How do I Make Cookbooks to Sell for Fundraisers for Churches?
Seldom will you find better food than at church socials and potluck dinners. The dishes are generally made from wholesome, down-to-earth recipes that everyone enjoys. Sharing these recipes can help raise funds for your church. Since most of your sales are going to come from parishioners, friends and family there is no need for a fancy company; with a little organization, you can create the cookbook entirely on your own.
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Things You'll Need
- Committee
- Fliers
- Recipes
- Microsoft Office Word or Open Office
- Ads
- Printer
- Binding
Instructions
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Recruit volunteers for your cookbook fund-raising project and select one person to oversee the project. She will be responsible for overseeing each step of the process and keeping everyone on schedule. The other members of the committee should decide what role they can best fulfill. You will need one person to collect recipes, a number of proficient typists to enter the recipes into the chosen template, and one person to be responsible for the printing and binding. Additionally, you need people to promote and sell the finished cookbooks.
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Decide on the scope of the cookbook. Most church fund-raiser cookbooks sell well if they have multiple categories of recipes, covering a wide spectrum from soups to desserts. Don't forget to include specialty chapters with gluten-free, vegetarian, or sugar-free recipes.
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3
Decide what word processing software you are going to use and which template you prefer. Both Microsoft Word and Open Office have templates available for download online. Open Office is a processor that mimics Microsoft Word and is available for free download, online at their website. Your typists will all need to have the same software. Once you have picked the software, review the templates, as they will direct you to what information you need on all your submitted recipes.
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Ask for recipes from all members of your congregation, using your weekly bulletin, newsletters, and messages or fliers sent the various social groups. You can also leave them in the back of the church and social hall to garner extra attention. Be clear on when you need to have all the recipes submitted and what information each recipe must contain so that all recipes will have a uniform look. Ask each submitter to print his name and contact information on the bottom of their recipe so you can contact him with any questions regarding his recipe.
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Collect all submitted recipes and scan each to be sure that all required info is included. Sort out any that have missing data and call the submitter to gather the necessary information.
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Have the typists enter all the recipe information into the software template. Make sure that everyone types in black and uses the same font and type size so your cookbook will be uniform when assembled.
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Proofread your cookbook. Have people other than those who typed the recipes check for spelling errors, typos and missing information.
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Assemble your recipes into chapters and save the entire cookbook into one file. Copy it onto a flash drive or burn it onto a CD. Print the pages at a local print shop or office supply store that has a copy department. Allow them to print your books on their high-speed equipment for best quality and lowest price. Print the cover onto good quality card stock, laminating it if desired. Have a spiral binding applied to each cookbook so that it will lie flat while in use.
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Promote your cookbook. Remember to utilize any groups within your church for help; girl scouts may participate to earn a badge, prayer groups and others can help spread the word and sell cookbooks to their family and friends. Run an ad in the weekly bulletin with your pastor's blessing, and run ads in the local community newspapers, many of which will publish small classifieds for church fundraisers free of charge.
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Tips & Warnings
Search the internet for copyright-free photos of included dishes to add to the cookbook. Keep in mind that color copies will cost more, increasing the cost of the project.
References
- Photo Credit Vegetable casserole and vegetables image by Elzbieta Sekowska from Fotolia.com
