The Family Cookbook Project

Category: Fundraising Cookbooks

How Profitable is a Cookbook Fundraiser?

One of the hardest things about creating a cookbook fundraiser is planning for how big your cookbook needs to be to generate the profit you wish to raise. Our Cookbook Fundraiser Profit Calculator at CookbookFundraiser.com lets you change variables to help you determine the scope of your project.

Click on the Green bars and enter the details for your Cookbook Fundraising project and see how much potential profit your fundraiser. Click the link above and give it a try.

Bill Rice is the Co-Publisher at Family Cookbook Project and CookbookFundraiser.com which helps individuals, churches, schools, teams and other fundraising groups create cherished personalized cookbooks using the power of the Internet to meet funding needs. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!

February 2, 2022
Cookbook Fundraisers For Scout Troops

It’s a fact of life. When you are part of Scouting, fundraising events helped the troop to provide the valuable activities and services that the scouts need to participate.

It is also a fact of life that doing the same old fundraisers year in and year out can put a damper on the enthusiasm of the scouts in your troop to participate-and their family and friends to support the efforts.

As an assistant scoutmaster for BSA Scout Troop 175 in Simsbury Connecticut, we have used Family Cookbook Project.com to host a successful fundraiser cookbook that everyone involved enjoyed.

One of our scouts, Jon, was looking for an innovative funding mechanism for his Eagle Scout project. He created an account on FamilyCookbookProject.com, invited the other scouts in the troop to contribute recipes and then sold the finished product to families in the troop and in the community. He raise thousands of dollars that he was able to use to build a wooden walkway through a wetlands area of a local state park.

The scouts all had a great time coming up with interesting recipes and seeing their name in print. The troop had a physical reminder of the project and new patrol leaders all have access to copies to help them with their trip menu planning and cooking merit badge.

John used a photo of his trip to Philmont on the cover of his cookbook however Family Cookbook Project offers several scouting related covers for troops to use.

If your troop would like to start a cookbook fundraiser, check out How to create a successful cookbook fundraiser.

Bill Rice is publisher of the Family Cookbook Project. He is also a father of an Eagle Scout and is a long-time Assistant Scoutmaster with BSA Troop 175 in Simsbury Connecticut.

October 14, 2021
How To Get Your Cookbook Ready To Print
So you’ve collected your recipes, entered them in the cookbook, written your introduction and made all of you are design selections. Now you’re ready to print your cookbook.

Lock Your Cookbook

The first step in getting ready to publish a cookbook is to go to the publishing center in your editors account and lock your cookbook. There are three levels of luck in your cookbook:
- Level one locks contributors for making changes. Once you start editing, you don’t want people adding new recipes or changing things that you’ve already edited. Checking this box prevents this.
- Level two stops all changes by contributors.
- Level three locks the cookbook completely and now you’re ready to submit to print.
Once you locked your cookbook from contributor changes now is the time to read everything and check for typos

Proofread your introduction

Print out your narrative and give it to someone else to read. Often it is difficult to proofread your own work and allowing someone else to do it will find things that you would mess.

Review all of the recipes

Look for ingredients that are listed but not included in the directions or ingredients in the indirect and directions that are not included in the ingredients list.

Make sure the directions seem complete.

Check the layout

Go to the box that says preview your cookbook in the black navigation bar in your editors account. Here you can either download a PDF of your cookbook or use our 3-D preview tool.

Here you are checking for how pages break. If you find a page with only a word or two, maybe you can shorten version directions to make that recipe just a little shorter.

The changes you make here will determine how your cookbook will be printed. However it looks in your final PDF preview, is how it will look when your cookbook is printed.

Place your order

Now that your cookbook looks exactly the way you want it, it’s time to order.

On the ordering page you’ll see the number of recipes you’ve entered, and the number of pages in your cookbook. This is what will determine the cost of your cookbook along with the number of color photos.

Remember that the more copies of your cookbook you are order, the less the price per book will be. This is because the set up charges are spread out over more copies of the cookbook.

