You can also apply these guidelines to creating a book of poetry!
Planning Phase
- Identify the organization that you want to give money to.
- Contact the organization and find out what their procedure is for accepting donations
- Find people to help. Ask friends at school, clubs, religious organizations, and sports teams. It might be helpful to create a committee to help you. Positions can include chairman, assistant chairman, secretary, treasurer, publicity chair, and set/clean up chair. Not only will this help organize things, but the positions look great on college applications!
- Create a project plan:
- Decide what kind of cookbook you want to create. It will be easier to advertise if there is a theme.
- A children's cookbook
- Snacks
- Deserts
- Junk-food favorites
- Seasonal (summer, holiday, etc.)
- Determine how you will collect the recipes and how you will acknowledge or list the contributors of recipes.
- Solicit friends and family
- Send out a flyer in your school/community asking for submissions
- Set up booths outside of community meetings or religious services to ask for ideas. If you do this, be sure to have forms for people to fill out right there or mail back.
- Determine how the books will be put together.
- Find a professional to donate the binding of the books.
- Use three ring binders, copy and hole punch the recipes
- Ask your shop teacher for other binding ideas.
- Determine how you will sell the books
- Order forms
- Set up booths at community / religious events
- At school
- Ask adults to take them to their offices
- Decide if you are going to use a host agency (such as your school).
- What are the rules in the facility?
- Is an adult sponsor required?
- What types of advertising are allowed at the facility?
- Can the products only be sold at certain times? i.e. after school only
- Can the products be stored at the site?
- What are the rules in the facility?
- Assign tasks
- Collecting recipes
- Typing the recipes, adding graphics
- Binding
- Advertising
- Selling
- Taking the money to the charity
- Decide what kind of cookbook you want to create. It will be easier to advertise if there is a theme.
- Advertise - use a variety of methods such as:
- Flyers
- Banners
- Verbal announcements at school, sports games, community functions
- Newspapers at the school, neighborhood, and local levels
- Collect the recipes
- Combine the recipes
- Bind the recipes
- Sell the recipes
- If you are selling at a host facility remember to do the following:
- Arrive early the day of the event to ensure the facility is set up the way that you want it.
- Bring a list of the staff's phone numbers in case someone does not show up.
- Provide food and water for the staff.
- Post a copy of the staff schedule and keep a copy with you, in case of confusion.
- Thank the donors!
- Take down advertising
- Deliver money to the charity as soon as possible
- Evaluate
- How many books were sold? Did you produce too few or too many?
- Rate methods of collection, binding, and selling by effectiveness
- Celebrate! You and your staff did a great job, reward yourselves!
