset them
- Type your own recipes using free software available from Morris Press
- Go online to access special software (requires a PC and Windows program)
- Press ready (going online or downloading the free software and typing your own recipes can equal savings of up to 35 cents a book)
- Morris Press offers 15 recipe layouts —and nine layouts are free.
- Each layout compliments "personal page package" designs.
- Inside pages are printed in black ink for free — different colored ink is available for an extra charge.
- Fillers (text or photos) and recipe symbols ("heart healthy," "quick and easy," etc.) are available for an extra charge.
- Free personal page designs are available and complement free recipe design layouts.
- Other free items include a title page (includes title, subtitle, and organization's address), four personal pages (includes acknowledgments, photos, or history of the organization), a table of contents (lists recipe categories in the order in which they appear in the cookbook), a mail order page (cookbook title, selling price, and who may be contacted to place an order), and an index (lists recipes alphabetically by category).
- The cookbook can include 16 free pages of valuable cooking hints — from calorie counter to measurements and substitutions.
- For an extra charge, a recipe pocket envelope can be added to keep recipes neat and organized.
- Selling advertising increases profit and offsets cost. The advertising sales kit can be downloaded from the website and includes layout sheets and selling tips.
Step 6: Choose Cover Design
The cover should be considered carefully as this is the one feature that really sells the cookbook. Three cover styles are offered:
- Soft cover: most popular and most economical. Printed on a heavy cover stock. Plastic comb binding is available in eight colors. For an extra charge, the organization's name can be printed on the plastic comb.
- Hardback: creates a professional appearance usually associated with more expensive cookbooks. The plastic comb can be imprinted with the title to help it stand out on a shelf.
- Padded three-ring binder: has the overall look and feel comparable to cookbooks found in better retail stores.
- White or cream binders are standard. For an extra charge, add a printed liner, stock or custom designed to complement the cover.
- Stock covers are available, but for an extra charge an artistic person in your organization can design a custom cover. Free design service is provided to assist with this process. Submit a rough sketch or detailed description along with original artwork or photos.
- Programs can select a cover design that can be altered to fit specific needs (for an additional charge). Black ink is free; however this does not look good on dark cover stock, so be careful when selecting covers.
When you order the starter kit you will receive a cover information sheet that should be carefully completed. You will receive a free cover proof for your approval. Back cover printing is also available for an extra charge.
Step 7: Choose Divider Set
- A divider set that coordinates with the cover helps carry the theme of the cookbook and keeps it unified. Regular dividers are free. There are eight dividers in the set with standard category dividers, which must appear in order. All dividers are printed with the same ink chosen for recipe pages. Different colored ink can be used for an extra charge. Tabbed dividers are offered for an extra charge and make locating recipe categories easier.
- Alternatively, an artistic person in your organization can develop a custom divider set. Free design services can aid in designing custom dividers, but custom dividers do incur an additional charge.
- Some divider art is offered free.
- Cookbooks can also include printing on the divider backs — standard helpful hints or custom divider backs for an extra charge.
Step 8: Wrapping it Up
Ensure that the production of your cookbook runs smoothly by doing the following:
- Review and sort recipe collection sheets into category collection envelopes, then select a recipe layout.
- Determine content of personal pages and select a personal page package design.
- Select a cover style, design. and complementary divider set.
- Complete the order form in its entirety and include the required signatures.
- Submit all materials at the same time: the order form, recipe category envelopes, custom materials (as necessary), personal page sheets and the cover information sheet.
- Typesetting: 50-60 working days
- Press Ready: 35-40 working days
- Rush: 29 working days (includes extra charge, $250 minimum)
Production time does not include shipping which usually takes 3-5 days. No investment or down payment is required of nonprofit organizations, which have ninety days to pay with no interest. As a rule of thumb, plan on selling three cookbooks for every recipe contributor. The more recipe contributors you have, the more cookbooks you will sell. Recipe contributors are a built-in market as they will be the first to buy for themselves, friends, and family.The Morris Press website gives programs the opportunity to advertise their cookbook on the Internet free for 3 months.
Reorders
Printing files are kept for ten years so programs can easily reorder cookbooks.
Context
The Central West Texas Senior Companion Program has been serving the needs of the homebound elderly in the Concho Valley since 1987. In 2005, there are approximately fifty Senior Companions.
According to Program Director Dolly Irish, the motivation for developing a cookbook was to inspire unity among the Senior Companions. The hardest part was getting them to share their recipes — many of the Senior Companions no longer cooked and it appears that recipes were no longer on their minds!
Outcome
Cookbooks:- Preserve prized recipes, history and traditions
- Generate program funds
- Create unity among program participants
- Increase knowledge of the program throughout the community
Evidence
Nationwide, various groups have raised from $500 to $50,000 dollars. For example, Hospice of Marin, Novato, CA raised more than $7000 in profit.
A Senior Companion Program in San Angelo, Texas, used Morris Press to publish 200 copies of a cookbook that showcased recipes from Senior Companions in the program. The cookbooks cost $2.80 a piece and were sold for $7.00. It only took two weeks for all 200 cookbooks to sell, many going to family members of the Senior Companions.
Posted On
August 5, 2005For More Information
Resources
These are examples of the many cookbook publishers available. The following websites are provided for informational purposes only. Neither the Resource Center's Effective Practices Collection nor the Corporation for National and Community Service endorse or guarantee the quality of any of the following websites
Morris Press
www.cookbooks4sale.com
G & R Publishing
ww.cookbookprinting.com
Fundcraft
www.fundcraft.com
Gateway Publishing Co. Ltd.
www.gatebook.com
Walter's Cookbooks
www.custom-cookbooks.com
Cookbook Publishers, Inc.
www.cookbookpublishers.com
Lulu
www.lulu.com