Giving Quotes, Sayings
Discover a wealth of wisdom in these inspiring giving quotes!
These sayings explore the many ways the spirit of giving can uplift our lives and guide our generosity.
From historical figures to contemporary voices, these wise expressions teach us that giving is not just about what you offer others, but also about the personal enrichment it brings.
For as St. Francis of Assisi famously said, “It is in giving that we receive.” Enjoy!
Famous giving quotes
1. You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.
Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
2. The greatest moments in life are not concerned with selfish achievements but rather with the things we do for the people we love and esteem, and whose respect we need.
Walt Disney
3. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
Aesop
4. It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.
Mother Theresa
5. No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.
Charles Dickens
6. We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly and without hesitation; for there is little grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.
Seneca
From the Bible
7. Give, and it will be given to you.
Romans 12:8
8. It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Acts 20:35
9. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2
Short giving quotes
10. Give, but give until it hurts.
Mother Teresa
11. For it is in giving that we receive.
St. Francis of Assisi
12. No one has ever become poor from giving.
Anne Frank
13. Think of giving not as a duty, but as a privilege.
John D. Rockefeller Jr.
14. When one gives, two get happy.
Amit Kalantri
15. Generosity is the best investment.
Diane Von Furstenberg
16. Giving is not an act of depletion, it’s an act of repletion.
Pete Kelly
Giving quotes for kids
17. Help others without any reason and give without the expectation of receiving anything in return.
Roy T. Bennett
18. We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.
Winston Churchill
19. The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.
Mahatma Ghandi
20. As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.
Mary Anne Radmacher
21. Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
For students
22. When you learn, teach. When you get, give.
Maya Angelou
23. The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Mahatma Gandhi
Inspirational giving quotes
24. The wise man does not lay up his own treasures.
The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.
Lao Tzu
25. I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.
Maya Angelou
26. The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
Pablo Picasso
27. To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
28. Give a bowl of rice to a man and you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to grow his own rice and you will save his life.
Confucius
For appreciation / thanks
29. Always give without remembering and always receive without forgetting.
Brian Tracy
Generosity sayings
30. The most truly generous persons are those who give silently without hope of praise or reward.
Carol Ryrie Brink
31. He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own.
Confucius
32. If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.
Arab proverb
33. You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.
John Bunyan
About gifts
34. Presents are made for the pleasure of who gives them, not the merits of who receives them.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
35. The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them away.
Dorothy Day
36. I know what I have given you…
I do not know what you have received.
Antonio Porchia
37. A friend is a gift you give yourself.
Robert Louis Stevenson
About giving back
38. 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
39. Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.
Booker T. Washington
40. One must be poor to know the luxury of giving.
George Eliot
41. 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
About charity
42. Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.
St. Francis of Assisi
43. 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
44. Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity, when I give I give myself.
Walt Whitman
45. You can’t have a perfect day without doing something for someone who’ll never be able to repay you.
John Wooden
About volunteering
46. Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
Mohammed Ali
47. You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
Kahlil Gibran
48. 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
Giving quotes about love
49. Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.
Brian Tracy
50. Love cannot remain by itself — it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service.
Mother Teresa
51. Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness you are able to give.
Eleanor Roosevelt
About caring
52. A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.
Steve Maraboli
53. Always have a willing hand to help someone, you might be the only one that does.
Roy T. Bennett
54. There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up.
Bernard Meltzer
55. Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.
Roy T. Bennett
56. Life’s persistent and most urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’
Martin Luther King Jr.
57. 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
We hope these giving quotes and sayings have inspired you to uplift your life through generosity. For more inspirational quotes, check out these lists:
By Greg Johnson | Published 2/27/2024
