Philanthropy Quotes

“Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains.”
― Jeffrey Rasley, Bringing Progress to Paradise: What I Got from Giving to a Mountain Village in Nepal

“The ideological blackmail that has been in place since the original Live Aid concerts in 1985 has insisted that ‘caring individuals’ could end famine directly, without the need for any kind of political solution or systemic reorganization. It is necessary to act straight away, we were told; politics has to be suspended in the name of ethical immediacy. Bono’s Product Red brand wanted to dispense even with the philanthropic intermediary. ‘Philanthropy is like hippy music, holding hands’, Bono proclaimed. ‘Red is more like punk rock, hip hop, this should feel like hard commerce’. The point was not to offer an alternative to capitalism - on the contrary, Product Red’s ‘punk rock’ or ‘hip hop’ character consisted in its ‘realistic’ acceptance that capitalism is the only game in town. No, the aim was only to ensure that some of the proceeds of particular transactions went to good causes. The fantasy being that western consumerism, far from being intrinsically implicated in systemic global inequalities, could itself solve them. All we have to do is buy the right products.”
― Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?

“In honor of Oprah Winfrey: Even greater than the ability to inspire others with hope is the power to motivate them to give as much to the lives of others as they would give to their own; and to empower them to confront the worst in themselves in order to discover and claim the best in themselves.”
― Aberjhani, Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry

“What would the daughters of the rich do with themselves if the poor ceased to exist?”
― Angela Carter, Saints and Strangers

“The biggest sin in the world is not being able to love someone. Do not judge anybody by what they are, because life may have played unfair with them. You be fair. The one who loves would be the closest to God. Do not choose whom to love and whom to not. Love everybody. Remember… Love is the language of God.”
― Udai Yadla, A Walk in the Rain

“Fundraising is an extreme sport!”
― Marc A. Pitman, Ask Without Fear!: A Simple Guide to Connecting Donors With What Matters to Them Most

“That day, I learned that I could be a giver by simply bringing a smile to another person. The ensuing years have taught me that a kind word, a vote of support is a charitable gift. I can move over and make another place for someone. I can turn my music up if it pleases, or down if it is annoying. I may never be known as a philanthropist, but I certainly am a lover of mankind, and I will give freely of my resources.”
― Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter

“There could be a powerful international women's rights movement if only philanthropists would donate as much to real women as to paintings and sculptures of women.”
― Nicholas D. Kristof

“Rather than being a human, be a humanitarian”
― Kowtham Kumar K

“In my view, philanthropy goes against the grain; therefore it generates a lot of hypocrisy and many paradoxes. Here are some examples: Philanthropy is supposed to be devoted to the benefit of others, but philanthropists are primarily concerned with their own benefit; philanthropy is supposed to help people, yet it often makes people dependent and turns them into objects of charity; applicants tell foundations what they want to hear, then proceed to do what the applicant wants to do.”
― George Soros

“When you have power and use it for destructive purpose: you don't deserve it.”
― Udai Yadla

“Conservatives, who have presumed that the key to preventing AIDS is abstinence-only education, and liberals, who have focused on distribution of condoms, should both note that the intervention that has tested most cost-effective in Africa is neither... Secular bleeding hearts and religious bleeding hearts will have to forge a common cause.”
― Nicholas D. Kristof

“The world order needs a major overhaul.”
― George Soros, The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror

“She gave me a pledge card, a card promising an annual gift of $5, $10, or $25 toward the support of the Unity mission. I filled it out under the hot light of the projector. The name and address spaces were much too short, unless you wrote a very fine hand or unless your name was Ed Poe and you lived at 1 Elm St.”
― Charles Portis, The Dog of the South

“Giving Back reframes portraits of philanthropy.”
― Valaida Fullwood, Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists

