Apart from being motivation for themselves, I think big givers should also talk about their philanthropy so that their work and their success stories prove inspirational enough for many others to follow.

You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.

Charity begins at home, but should not end there.

Christmas and the holidays are the season of giving. It's a time when people are more kind and open-hearted.

It doesn't matter what tradition you come from, what religion you have or don't, what culture you were brought up in or what God you ascribe to: Faith is worthwhile as it helps us to be kinder, more generous, more loving and forgiving people.

Charity should begin at home, but should not stay there.

The giving of love is an education in itself.

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known.

Blessed are those who give without remembering and take without forgetting.

Remarkable contributions are typically spawned by a passionate commitment to transcendent values such as beauty, truth, wisdom, justice, charity, fidelity, joy, courage and honor.

Obviously, you would give your life for your children, or give them the last biscuit on the plate. But to me, the trick in life is to take that sense of generosity between kin, make it apply to the extended family and to your neighbour, your village and beyond.

Charity bestowed upon those who are worthy of it is like good seed sown on a good soil that yields an abundance of fruits. But alms given to those who are yet under the tyrannical yoke of the passions are like seed deposited in a bad soil. The passions of the receiver of the alms choke, as it were, the growth of merits.

Life in abundance comes only through great love.

There are three lessons in philanthropy - one, involve the family, especially the spouse. She can be a remarkable driver of your initiative. Two, you need to build an institution, and you need to scale it up. Choose a leader for philanthropy whom you trust. Three, philanthropy needs patience, tenacity and time.

Sustainability, ensuring the future of life on Earth, is an infinite game, the endless expression of generosity on behalf of all.

To find gratitude and generosity when you could reasonably find hurt and resentment will surprise you. It will be so surprising because you will see so much of the opposite: people who have much more than others yet who react with anger when one advantage is lost or with resentment when an added gift is denied.

Charity never humiliated him who profited from it, nor ever bound him by the chains of gratitude, since it was not to him but to God that the gift was made.

Philanthropy is all about sharing. If there's an opportunity to collaborate, we will. Collaborating just for finance is pointless. It has to be like a business collaboration.

Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.

Deliberately seek opportunities for kindness, sympathy, and patience.

No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.

The spread of online information isn't just good for charities. It's also good for donors. You can go to a site like Charity Navigator, which evaluates nonprofits on their financial health as well as the amount of information they share about their work.

For it is in giving that we receive.

The most amazing philanthropists are people who are actually making a significant sacrifice.

Each one of us can do a good deed, every day and everywhere. In hospitals in desperate need of volunteers, in homes for the elderly where our parents and grandparents are longing for a smile, a listening ear, in the street, in our workplaces and especially at home.

Effective philanthropy requires a lot of time and creativity - the same kind of focus and skills that building a business requires.

Oprah Winfrey's global influence is unparalleled. Not only has her generosity and firm belief that education is the key to a better life benefited countless women and children around the world, but her example has also inspired millions of people to give back in ways big and small.

Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else's life forever.

A wise woman recognizes when her life is out of balance and summons the courage to act to correct it, she knows the meaning of true generosity, happiness is the reward for a life lived in harmony, with a courage and grace.

Pure love is a willingness to give without a thought of receiving anything in return.

Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door.

The opposite of corporate greed is personal generosity. Government policies that enable the former and prevent the latter are both worthy of protest.

There are a lot of people with a lot of money, and I'm amazed they don't understand what a great pleasure it can be to give.

We may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving.

Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.

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.

I've been a philanthropist for all my life, and... I've had many involvements in humanitarian and environmental issues.

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.

The essential elements of giving are power and love - activity and affection - and the consciousness of the race testifies that in the high and appropriate exercise of these is a blessedness greater than any other.

Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.

Most organizations should be pro-active, but philanthropists concerned with poverty should deliberately be reactive, learning from the efforts of ordinary folks who tired of looking the other way as their communities fell apart.

Doing what we can to repair the world was instilled in me from an early age. I will never forget my siblings and me knitting squares for blankets to be sent to the troops during World War II. This was an inspiration from my mother.

It's important to think good, speak good, and do good. If we want to see positive change in the world, then we need to connect to goodness. I try in everything I do, both in business and philanthropy, to make a positive change and do that by doing good.

Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given.

Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world.

Philanthropy should be taking much bigger risks that business. If these are easy problems, business and government can come in and solve them.

An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather.

The compulsion to do good is an innate American trait. Only North Americans seem to believe that they always should, may, and actually can choose somebody with whom to share their blessings. Ultimately this attitude leads to bombing people into the acceptance of gifts.

Whatever your cause, whatever your motivation, I hope you'll agree with me that volunteer service is an extraordinary gift.

Money can add very much to one's ability to lead a constructive life, not only pleasant for oneself, but, hopefully, beneficial to others. My grandfather, along with Carnegie, was a pioneer in philanthropy, which my father then practiced on a very large scale. The Christian ethic played an essential part in my upbringing.

Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.

Technology is unlocking the innate compassion we have for our fellow human beings.

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.

When there is money, there is also greed. Everyone wants to talk to you when there is money. Only if you have the passion for it, you must become a philanthropist, else it'll become a headache.

True generosity is an offering; given freely and out of pure love. No strings attached. No expectations. Time and love are the most valuable possession you can share.

I am involved in a lot of nonprofits. And when I reached the ripe old age of 60, I wanted to provide leadership to some I had been involved in.

I, for one, am profoundly grateful to feel the hand of God at work in my life. But at the beginning and end of the day, when my default setting is to show kindness and love to others, I never regret it. And to me, that is what faith is all about.

Doing good holds the power to transform us on the inside, and then ripple out in ever-expanding circles that positively impact the world at large.

General benevolence, but not general friendship, made a man what he ought to be.

Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.

I am a generous man, by nature, and far more trusting than I should be. Indeed. The real world is risky territory for people with generosity of spirit. Beware.

People who identify themselves as conservatives donate money to charity more often than people who identify themselves as liberals. They donate more money and a higher percentage of their incomes.

Kindness is wisdom.