Fundraising Cookbooks a Perfect Fit for Agricultural Society

The Campbellford Seymour Agricultural Society has a very straightforward mandate – to bring the community together through agriculture.  Established in 1854, the Society is a volunteer based organization with two objectives that drive this mission forward:

1. To promote agriculture in the community by holding an annual fair
2. To encourage activities intended to enrich rural life

The annual fair is really the primary focus of Campbellford’s 18-member Board of Directors and its countless volunteers.  “We meet once a month, and during our AGM every year in January,” explains Society President and Board member Angela Runciman.  “Our focus is really the fair.  It’s a big event and a lot of work.”

The Campbellford Fair is a unique event with a diverse range of activities.  The Fair features a Midway, Livestock Shows, a Homecraft Show, a Novelty Contest, Demonstrations, a Children’s Activity Centre, the 4X4 Challenge, a Demo Derby, Live Entertainment, and Concessions.  According to the Peterborough Examiner, there’s something for everyone, “There were lots of rides for all ages at the Campbellford-Seymour Agricultural Fair midway, including the Cobra, the Tilt-a-Whirl, and that perennial favourite at fairs, the fun house, while thrilling horsemanship at Friday’s Western Gymkhana show drew a good sized crowd with events including barrel races, pole bending, flag races, keyhole races, and a Dash 4 Cash.”

To finance an event of this size, mini-fundraising events are held throughout the year including:

• The Annual Chicken BBQ – held the last Sunday of May
• The Food Booth – held at the local sale barn – first Tuesday in August
• The Winter Demolition Derby – held late January each year

The Board decided to add a key tool to their fundraising arsenal in 2012 by introducing fundraising cookbooks from Gateway.  According to Runciman, “Gateway’s fundraising cookbooks fit perfectly and dealing with them was an absolute pleasure.”

In keeping with the Society’s inclusive approach to management, the Board gathered recipes for the cookbook from every part of the community, a task that could have been daunting if it weren’t for Gateway’s online recipe entry system.  “Our goal was to gather 100 recipes.  We ended up with more than 300.  Most were handwritten.  I was able to enter each of them right into my computer, which made the exercise totally manageable.  Most cookbook publishers don’t have an online entry system.  Creating a cookbook with Gateway was a breeze.”

To buy the Campbellford Fundraising Cookbook, email: secretary@campbellfordfair.ca, call 705-653-5338 or visit the Society’s web site at:

http://www.wix.com/campbellfordfair/campbellfordfair#!

School Fundraising Success!

St. Andrew's School Cookbook

When our School Council first decided to publish a fundraising cookbook, we knew it would be a huge undertaking requiring much time and effort.  After searching the internet and looking through council members’ personal community cookbook collections, we decided to use Gateway Publishing, a company with over 40 years experience publishing community cookbooks.  Looking back, what a wise decision that was! 

Right from the very beginning, the staff at Gateway were quick to respond to all of our questions and concerns.  They maintained a pleasant and helpful manner throughout the entire process, even during their busiest time of year when many deadlines needed to be met.  They always took our calls, or returned our calls promptly if a message was left.  Although we knew that they were dealing with many different projects at one time, their patience and attention to detail made us feel like we were their only customer!

The introduction package we received in the mail was also incredibly helpful.  In addition to a sample cookbook, it contained a guide for formatting and marketing our project.  This guide answered many of our initial questions and drew our attention to a number of issues which we had not even considered or prepared for.

We submitted print-ready materials for our cookbook which included custom-designed covers, chapter dividers and information inserts.  The cookbooks were completed on schedule and the finished product was exactly as we had hoped.  Sales were strong and the response was very positive.  As a fundraising effort, the “St. Andrew’s School Celebrates the Seasons Cookbook” was a great success, and we owe much of that success to the guidance we received from the experts at Gateway Publishing.  What a wise choice we made indeed…