Get involvedGiving Quotes

Giving Quotes

Many people have spoken eloquently on the topic of charity or aid. Here is a collection of quotes about giving back, ranging from the conservative to the radical.

Giving Quotes from Religion

Tithing is the religious tradition of putting one's charitable nature into practice by giving a proportion of your income to charity. Find out more about tithing and donating a proportion of your income to charity.

"Deeds of giving are the very foundations of the world." - Jewish saying derived from the Mishna, Pirkei Avot 1:2
Jewish giving quotes
"A man's true wealth is the good he does in this world." - Muhammad
A man's true wealth is the good he does in this world
"Whatever a man has in superabundance is owed, of natural right, to the poor for their sustenance." - St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
Whatever a man has in superabundance is owed, of natural right, to the poor of their sustenance.

Giving Quotes from Philosophy

Choosing to donate your money to charity is a laudable decision. It's important to give to charities that do the most good with their money. For more info on how to save thousands of lives, read our page on where to give.

"To give away money is an easy matter and in any man's power. But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, and for what purpose and how, is neither in every man's power nor an easy matter." - Aristotle, Ethics
To give away money is an easy matter and in any man's power. But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, and for what purpose and how, is neither in every man's power nor an easy matter
"It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than to earn it in the first place." - Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth
It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than to earn it in the first place
"The highest use of capital is not to make more money but to make money do more for the betterment of life." - Henry Ford
The highest use of capital is not to make more money but to make money do more for the betterment of life

Humanitarian Quotes about Giving

Extreme poverty is one of the most pressing issues of our age. It is the source of much of the world's suffering and makes mere survival into a struggle. Find out more about the problem we face.

"If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives." - Robert South
If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives
"It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen that is the common right of humanity." - Seneca the Elder
It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen that is the common right of humanity
"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal." - Albert Pike
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal
"Wealth is not to feed our egos, but to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves." - Andrew Carnegie
Wealth is not to feed our egos, but to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves
"I would rather have it said, 'He lived usefully,' than, 'He died rich.'" - Benjamin Franklin
I would rather have it said, 'He lived usefully,' than, 'He died rich.'
"I realised that my money would do vastly more good for others than it could for me and decided to make a commitment to donating to the the most effective charities I could find." - Toby Ord; Giving What We Can founder
I realised that my money would do vastly more good for others than it could for me and decided to make a commitment to donating to the the most effective charities I could find.

Quotes about giving back and inequality

"Is the rich world aware of how four billion live? If we were aware, we would want to help out." - Bill Gates
Is the rich world aware of how four billion live? If we were aware, we would want to help out
"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." - John F. Kennedy
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich
"If every man took only what was sufficient for his needs, there would be no rich and no poor." - St Basil of Caesarea
If every man took only what was sufficient for his needs, there would be no rich and no poor
"The proper aim of giving is to put the recipients in a state where they no longer need our gifts." - C.S. Lewis (The Four Loves, 1960)
The proper aim of giving is to put the recipients in a state where they no longer need our gifts
"The test of our progress is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - Franklin D. Roosevelt (Second Inaugural Address, 1937)
The test of our progress is whether we provide enough for those who have too little

Quotes about giving back today

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." - Lao Tzu, Ancient Chinese philosopher and poet
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love
"It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
"He who gives early gives twice." - Don Miguel de Cervantes
He who gives early gives twice.
"I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore,that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again." - Etienne de Grellet (1773 - 1855)
I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore,that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.