Most Quotable Nonprofit Leaders
Here are some of the most inspiring words from some of the world’s greatest nonprofit leaders.
Malala Yousafzai
“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.”
- “Some people only ask others to do something. I believe that, why should I wait for someone else? Why don’t I take a step and move forward.”
- “Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.”
- “I don’t want to be remembered as the girl who was shot. I want to be remembered as the girl who stood up.”
Robert Egger ![robert-egger](http://blog.greatnonprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/robert-egger.jpg)
- “Too often, charity is about the redemption of the giver, not the liberation of the receiver.”
- “A great nonprofit doesn’t try to fix the problem, it simply reveals the solutions that were there all along.”
- “You’ll never change a community you don’t know, and you can’t begin to know a community until you hear, feel, taste and tramp through it.”
- “Hunger is so not about food — hunger is a symptom. Hunger is about wage, it’s about being in prison, it is about poverty and discrimination.”
Cecil Williams
- “Where we’ve gotten mixed up is that we believe actions follow belief. But experience creates belief.”
Martin Luther King![MTE5NTU2MzE2MjgwNDg5NDgz](http://blog.greatnonprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/MTE5NTU2MzE2MjgwNDg5NDgz.jpg)
- “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
- “Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.”
- “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice, which make philanthropy necessary.”
Bill Gates![bill-gates-jpg](http://blog.greatnonprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/bill-gates-jpg.jpg)
- “The most amazing philanthropists are people who are actually making a significant sacrifice.”
- “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
- “Don’t let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.”
Pope Francis![130919_FG_PopeFrancisLiberal.jpg.CROP.article568-large](http://blog.greatnonprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/130919_FG_PopeFrancisLiberal.jpg.CROP_.article568-large.jpg)
- “We all have the duty to do good.”
- “Grace is not part of consciousness; it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason.”
- “A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”
Ai-jen Poo![ai-jen_headshot_lores](http://blog.greatnonprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ai-jen_headshot_lores.jpg)
- “It’s precisely the people who are considered the least ‘likely’ leaders who end up inspiring others the most. Everyday people and everyday acts of courage eventually change everything.”
- “Movements of people create change – not just any one person or organization, but when lots of people are in motion around a shared vision.”
Nancy Lublin![20e9bab3e4f436bf4d94ff5061d7710956673e81_800x600](http://blog.greatnonprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/20e9bab3e4f436bf4d94ff5061d7710956673e81_800x600.jpg)
- “Social change isn’t something you should do just to help pad a resume. Follow your passion.”
Warren Buffet![8468a03db84ec4211c3efeba18ac3925_400x400](http://blog.greatnonprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/8468a03db84ec4211c3efeba18ac3925_400x400.png)
- “The best thing I did was to choose the right heroes.”