Once you’ve calculated your price, you need to enter your shipping address and click submit. This places your order with our publishing system. You then will be directed to a link that will allow you to pay online or you can send a check drawn on a US bank for payment.

One frequent question is can cookbooks be sent to more than one address. Currently you would need to place an order for each delivery address.

Once you’ve placed your order you can expect your cookbooks to arrive in 2 to 3 weeks. However during our busiest times of the year, it could take longer. if you want your cookbooks in time for Christmas, the deadline for ordering is November 30, however do not wait until the last minute if you can.

Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!
May 13, 2021
6 Ideas on How To Get The Most From Your Fundraising Cookbook Project.

Funding worthwhile projects can be a challenge. While there are many fundraising programs that happen year after year, it’s always good to try something new every once in a while to keep people interested.

A fundraising cookbook not only can help you find important projects and activities, but it also can help to bring a community together in a fun activity that everyone can benefit from.

Who doesn’t like to see their name in print? Having a recipe submitted and included in a community cookbook gives added incentive to buy those cookbooks and share them with friends and family.

Here are some ideas on how to get the most from your fundraising cookbook project.

1) The more people you get involved with your cookbook, the more people will likely be your target audience to buy that cookbook once it is printed.

Cookbook fundraiser.com has built-in tools to invite as many people as possible to contribute to your cookbook. We make it easy!

2) Include advertising from local businesses and individuals to help support the cost of printing the cookbook. That way the proceeds from the sale of the cookbook can go directly to the worthy cause.

Cookbookfundraiser.com allows you to add as many extra pages to the back of your cookbook as you would like. These make it easy to add advertising pages!

3) Most fundraising cookbooks seem to be priced between $12 and $20 and contain about 150 recipes. Determine how much money your organization wants to raise and that will help you determine how many copies you need to sell and at what price to reach your goal.

Our website has a great cost estimator to help you determine what to expect from your printing cost. We also offer many hints on how to format your cookbook to decrease the cost of printing.

4) Reach out to not only those who contributed recipes, but all those in your community to pre-order the cookbook before you go to print. The more copies you presell, the more copies you can order which will lower your per copy cost.

Our pre-ordering tool makes getting orders from contributors a snap. You can also order a single copy of your cookbook to display at community events and help to generate additional sales.

5) Add an ISBN number and bar code to your cookbook and you can sell the cookbook at local bookstores and online on Amazon.com. This can provide ongoing revenue for your organization.

Family cookbook project offers a marketing package that includes an ISBN number and barcode. We also will get your cookbook listed on Amazon.com!

6) Ask local retail stores to also sell your cookbook to their customers. Often grocery stores and small retailers will support community fundraising efforts at no charge by offering the product at their checkout counter.

These are but I handful of ways to help you get the most from your cookbook fundraiser project. However, as with every fundraising project, it takes one individual to get the ball rolling.

To get started with your cookbook fundraiser project, go to www.cookbookfundraiser.com and create a free account today!

March 9, 2021
How Profitable is a Cookbook Fundraiser?

One of the hardest things about creating a cookbook fundraiser is planning for how big your cookbook needs to be to generate the profit you wish to raise. Our Cookbook Fundraiser Profit Calculator at CookbookFundraiser.com lets you change variables to help you determine the scope of your project.

Click on the Green bars and enter the details for your Cookbook Fundraising project and see how much potential profit your fundraiser. Click the link above and give it a try. Bill Rice is the Co-Publisher of Family Cookbook Project and it’s sister site CookbookFundraiser.com, websites that helps people create personalized cookbooks for families, friends and fundraising efforts.

January 26, 2021
How Much Does Printing a Family Cookbook Cost?
One of the most ask questions we at FamilyCookbookProject.com receive from people considering creating their own personal cookbook full of family recipes is “How much will it cost to print my cookbook?”

The cost of printing a cookbook has two variables: The number of pages in the cookbook, the amount of color and the number of copies to be printed.

If you think about it, this is fairly straight forward. More pages means more paper and ink need to be used to create the cookbook. Color images printed using 4 different inks so they are more expensive than black and white page. So much of the cost is based on the materials being used to create the cookbook.

