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fear of failure

Overcoming Fear of Failure Can Change the World

A nonprofit sector strategist I follow writes a blog called Socialtrend Spotter. Suzanne Smith, author, founder and CEO of Social Impact Architects, often provides excellent insight and suggestions for her readers. She speaks directly into the most immediate struggles nonprofit organizations face daily. In Suzanne’s recent blog, she uses the

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Legacy

How Life Stories Become the Legacy You Leave

The everyday life you live is the legacy you leave. Yes, the stories of our lives become our legacy. We have no choice in the matter. Others look at the trail we walked, the life journey we are on and see a legacy.  The very nature of a legacy is

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crowdfunding

How Your Small Donation Will Make You the Best Donor

Five years ago, a funny-sounding start-up company called Silidog caught my attention. Researching crowdfunding, I stumbled across Mickey Lickstein’s project on Kickstarter, a web-based platform used by creatives to find financial backers willing to invest in tiny chunks to get an idea started. Lickstein was an MBA student with a

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You See What They’re Doing. Join Me in Applause.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I direct your attention to the gallery? We are joined today by a phenomenal group of nonprofit leaders, staff, and volunteers. You may not recognize all the faces, but I’m sure many are familiar. I assure you that they have all been working very hard during

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Kid's Giving

How to Raise Kids to Make, Save, and Give Money

The PARADE Magazine has been a part of my Sunday newspaper reading for more years than I can remember. Tucked in the largest paper of the week with advertisements and the comics, it was my earliest introduction to many things cultural. Started in 1941, PARADE magazine can be found in

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change the world

How to Help Teens Change the World Now

As a kid, summertime meant more time to read the stack of books I brought home from the library each week, swimming with my grandmother early in the morning, horseback riding and westerns at the drive-in movies. My parents didn’t seem to work all that hard to keep me occupied.

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How Nonprofits Make Great Lemonade Out of Lemons

It is a big day when the home you’ve had on the market for eleven months finally sells. In fact, for days leading up to the closing and the hours and minutes before, I was afraid to let myself get excited in case something, anything unexpected, went wrong. It did

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16 ways to give

16 Ways to Give and a Challenge for You!

No fluff, no story, no long explanations. I have a challenge for you. Think about ways to give to your favorite charity. I am sure several ideas came to mind. I first came up with six simple and obvious ideas. Then I started thinking about what’s unexpected. And then I

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The Gift of Giving

The Gift of Giving is a journey into a donor’s personal legacy—the one they’ve been living every single day. It started the day they were born, a story only they can live and share. Their story is their legacy.

The Gift of Giving is not just a book, it is a valuable resource, guide, and tool for givers of all ages at all stages to tell their legacy story. Throughout this book they will find short exercises to help them understand and convey their legacy, in essence, write their legacy.

While the story they’ve already lived will not change, donors can do something about tomorrow by becoming a more intentional giver today!

Available in Kindle, digital download or paper edition.

Your Legacy, Your Story

Some of us are great story tellers, and then some of us are better on paper. But for most of us, our stories play out on a never-ending tape stuck in our heads. Sometimes we feel them in our heart or gut. Author Don Miguel Ruiz says it this way, “You create an entire picture or movie in your mind, and in that picture you are the director, you are the producer, you’re the main actor or actress. Everyone else is a secondary actor or actress. It’s your movie. Every movie has a script. That script is your life story."
FROM
THE GIFT OF GIVING

One Story Across Generations

Golda, matriarch of a generous family, modeled a legacy story for her granddaughter, Sharon, and her community. Sharon learned about giving, watching and talking to her grandmother. When the young and curious Sharon asked Golda why wheelchairs were hanging from the basement rafters, she learned that her grandmother believed it was a community’s responsibility to care for those in need. As a result, Golda had prepared with wheelchairs, walkers, and dressing rolls ready for the future.
FROM
THE GIFT OF GIVING

Take a peek inside.

See what’s inside The Gift of Giving on book2look.

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Gift of Giving Book

Giving Fingerprints

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

  • Giving Fingerprints

  • How Your Philanthropy Impacts the Next Generation

  • What Story Does Your Foundation Tell?

  • Family Foundations: Starting from Scratch