Your Philanthropy

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Your Philanthropy Journal

Sign up for our bimonthly blog – Your Philanthropy Journal. This free e-publication addresses happenings, hot topics and opinions regarding the nonprofit and grant-making world.

Sep 04 2024

You Choose – Riley or Seuss – Who’s Best for Donor and Nonprofit Alike

What's that saying, "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck." It's also known as the duck test. It seems so...
Aug 21 2024

How to Level Up: Transform Your Mom & Pop Shop to Give Like Big Players

Photo by Shashi Chaturvedula on Unsplash Let's talk about the business of philanthropy – not improving nonprofits with business principles, but rather, the power of...
Aug 06 2024

Today’s Gift Can Impact the Future

The first bicycle I attempted to ride lacked training wheels and was a bit large for me. My cousin was eighteen months older, taller, and had long legs. She made riding...
Jul 24 2024

Seven Tips To Teach Generosity to Kids Before Summer Ends

Summer is almost done! School clothes and supplies are on sale. Amidst the plans for one last trip to visit grandparents, a Saturday at the theme park down the road or...
Jul 10 2024

How Nonprofits Got Smarter and What it Means for Donors

I turned the calendar page this morning and found this quote: “Starting over is not starting from scratch; it’s starting from experience.” Career changes, family...
Jun 19 2024

3 Questions and 3 Tips to Give Like Melinda Gates

I stepped out of the sunroom to a sunny, cool morning. Then I realized it's mid-June, and the year is half over. Summers used to mean running barefoot through the...
Jun 04 2024

5 Easy Tips for Summer Time with Grandkids

A morning walk triggered a fond memory in early June, mid-sixties. The water was cold as I jumped into the pool's shallow end. Slowly walking down the pool steps, my...
May 20 2024

Six Ideas to Honor the 2024 Graduate

The front page of today's newspaper has a wonderful story about a graduating high school senior at the top of his class, already facing life's realities and unexpected...
May 08 2024

Why the Science of Fundraising Makes for Better Fundraising

Photo:  Astronomical Clock in Prague, Czech Republic Over twenty years of my nonprofit career, I drove or flew home from meetings and conferences, wondering how to...
Apr 17 2024

Aspiration and Generosity: The Dynamic Duo that Leads to Your Best Giving

What are your aspirations for generosity? Do you dream of what might be? What you could be doing? How you might do something differently? Dreams always lead to me...
Sep 04 2024

You Choose – Riley or Seuss – Who’s Best for Donor and Nonprofit Alike

What's that saying, "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck." It's also known as the duck test. It seems so...
Aug 21 2024

How to Level Up: Transform Your Mom & Pop Shop to Give Like Big Players

Photo by Shashi Chaturvedula on Unsplash Let's talk about the business of philanthropy – not improving nonprofits with business principles, but rather, the power of...
Aug 06 2024

Today’s Gift Can Impact the Future

The first bicycle I attempted to ride lacked training wheels and was a bit large for me. My cousin was eighteen months older, taller, and had long legs. She made riding...
Jul 24 2024

Seven Tips To Teach Generosity to Kids Before Summer Ends

Summer is almost done! School clothes and supplies are on sale. Amidst the plans for one last trip to visit grandparents, a Saturday at the theme park down the road or...
Jul 10 2024

How Nonprofits Got Smarter and What it Means for Donors

I turned the calendar page this morning and found this quote: “Starting over is not starting from scratch; it’s starting from experience.” Career changes, family...
Jun 19 2024

3 Questions and 3 Tips to Give Like Melinda Gates

I stepped out of the sunroom to a sunny, cool morning. Then I realized it's mid-June, and the year is half over. Summers used to mean running barefoot through the...
Jun 04 2024

5 Easy Tips for Summer Time with Grandkids

A morning walk triggered a fond memory in early June, mid-sixties. The water was cold as I jumped into the pool's shallow end. Slowly walking down the pool steps, my...
May 20 2024

Six Ideas to Honor the 2024 Graduate

The front page of today's newspaper has a wonderful story about a graduating high school senior at the top of his class, already facing life's realities and unexpected...
May 08 2024

Why the Science of Fundraising Makes for Better Fundraising

Photo:  Astronomical Clock in Prague, Czech Republic Over twenty years of my nonprofit career, I drove or flew home from meetings and conferences, wondering how to...
Apr 17 2024

Aspiration and Generosity: The Dynamic Duo that Leads to Your Best Giving

What are your aspirations for generosity? Do you dream of what might be? What you could be doing? How you might do something differently? Dreams always lead to me...

Giving Fingerprints

Sign up to receive Dawn’s FREE e-book, Giving Fingerprints, designed to help you be the unique giver you were meant to be.

“You are as unique as the pattern of whorls and lines of your fingerprint. So is your giving style. Make your mark on the causes closest to your heart, and maximize the impact of your gifts by discovering your distinctive, personal giving brand.

I wrote this short book to give you a view of your giving habits. What does your unique giving pattern say about you? Join me on a journey to explore your Giving Fingerprints.”

— Dawn Franks

Recent Published Works

Online Resources

Your Philanthropy recommends the following online resources. Simply click on the links below to access these web sites.

Grant-making

GrantCraft

GEO – Grantmakers for Effective Organizations

 

Foundations

Exponent Philanthropy

Council on Foundations

Philanthropy Southwest

 

Family Philanthropy

National Center for Family Philanthropy

 

Governance

BoardSource

Request A Speaker

Dawn Franks is available to speak on a wide variety of topics to philanthropic organizations, professional associations and community groups. Topics include:

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Giving Fingerprints

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How Your Philanthropy Impacts the Next Generation

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What Story Does Your Foundation Tell?

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Family Foundations: Starting from Scratch

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