The number of copies is important because the printing press and bindery equipment must be set up for each cookbook. The cost of this set up is split over each cookbook, so it you only print one cookbook (our minimum) that set up cost will have a larger impact on the price per copy than if you printed 100 copies.

You will find the complete pricing for the use of the site at http://www.familycookbookproject.com/price_to_print_a_family_cookbook.asp

You will also find a way to estimate the cost of your cookbook printing at the bottom of the page, however the actual cost will be determined by the number of pages contained in your cookbook when you send it to print.

If you already have a Family Cookbook Project account, go to the Publishing Center and you can get a quote based on the current number of actual pages in your cookbook. You also can adjust these totals to see what the impact on pricing would be.

Lowering the cost of printing

The best way to lower the cost of printing your family cookbook is to lower the number of pages.

To save pages, go to Layout and Design Center in your editor’s account. Under Recipe Layout, choose any or all of these options to save space:
- Choose Arial or Times Roman, Two Column Small for the smallest type face.
- UNcheck Print my recipes in non-continued format
- UNcheck Force recipe photos to be on same page as recipe
- CHECK Print Directions and Comments as single paragraphs
- Under Recipe Sorting, choose Print my recipes in book order – shortest to longest
Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!
September 8, 2020
Why Create A Family Cookbook Project?

We asked the editors of the Family Cookbook Project “Why did you create your family cookbook project?”

Of the more than 2,000 editors who responded to the survey, here are the most popular reasons given to start of family cookbook:

70% To save family recipes for future generations

35% To create one source for all my recipes

34% To give as gifts

22% To bring my family together

20% Because it was fun

Comments most often included the cookbook was used to honor a mother or grandmother and help keep their memory alive after their passing.

Here are a sample of some of the other comments we received about why they began a family cookbook project.

Fundraiser to help the church update the fellowship hall.

Special gift for my son and new daughter in law for their bridal shower.

Wedding Favors

I needed a central location for all my recipes.

To make these recipes available to more people in my family.

Everyone would always tell me to write a cookbook !!

My son and family gave it to me as a gift and now I do want to save the family recipes for future generations

Fundraiser for my son’s school in Arlington Tx.

To bring co-workers together.

It helped my sister and I have something to do together with miles separating us. It also helped us for us on the positive things in our lives as my brother in laws health was failing.

To honor a deceased friend who was a great cook.

The first cookbook was as a wedding celebration gift for a young member of our family. The purpose of the second cookbook was multi-factoral: 1) we wanted to create an archive/bank for family recipes and photos that were being hoarded by some family members, 2) we wanted to bring the family together, 3) we wanted to create enthusiasm for a family reunion, 4) we wanted to subtly remind family members that all our ancestors were immigrants., hoping to dampted the mean-spirited banter about immigrants that would have been antithetical to all our ancestors’ values.

To celebrate our town’s 100 year anniversary.

It was started because someone that I cared about was deployed to Afghanistan. He loved to cook so I told him that I would send him a recipe a day until he was back on American soil. He loved it and sometimes would write about some changes he wanted to make to a recipe. We were going to print it when he got back. I now want to put together a family cookbook because I found how easy it was.

Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

January 16, 2020
Sports Teams Can Raise Money with Team Cookbooks

Team sports are a great way to instill valuable life lessons to our youth. Teamwork, hard work, perseverance, how to both win and lose. These things are learned by being part of a team. However the cost for running team sport program can be more than what many families can afford. Team organizers often turn to fundraisers to help defray the costs of expenses like gear, travel, field and court time and more.

For many years, youth football programs, youth soccer programs, cheer squads, have used fundraising cookbooks as a way to bring the team and it’s community together. The team members share their family food traditions and at the same time create a lasting reminder of their membership on the team and even or raise funds for worthy causes.

Family Cookbook Project, using the power of the Internet, has been helping teams create team fundraiser cookbooks successfully and profitably. Our step by step guidance and simple online make creating a successful fundraising cookbook a breeze.

Family Cookbook Project recently added 5 new sports-themed cookbook cover option to our already extensive offerings. And more are on the way!