“We are good to others only because we think that that is, or will be, good for us.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“I will help--but only so much, only so far. It is not that I believe these children are less than my own. It is not that I believe I do not have a responsibility for them. It is just that in a world of haves and have-nots, I do not want to give up too much of what I have. I do not want to diminish the complexity and diversity of my life. Instead, I will choose to spend another seventy-five dollars on myself rather than send another child to school, and I will choose to do this over and over again. I no longer think of myself as a good person. I have adjusted to that.”
― Sharman Apt Russell, Hunger: An Unnatural History

“Through their donations and work for voluntary organizations, the charitable rich exert enormous influence in society. As philanthropists, they acquire status within and outside of their class. Although private wealth is the basis of the hegemony of this group, philanthropy is essential to the maintenance and perpetuation of the upper class in the United States. In this sense, nonprofit activities are the nexus of a modern power elite.”
― Teresa Odendahl, Charity Begins At Home: Generosity And Self-interest Among The Philanthropic Elite

“The sparkle and morning-freshness of the shop, and the butter-conjuring girl, formed a mind-picture which accompanied the whole of my youth.(about the Buttercup Dairy)”
― Muriel Spark, Curriculum Vitae: Autobiography

“War der Mensch bei seiner Geburt eine tabula rasa, ungeformt und ohne Ideen, bereit, von der Gesellschaft beschrieben zu werden, erziehbar und imstande, auf dem Weg zur Vervollkommnung voranzuschreiten? Oder stellte die Gesellschaft, wie Rousseau behauptete, einen verderblichen Einfluss dar und nicht das Fundament alles Richtigen und Guten?”
― T.C. Boyle, Das wilde Kind

“There is one kind of charity common enough among us… It is that patchwork philanthropy which clothes the ragged, feeds the poor, and heals the sick. I am far from decrying the noble spirit which seeks to help a poor or suffering fellow being… [However] what advances a nation or a community is not so much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members, but to lift up the best and the most gifted, so as to make them of the greatest service to the country.”
― Jamsetji Tata

“It is one of the many ironies of this period that, at a time when the intelligentsia were excoriating Mellon for tax-evasion, and contrasting the smooth-running Soviet planned economy with the breakdown in America, he was secretly exploiting the frantic necessities of the Soviet leaders to form the basis of one of America's most splendid public collections”
― Paul Johnson, Modern Times : A History of the World from the 1920s to the Year 2000

“You are the smile creator2”
― Daisy Gallagher

“The biggest funds should go to the most advanced projects that affect the most beneficiaries, with the biggest impact, and for the longest period of time affecting the bigger whole.”
― Master Del Pe

“Hypocrisy 101 (The Sonnet)

What irritates me the most is hypocrisy,
and fancy chimps cannot fathom the irony.
While untouched by the economic disparity,
in their snow castle they talk of equality.

Counting your blessings on a private jet,
doesn't make you grounded.
Setting up charities to get tax cuts,
doesn't make you philanthropist.

Collecting rings like postcard,
doesn't make you the love doctor.
Regurgitating facts like a robot,
doesn't make you any the wiser.

Hypocrites are the lowest form of animal,
Acting without substance is norm of the jungle.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Divine Refugee

“Pioneering solutions that address real-world problems”
― David Sikhosana, Change and Power

“An activist is always broke,
a philanthropist is always rich.
That's the difference between
service and a publicity stunt.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Little Planet on The Prairie: Dunya Benim, Sorumluluk Benim

“There's nothing wrong in being rich and famous, so long as you're giving back more than you're keeping for yourself.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The God Sonnets: Naskar Art of Theology

“- I'm going to turn my attention to philanthropy.
- Is that the study of people named Phil?
- It's mostly about watching people beg, and having buildings named after me.”
― Scott Adams, Fugitive from the Cubicle Police

“Philanthropy" means "love of mankind." Collective love is at the core of justice. The wealthiest among us, those who have the broadest horizons to put forces in motion, should embrace that work as their own highest calling.”
― Ralph Nader, The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future