In 2021, Giving Tuesday donations in the United States totaled a record $2.7 billion. 35 million people participated — up 6% from 2020!
Giving Tuesday is a celebration of radical generosity — the idea that “the suffering of others should be as intolerable to us as our own suffering.”
Radical generosity invites people to give what they can to create systemic change and reminds us that we each can drive an enormous amount of positive change by using our time, skills, goods, and advocacy to help others.
This year on Giving Tuesday, nonprofits and mission-driven organizations are working hard to drive awareness around important issues and opportunities to make a difference.
We’ve collected the best Giving Tuesday quotes to inspire generosity and motivate giving:
→ Don’t forget to check out our guide to the best ideas for celebrating Giving Tuesday this year.
→ Plus, explore more quotes for giving.
The Best Giving Tuesday Quotes
Famous Quotes
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
— Pablo Picasso
“Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
— Albert Einstein
“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that have received — only what you have given.”
— St. Francis of Assisi
“When you learn, teach. When you get, give.”
— Maya Angelou
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
→ Explore more quotes about how to make a difference
About Giving Tuesday
“This Giving Tuesday please remember that it’s not about how much you can give. Big things happen when we all chip in a buck or two. And your time is valuable! If you’re able, consider spending a few hours volunteering in your community this season.”
— Chasten Buttigieg
“I know y’all are about to get spammed with Giving Tuesday emails but hope you'll consider giving to people that do meaningful work. Give to the artists, freelancers, organizers, musicians, content creators, crafters, podcasters & others who create/offer life sustaining things.”
— Alicia Crosby Mack
“We all can do a little bit more than we’re doing — and today’s a great day to start. This Giving Tuesday, I invite you to think about what YOU can do to give back. Is there a program you can support? Do you have anything you want to donate? How do you plan to give back today?”
— Van Jones
“We can [make a difference] in a number of innovative ways: traditional donations and volunteerism, of course, but also by urging our employers to align with causes, using our leverage and our voice in the workplace to encourage companies to engage in social responsibility in bold ways; and outside of work, using our voice and our social presence to advocate for social change.”
— Asha Curran, CEO of Giving Tuesday in Forbes
On Generosity
“That's what I consider true generosity: You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.”
— Simone de Beauvoir
“Gentleness, self-sacrifice, and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.”
— Mahatma Ghandi
“To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own.”
— Anne Spencer Lindbergh
“The most truly generous persons are those who give silently without hope of praise or reward.”
— Carol Ryrie Brink
On Charity
“Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference.”
— Kathy Calvin, former President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation
“The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them away.”
— Dorothy Day
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
— John Bunyan
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
— Mohammed Ali
→ Read more quotes about activism
Motivational Quotes
“Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.”
– H. Jackson Brown Jr.
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands — one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
— Audrey Hepburn
“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”
— Booker T. Washington
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
— Winston Churchill
On Doing Good For Others
“Love cannot remain by itself — it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service.”
— Mother Teresa
“In a society that functions optimally, those who can should naturally want to provide for those who can’t. That's how it's designed to work. I truly believe we’re here to take care of one another.”
— LeVar Burton
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
― John Wesley
“I’m committed to giving back to the community and will continue to do whatever I can to help people in need.”
— Al Horford
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?””
— Martin Luther King Jr.
“Everyone can be a humanitarian. All it takes is one act to help someone else.”
— Valerie Amos
→ Read more quotes about justice
On the Joy of Giving
“Happiness exists on Earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant practice of generosity.”
— José Marti
“I absolutely believe in the power of tithing and giving back. My own experience about all the blessings I've had in my life is that the more I give away, the more that comes back. That is the way life works, and that is the way energy works.”
— Ken Blanchard
“Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
“Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides. It means that you are willing to stop being such a jerk. When you are aware of all that has been given to you, in your lifetime and the past few days, it is hard not to be humbled, and pleased to give back.”
— Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers
“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
— Maya Angelou
→ Read more quotes about humanity
More Captions
“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
“Each of us can make a difference. It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular. Keep the neighbor’s kid while she goes to the store or to the doctor, or befriend somebody in need. I don’t mean you have to take them into your home, but you can find a place for them to stay or see that they get food. You can do an act of kindness every single solitary day, because it’s needed.”
— Opal Lee
“For it is in giving that we receive.”
— St. Francis of Assisi
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.”
— Maya Angelou
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
— Charles Dickens
“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
— Arundhati Roy
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