To start your own team fundraising cookbook project, go to our fundraising specific site www.CookbookFundraiser.com

Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

January 14, 2020
Cookbook Fundraisers For Scout Troops

It’s a fact of life. When you are part of Scouting, fundraising events helped the troop to provide the valuable activities and services that the scouts need to participate.

It is also a fact of life that doing the same old fundraisers year in and year out can put a damper on the enthusiasm of the scouts in your troop to participate-and their family and friends to support the efforts.

As an assistant scoutmaster for BSA Scout Troop 175 in Simsbury Connecticut, we have used Family Cookbook Project.com to host a successful fundraiser cookbook that everyone involved enjoyed.

One of our scouts, Jon, was looking for an innovative funding mechanism for his Eagle Scout project. He created an account on FamilyCookbookProject.com, invited the other scouts in the troop to contribute recipes and then sold the finished product to families in the troop and in the community. He raise thousands of dollars that he was able to use to build a wooden walkway through a wetlands area of a local state park.

The scouts all had a great time coming up with interesting recipes and seeing their name in print. The troop had a physical reminder of the project and new patrol leaders all have access to copies to help them with their trip menu planning and cooking merit badge.

John used a photo of his trip to Philmont on the cover of his cookbook however Family Cookbook Project offers several scouting related covers for troops to use.

If your troop would like to start a cookbook fundraiser, check out How to create a successful cookbook fundraiser.

Bill Rice is publisher of the Family Cookbook Project. He is also a father of an Eagle Scout and is a long-time Assistant Scoutmaster with BSA Troop 175 in Simsbury Connecticut.

August 6, 2019
Why Cookbooks Make a Great Fundraiser

Funding worthwhile projects can be a challenge. While there are many fundraising programs that happen year after year, it’s always good to try something new every once in a while to keep people interested.

A fundraising cookbook not only can help you find important projects and activities, but it also can help to bring a community together in a fun activity that everyone can benefit from.

Who doesn’t like to see their name in print? Having a recipe submitted and included in a community cookbook gives added incentive to buy those cookbooks and share them with friends and family.

Here are some ideas on how to get the most from your fundraising cookbook project.

1) The more people you get involved with your cookbook, the more people will likely be your target audience to buy that cookbook once it is printed.

Cookbook fundraiser.com has built-in tools to invite as many people as possible to contribute to your cookbook. We make it easy!

2) Include advertising from local businesses and individuals to help support the cost of printing the cookbook. That way the proceeds from the sale of the cookbook can go directly to the worthy cause.

Cookbookfundraiser.com allows you to add as many extra pages to the back of your cookbook as you would like. These make it easy to add advertising pages!

3) Most fundraising cookbooks seem to be priced between $12 and $20 and contain about 150 recipes. Determine how much money your organization wants to raise and that will help you determine how many copies you need to sell and at what price to reach your goal.

Our website has a great cost estimator to help you determine what to expect from your printing cost. We also offer many hints on how to format your cookbook to decrease the cost of printing.

4) Reach out to not only those who contributed recipes, but all those in your community to pre-order the cookbook before you go to print. The more copies you presell, the more copies you can order which will lower your per copy cost.

Our pre-ordering tool makes getting orders from contributors a snap. You can also order a single copy of your cookbook to display at community events and help to generate additional sales.

5) Add an ISBN number and bar code to your cookbook and you can sell the cookbook at local bookstores and online on Amazon.com. This can provide ongoing revenue for your organization.

Family cookbook project offers a marketing package that includes an ISBN number and barcode. We also will get your cookbook listed on Amazon.com!

6) Ask local retail stores to also sell your cookbook to their customers. Often grocery stores and small retailers will support community fundraising efforts at no charge by offering the product at their checkout counter.

These are but I handful of ways to help you get the most from your cookbook fundraiser project. However, as with every fundraising project, it takes one individual to get the ball rolling.

To get started with your cookbook fundraiser project, go to www.CookbookFundraiser.com and create a free account today!

Bill Rice is the Co-Publisher at Family Cookbook Project which helps individuals and fundraising groups create cherished personalized cookbooks using the power of the Internet. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.

January 14, 2019