Are you a nonprofit leader who needs a little boost of motivation? Check out our list of inspirational quotes selected just for you!
Leadership is one of the most important qualities that a successful and effective nonprofit can possess. How is your team leading and inspiring others to give? Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all all skill-set. Leadership skills must be consistently nourished and developed to be successful. 47% of new managers do not receive formal training when they take on a new leadership role. Not investing in those who are in charge of inspiring others is a missed opportunity. Several recent studies have shown that effective leadership is a key driver to engagement.
Focusing on becoming a better leader and encouraging others to lead strategically will impact your nonprofit positively across the board.
Ready to be inspired? Check out the 40 motivational quotes for nonprofit leadership below.
- “Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” Mattie Stepanek
- “How we manage and harness technology for the good of mankind is the key issue of our time.” Henry Timms
- “You fight for what’s right, you set that vision of where we could be – and then you go after it yourself.” Chandini Portteus
- “The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it.” Elaine Agather
- “The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men.” George Eliot
- “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams
- “We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history.” Sonia Johnson
- “Exemplary leaders search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and looking outward for innovative ways to improve; and they experiment and take risks, constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes.” Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner
- “For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people’s love and concern for each other.” Millard Fuller
- “A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected.” Author Unknown
- “A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.” Joe Dimaggio
- “The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.” Sheryl Sandberg
- “Leaders become great not because of their power but, because of their ability to empower others.” John Maxwell
- “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” Ronald Reagan
15. “Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word.” Brian Tracy
- “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” William Arthur Ward
- “Great things are brought about and burdens are lightened through the efforts of many hands anxiously engaged in a good cause.” Elder M. Russell Ballard
- “Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.” Author Unknown
- “Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just illusions.” Michael Jordan
- “No matter what your mission is, have some notion in your head. Forget the model, whether it’s government or nonprofit or profit. Ask yourself the more important question: Is my mission improving the world? Are you sure about it? Seek to disconfirm that all the time. And if you can, change your mission.” Jeff Bezos
- “I believe we have a responsibility, even if our job is to lead a nonprofit organization, as private citizens to be good citizens and to make our voices heard.” Jerry Falwell, Jr.
- “If we were 100 percent successful, what would our community look like? What would be different? For whom?” Hildy Gottlieb
- “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” Robert F. Kennedy
- “People are yearning to be asked to use the full measure of their potential for something they care about.” Dan Pallotta
- “Sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people.” Nicholas Sparks
- “Your profession is not what brings home your weekly paycheck, your profession is what you’re put here on Earth to do, with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.” Vincent Van Gogh
- “If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.” Les Brown
- “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. That’s the price we have to pay to achieve that goal or any goal.” Vince Lombardi
- “You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things.” Mother Teresa
- “When you encourage others, you boost their self-esteem, enhance their self-confidence, make them work harder, lift their spirits and make them successful in their endeavors. Encouragement goes straight to the heart and is always available. Be an encourager. Always.” Ray Bennett
31. “The best leaders have a high consideration factor. They really care about their people.” Brian Tracy
32. “A leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” Rosalynn Carter
33. “People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.” John Maxwell
34. “Leadership is a two-way street. Loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one’s superiors; care for one’s crew.” Grace Hopper
35. “A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” Arnold H. Glasow
36. “Remember the difference between a boss and a leader; A boss says “Go!” a leader says “Let’s go.” E.M Kelly
37. “The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.” Harvey S. Firestone
38. “To handle yourself, use your head; To handle others, use your heart.” Eleanor Roosevelt
39. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” Albert Einstein
40. “Leadership is an action, not a position.” Donald McGannon
