By Peter Heller
We all love to pick up great quotes along the road of life. So many of the quotes I keep in my head are perfect for nonprofit fundraising.
I love this one that can easily be applied to dysfunctional capital campaigns: “I’ve been through that hell before and I’m not doing it again!” Roy Scheider - Jaws 2.
Here is the Heller Fundraising Group’s list of Top 20 Fundraising Quotes. What would you add?
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference.”
Kathy Calvin
“It is more rewarding to watch money change the world than to watch it accumulate.”
Gloria Steinem
“At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished… it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.”
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“Giving to those in need will bring more joy than money could ever buy.”
Dave Ramsey
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”
Elizabeth Andrew
“I don’t think you ever stop giving. I really don’t. I think it’s an on-going process. And it’s not just about being able to write a check. It’s being able to touch somebody’s life.”
Oprah Winfrey
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
Nelson Henderson
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
Albert Pike
“It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.”
Mother Teresa
“Help one another. There’s no time like the present, and no present like the time.”
James Durst
“Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another.”
Erma Bombeck
“There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.”
Mandy Hale
“Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.”
Sherry Anderson
“Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving.”
Hank Rosso
Charity begins at home but should not end there.”
Thomas Fuller
“If you need to raise funds from donors, you need to study them, respect them, and build everything you do around them.”
Jeff Brooks
“We need to value donors as much as we need value from them.”
Reinier Spruit
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”
Hellen Keller
“For it is in giving that we receive.”
Francis of Assisi
If you found this article while searching for "fundraising quotes" on Google, you probably love fundraising as much as our team of experts. We work across many sectors & inspire nonprofit leadership in social justice, the arts, education, social service, environmental, health & religious organizations.
Peter Heller is the Founder of the Heller Fundraising Group, a New York City-based fundraising consulting firm that works with local, national and international nonprofits on capital campaigns, campaign feasibility studies, major gift programs, and hands-on training. peter@hellerfundraisinggroup.com
