This is the second part of an interview with two FRP publishers—Mary Ann Stevenson (MAS), Cookbook Chair, Woman's Exchange of Memphis, TN, and Cissi Glendening (CG), Cookbook Chair, Assistance League of San Antonio, TX. Both have experience gathering funds for cookbook projects through sponsorships and underwriting.  Table Talk (TT) asked both ladies to share some insight on their sponsorship and underwriting efforts.

Correction: Our apologies, we accidentally misspelled Cissi Glendening's last name in the December 2005 issue.

TT: Once the sponsorship materials were ready to go, what did you do next?

MAS: Committee volunteers set personal appointments with officers of certain institutions and owners of various establishments.  Specific foundations were solicited and we were very successful with a few of them, one especially—who granted us $50,000.  However, they require a proof of need, financial reports, and follow up information for several years.  This can involve a lot of bookkeeping for some groups to maintain.  You have to decide on your need and if your organization wants to go to the trouble . . . we did and it certainly paid off.

CG: Before the committee went out to meet with the contact, we sat down together and wrote out a script of exactly what we wanted to share (and practiced). Keep in mind that this is an opportunity for them to partner with an outstanding organization to benefit many people within the community.

TT: How did you keep the membership in the loop during this time?  Any other helpful suggestions?

MAS: To keep the membership enthusiastic, we had a title contest, an announcement party for the title, a tasting tea, and a Christmas cocktail buffet featuring our recipes.  All the extra effort by the core committee paid off.

CG: Enthusiasm, sincerity, passion . . . all are contagious.  This includes both the potential sponsors that you are inviting to be a part of this wonderful project, plus the members of your organization who may or may not be involved with this portion of the project.

TT: What was the total amount of money raised or amount raised to date?

MAS: We raised over $180,000 for our efforts.  We had exceeded our goal.  We found that banks and investment groups were our best sources because this project appeals to their sense of community—to assist not just large institutions, but small organizations like ourselves.  They responded almost 100% favorably and their contributions were substantial.

CG: Our project was approved at the end of September 2005 and by the first of November 2005 we had received half of the 50% underwriting required by our membership.  It's so rewarding to experience the excitement of the donors who are thrilled about having the opportunity to help benefit our community.
*(At the time of this writing, the ALSA team was quickly approaching the $30,000 mark in sponsorship funds).

TT: Anything to share in hindsight?

MAS: We had a very big agenda in a short period of time (only nine months).  Working that hard gives some people burnout, but we needed to get to press quickly in order to have books by the holiday 2005.  Summer months are not an ideal time for soliciting as many are on vacation or not available.  This is also true of the time period from Thanksgiving until the first of the year.  We did an incredible job in the short of amount of time and in the end it all paid off.  We now have a fabulous book, Compliments Of, that is paid for (in full).

CG: If we'd had the opportunity of spending a year attending “Cookbook University,” researching and preparing for our cookbook project—that would've been ideal.  Our cookbook committee actually approached our project by doing six months of research before the actual project went before the board and membership for approval.  We were prepared to hit the ground running with underwriting letters and recipe request forms in hand.  Fortunately, our organization passed the vote with an overwhelming, almost unanimous, vote, due in part to the core committee adorned in chef hats who creatively campaigned for this project.

To recap, here are some additional steps to help with sponsorship strategies:

1. Develop your target list of sponsors
2. Research the business beforehand and see what the benefits are for both
    parties
3. Identify who in your group has a contact or can attend the meeting
4. Set the appointment and go in groups of two or more
5. Show representative samples of other projects similar to yours
6. Talk about your organization and its impact in the community
7. Suggest various levels of giving and the benefits of each
8. Convey that “advertising” within the cookbook is permanent and continual
9. Allow some payment options (2-3 payments over 2-3 budget cycles)
10. Be enthusiastic, passionate, and sincere in your presentation
11. Follow up with a handwritten thank-you note
12. Recognize the sponsors at your debut event and/or list them as a retail location if they agree to carry the books after they are out in the marketplace

Sponsorships and underwriting have incredible potential within the grand scheme of the overall cookbook project.  It will require a significant amount of planning and research, but it is well worth it.  

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