Nonprofits are continuously looking for new ways to encourage donors to act on their behalf. A meaningful quote that touches your donors’ hearts and creates a picture of the world they hope to see can make a significant difference. The quotes included in this article can be added to your organization’s website, donation appeals, and social media to entice donors to give, volunteer, and fight for your mission.
Kindness, Generosity, and Charity are enviable personal traits that remarkable people have promoted for generations. Some of the quotes on this list are well-known. Others may be new to you! Each of these quotes inspires people to make changes in their lives and can be used by your nonprofit ina variety of ways.
We’ve broken our list of 35 giving quotes into separate sections so you can find exactly what you need. Plus, we’ll share tips on how to use these quotes to make them as effective as possible. Whether you share these quotes in your fundraising materials, on your website, or simply with your staff, we hope they will inspire your donors to be more generous with their giving and volunteering.
Generosity quotes can be used anywhere, but your year-end fundraising campaign can be the best place to use them to inspire giving.
1. “When one gives, two get happy.” – Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words
2. “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank
3. “Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference.” – Kathy Calvin
4. “It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.” – Albert Einstein
5. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
It’s an unfortunate fact that people may not give at all because they can only give a few dollars. You’ll want to assure supporters that no matter how much they give, their gifts are needed and appreciated.
6. “Everyone can experience the joy and blessing of generosity; because everyone has something to give.” – Jan Grace
7. “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” – Mother Teresa
8. “If you think you are too small to be effective, try sleeping with a mosquito.” – Dalai Lama
9. “We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” – Mother Teresa
10. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
11. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.” – Charles Dickens
12. “Sometimes those who give the most are the ones with the least to spare.” – Mike McIntyre
Donating is not the only way supporters can help your organization. These quotes are an excellent way to inspire your community to give more than just money.
13. “When you learn, teach. When you get, give.” – Maya Angelou
14. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi
15. “Life’s persistent and most urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” – Martin Luther King Jr.
16. “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” – Muhammed Ali
17. “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picasso
18. “The most precious thing I have to give is my time.” – Silvia Hartman
19. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia
20. “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” – Booker T. Washington
21. “The most precious thing I have to give is my time.” – Silvia Hartmann
22. “Wealth isn’t always measured in dollar signs. We each have time, talent, and creativity, all of which can be powerful forces for positive change. Share your blessings in whatever form they come and to whatever level you have been blessed.” – Jon M. Huntsman
The role of advocacy isn’t always seen as important as financial gifts, but advocacy work can help you reach more people and subsequently, receive more donations and support.
You should add these quotes to your peer-to-peer fundraising pages to encourage more people to participate.
23. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
24. “While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.” – Chinua Achebe
25. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” President Barack Obama
26. “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King
27. “One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn’t as individuals. When we pool our strength and share the work and responsibility, we can welcome many people, even those in deep distress, and perhaps help them find self-confidence and inner healing.” – Jean Vanier
If you’re still looking for quotes to encourage people to give, volunteer, or fundraise for you, these quotes can be added to your social media and posted throughout your facility.
28. “To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.” – Abraham Lincoln
29. “If you’re in the luckiest one percent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 percent.” – Warren Buffett
30. “You don’t have to be an angel, just be someone who can give.” – Patti LaBelle
31. “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” – John Bunyan
32. “To do more for the world than the world does for you – that is success.” – Henry Ford
33. “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” – Lao Tzu
34. “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
35. “Think of giving not as a duty, but as a privilege.” – John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Now that you’ve found 35 inspirational quotes to ignite generosity in the hearts of people, here are a few places you can add them to make them more effective.
Your website homepage is the best place to have a heartwarming quote that makes people stop, read, and ponder over the effects of kindness. Pair it with an image of your mission in action to really sell the point.
You can also add quotes to other pages of your website. For example, your donation page, about page, team details page, programs page, and more.
The below example is from Dwelling Place Seattle’s website donation page. They’ve added a quote from the Bible.
You can include a quote in your emails to donors and potential donors. This can be the email newsletter that you send on a monthly basis or any other communication emails (solicitations, thank-you messages, sponsorship requests, and more).
Remember to keep the chosen quote aligned with the purpose of the email or your nonprofit’s mission.
Social media is undoubtedly the best place to share quotes of generosity or those that are related to your mission. You can choose a day of the week and share a quote on that day every week.
Create an inspiring image on Canva and place the quote over it to make it more pleasing to the eyes. You can also use real images from your work.
Your social media followers, volunteers, and donors will all love this different gesture from your organization. You will be able to reach more people and connect better with your supporters. You can also ask your volunteers and friends to share the images on their feeds to help you touch more hearts.
Nonprofits tell stories of their beneficiaries or impact through their fundraising pages. You can start these stories with a heartwarming quote.
If you have a favorite Bible verse, you can use that to open the story or the campaign description. This instantly hooks the visitors and potential donors. You can also punctuate the description or story with various quotes to make it more interesting for people to read.
In the below example, Lifesong for Orphans (Canada) tells the story of a young girl named Mapalo and uses her favorite Bible verse to give people a sense of her personality.
Quotes like the ones we’ve listed in this article can help inspire you to write powerful and compelling year-end appeals, newsletters, volunteer recruitment letters, and more. You can also use them on your website pages and fundraising campaign pages. Be it inspiring your community to fundraise for you or make a kind donation, quotes can help you significantly improve fundraising efforts.
While you choose the best quotes for your campaign story or description, you should also ensure you have the space to make it stand out. With Donorbox, you can create customizable online fundraising campaign pages that have ample space for adding your story. Add your favorite quotes alongside inspiring images and videos to make them stand out in the eyes of the visitors. You can also ensure that the page is aligned with your brand through a variety of advanced customization options. Sign up for free and explore Donorbox now!
Check out other simple-to-use and powerful features of Donorbox, including Recurring Donations, Crowdfunding, Text-to-Give, Memberships, Events, Donor Management, and more. 80,000+ organizations are using these features across 96 countries to raise funds, sell tickets, run membership campaigns, and manage donors. We also have a success package called Donorbox Premium designed for nonprofits who are looking to take their fundraising to the next level. You get access to industry experts including fundraising coaches and a team of techies to help you beat every challenge to raise more funds. Pricing is personalized for every organization.
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Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
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Kristine Ensor