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…

Organic Food Cookbook Fundraiser In B.C. Supports School’s Unique Hot Lunch Program

Crawford Bay School Lunch Program Cookbook

Healthy, balanced meals made with locally grown, organic ingredients are on the menu every day at Crawford Bay Elementary-Secondary School in south-eastern British Columbia. Thanks to a nutrition-focused and sustainable hot lunch program created by caring parents in 2004, students at this small community school are not only well-nourished, they are appreciative, adventurous eaters who are environmentally aware.

“This lunch program is admired throughout the community and has also been praised and recognized by the Interior Health Authority,” says Gina Medhurst, PAC Chair at Crawford Bay School. She notes that what doesn’t get eaten is either used for the next day’s meal or gets added to the school’s compost bin. The program’s sustainable nature is a perfect fit for a school with a new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold building and a penchant for innovative ideas.

To help maintain hot lunch affordability — and the school’s “no child goes unfed” policy — a cookbook fundraiser was recently launched. Not surprisingly, the 134-page book titled “The C-Bay Lunch Café presents…the east shore eats…good!” is full of delicious, healthy recipes that can be made entirely with organic food.

Stephanie Sempf, who researched and compiled the 300-recipe cookbook, notes that many families in the area have their own gardens, allowing their meals to be truly “homemade”. Ms. Sempf adds that the books, which are being sold at the school, through some local businesses, and at seasonal craft fairs, have been well-received. “Sales have been good. This is a worthwhile fundraising project and would be worth doing again.” 

“The hot lunch program at Crawford Bay is awesome,” says Rhonda Pineau, Sales and Marketing Manager of Gateway Publishing’s cookbooks department. “From the healthy choices to the local and organic foods that they prepare for the kids, it’s easy to tell that this is one ‘green’ community. It makes their fundraising cookbook even more unique. 

Ms. Sempf adds that she was particularly impressed by the customer service she received at Gateway: “They were AMAZING, and everyone I spoke to was nothing but helpful. Any question that I had was answered while I was on the phone and everyone is really knowledgeable.”

Is your organization looking for an effective way to raise money? Gateway Publishing has helped thousands of organizations achieve their goals with fundraising cookbooks. Click now to estimate the fundraising potential of your project.