24 quotes by famous people if they had worked in nonprofit

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buddha-1281049_1280Hi everyone. I’ve been stressed by the elections, so couldn’t focus on a serious post.  So here are some #awesomenonprofitquotes by famous people if they had worked in nonprofit.  Happy Monday!

I think a lot of these people missed their calling.

  1. “When they go low, we go why the heck do we keep having silent auctions?” Michelle Obama.
  2. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only bylaws with term limits can do that.” MLK Jr.

  1. “If today were the last day of your life, would you want to spend all this time trying to understand social impact bonds?” Steve Jobs
  2. “When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘Happy.’ They told me not to be an Executive Director.” John Lennon
  3. “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough. Or you’ve never planned a gala before.” Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
  4. “I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t d—oh crap, I forgot to file my 990!” Lucille Ball
  5. “To every action there is an equal and opposite reporting requirement.” Isaac Newton
  6. “Dance as though no one is watching you. Love as though you have never been hurt before. Run a board meeting as though all your board members actually understood your work.” Audrey Hepburn
  7. “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to provide multi-year, general operating funding.” Walt Disney
  8. “Alone we can do so little. Together, we spend a lot of time doing icebreakers.” Helen Keller
  9. “I’ve always felt that a person’s intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view he can entertain simultaneously at a strategic planning retreat.” Abigail Adams
  10. “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least make your grant decisions faster so that some nonprofits can.” The Dalai Lama
  11. “There are two kinds of people: those who stack chairs at the end of an event and those who leave as soon as it’s over. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.” Indira Gandhi
  12. “A hug is like a boomerang—the potential liabilities from both could shut down our after-school program.” Bil Keane
  13. “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you down. It’s the pebble of restricted funding in your shoe.” Muhammad Ali
  14. “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds hang on to ‘overhead’ as a way to determine nonprofits’ effectiveness.” Eleanor Roosevelt
  15. The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we can do it while sitting on really horrible chairs held together by duct tape.” Mother Teresa
  16. “Fundraising success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
  17. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without it necessarily aligning with our strategic philanthropy.” Aristotle
  18. “We know what we are, but know not what we may be; thus, consultants.” William Shakespeare
  19. “There’s nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and have to work to wrap up the annual appeal.” Erma Bombeck
  20. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in being able to explain our mission, challenges, and accomplishments in 750 characters.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
  21. “Do not dwell on the past. Do not dream of the future. Concentrate the mind on the site visit we have today and let’s tidy up the office a little.” Buddha
  22. “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. What’s a limo?” Oprah

Write your #awesomenonprofitquotes below in the comment section, or on Twitter. And check out “20 quotes by famous people if they had worked in nonprofit.”

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