Is this true. If so, why?

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Sure is. It's selfish to give, because it makes you feel good. But don't make that insight keep you from giving. Any Buddhist could tell you that.

And it's an ideal excuse if you want to give somebody an extraordinary gift and don't want to be embarrassed by profuse thanks. Just tell 'em that they've given you an opportunity to feel great, and that you're the one who's thankful.

I think a giver should be thankful, whether it be money or services or just friendship. We should be thankful that we have something of worth to be able to give. It is a blessing. A double blessing if it can help someone else, also.

I believe so. When you truely give something; a gift, your time, friendship, love, whatever, it is done unconditionally. If a person "gives" while expecting a return, regardless of what return they expect, then it really isn't giving. Yes, it is nice to be appreciated, but that is just something pleasant for someone else to do. I am thankful any time I can truthfully give, and it makes me a more full person.

Agreed.

Giving is far more enjoyable/worthwhile/rewarding/correct than receiving.

As I said in a previous post....I give because I'm in a position to give that others may not be. This does not make me a better person than the receiver as I just have an advantage and the tables could be turned so very easily, though when I give I do not require anything back.

I've italicized advantage because I question if just having more money is deemed an advantage.

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The giver should of course be aware that (s)he is doing the recipient a favour by giving him/her the opportunity to accept the gift, thereby allowing the donor to make a good deed.

Etc.

as a child my mother always warned us about loaning money and the like.

the general creedo was

do not loan that which you cannot afford nor to someone that isnt worth the loan/gift.

Also as someone else posted the giver really should be thankful that they can give their gift be it whatever it is because it was a gift to them to start off with. meaning that the creator gifted them with the means to make such donations to others.

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Giving is how anything that exists is strengthened (increased in value). That one gives it is the way in which one recognizes they have it. And with all REAL gifts, the giver loses nothing and gains in (understanding of) value of the gift. When giving is understood as the way to increase value in that which you have (are), I believe it becomes easily understood in how it serves one to be thankful for the opportunity to give.

The idea that the giver loses something in the process and therefore is offering a "sacrifice" is precisely the opposite of how I've come to understand what it means to truly give something. Anything that can be perceived as sacrificed is not something that the giver ever truly had.

I believe this interpretation puts a different spin on the divine suggestion of "give everything you have to the poor" (those who perceive themselves as "poor").