Planning Ahead - April & May Holidays Your #Nonprofit Can Use

As many of you know, there is a page on this blog dedicated to holidays nonprofit organizations may be able to use for creative awareness or fundraising campaigns or internal management - such as getting your volunteers and team behind National Volunteer Week (April 10-16). Or you could get your staff to take part in National Card and Letter Writing Month, writing to donors. And I'd love to see an organization embrace National Inspirational News Week as a way to kickoff a program that regularly illustrates the positive impact the organization has.

In May, highlights include Donate-A-Day's-Wages Day, International Museum Day, National New Friends, Old Friends Week (Good for using on Facebook?) and Teacher Appreciation Week. If you have any doubts about that last one, make sure you watch this video recently shared with me by Heidi Ketrosey Massey:

So here are some April & May holidays you can use. If you're interested in planning further ahead or reviewing some of the guidelines on making these holiday campaigns successful for your organization, make sure to visit the original page.

Here's a quick snapshot of some of April's holidays you may be able to use:

Adult Autism Day
April Fools or All Fools Day
Arbor Day
Autism Awareness Month
Cancer Control Month
Child Abuse Prevention Month
Earth Day
Every Day is Earth Day
Global Child Nutrition Month
Golden Rule Week
Jazz Appreciation Month
National & Global Youth Service Days
National Card and Letter Writing Month
National Child Abuse Prevention Month
National Environmental Week
National Garden Month
National Go Birding Day
National Inspirational News Week
National Love Our Children Day
National Networking Week
National Park Week
National Parkinson's Awareness Month
National Public Health Week
National Sexual Assault Awareness Month
National Volunteer Week
National Week of the Ocean
Physical Wellness Month
Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month
School Library Media Month
Testicular Cancer Awareness Week
World Autism Day
World Habitat Awareness Month
World Health Day
World Hemophilia Day
World Parkinson's Disease Day

And here's a look at some of May's holidays you may be able to use:

ALS Awareness Month
American Wetlands Month
Arthritis Awareness Month
Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Be Kind To Animals Week
Birthmother's Day (Saturday before Mother's Day)
Brain Tumor Awareness Month
Childhood Depression Awareness Day
Children's Book Week
Children's Mental Health Awareness Day
Children's Mental Health Week
Clean Air Month
Donate A Day's Wages To Charity
Drinking Water Week
EcoDriving Month
Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month
Go Fetch! Food Drive for Homeless Animals Month
Heal the Children Month
International Day of Families
International Jazz Day
International Migratory Bird Day
International Museum Day
Letter Carrier's Food Drive Day
Loyalty Day
Lupus Awareness Month
Memorial Day
Mother Ocean Day
Mother's Day
National Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month
National Anxiety & Depression Awareness Week
National Bike to Work Day
National Bike to Work Week
National Dance Day
National Endangered Species Day
National Family Week
National Hepatitis Awareness Month
National Hug Holiday Week
National Mental Health Month
National New Friends, Old Friends Week
National Pet Week
National Photo Month
National Physical Fitness & Sports Month
National Preservation Month
National Smile Month
National Stroke Awareness Month
National Teacher Day
National Wildflower Week
National Women's Health Week
Neighbor Day
Personal History Month
Reading is Fun Week
Teacher Appreciation Week
Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month
Women's Health Care Month
World Asthma Day
World Fair Trade Day
World Hypertension Day
World Turtle Day
Young Achievers of Tomorrow Month

Love For Nonprofits

Just a friendly reminder to show some love to your favorite nonprofits... and to find some new ones to love. Nonprofit organizations make a huge impact on our world and the local communities within. I certainly [heart] nonprofits and hope you do too!

Planning Ahead - February Holidays Your Nonprofit Can Use

As many of you know, there is a page on this blog dedicated to holidays nonprofit organizations may be able to use for creative awareness or fundraising campaigns or internal management - such as getting your volunteers and team behind Random Acts of Kindness Week (February 14-18) - By the way, if you're a manager, take advantage of this excuse to surprise your employees with some kindness.

So, about three weeks in advance, to give you a little time to plan ahead, I give you some February holidays you can use. If you're interested in planning further ahead or reviewing some of the guidelines on making these holiday campaigns successful for your organization, make sure to visit the original page.

Here's a quick snapshot of some of February's holidays you may be able to use:

Adopt A Rescued Rabbit Month
Alzheimers and Dementia Awareness Week
American Heart Month
Celebration of Love Week
Children's Authors & Illustrators Week
Give Kids A Smile Day
International Friendship Week
Just Say No to Powerpoints Week
Library Lovers Month
Love Your Pet Day
National African American History Month
National Bird Feeding Month
National Black History Month
National Donor Day - IMPORTANT - this is meant as organ donors.
National Entrepreneurship Week
National Have A Heart Day
National Women's Heart Day
Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month
Random Acts of Kindness Week
Rare Disease Day
Valentines Day
Women's Heart Week
World Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day
World Day for Social Justice
World Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week
Youth Leadership Month

Planning Ahead: January Holidays Your Nonprofit Can Use

As many of you know, there is a page on this blog dedicated to holidays nonprofit organizations may be able to use for creative awareness or fundraising campaigns or internal management - such as getting your team behind Universal Letter Writing Week (January 8-14). I'm going to try and do this about a month in advance every month, to give you a little time to plan ahead. If you're interested in planning further ahead or reviewing some of the guidelines on making these holiday campaigns successful for your organization, make sure to visit the original page.

Here's a quick snapshot of some of January's holidays you may be able to use:

Bird Day
Birth Defects Month
Cervical Cancer Screening Month
Fun at Work Day - Please use this one, it's great for your team!
Healthy Weight Week
Humanitarian Day
Hunt For Happiness Week
I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore Day - Great for asking your constituents to take a stand for your cause.
Inspire Your Heart with Art Day - Not just for art-focused nonprofits. Use art to illustrate your efforts and impact. Remember, photography, children's art... there are many ways to use this one.
International Creativity Month - Is there a contest you can have in honor of this month? Asking for creative campaign or solicitation ideas? Campaign themes?
International Quality of Life Month
Martin Luther King Day
National Cut Your Energy Costs Day
National Glaucoma Awareness Month
National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
National Mentoring Month - Another great one to use internally & externally!
National Poverty in America Awareness Month
National Volunteer Blood Donor Month - If you can, give blood. It's the easiest philanthropic gift you can make (again, if you can).
New Years Day
New Year's Resolutions Week
Thyroid Awareness Month
Trivia Day - Come up with 10 trivia questions about your organization and its efforts - some fun, some illustrating impact and some that are really trivial. Direct folks to the page in honor of Trivia Day (January 4).
Universal Letter Writing Week - Have everyone on your team write a letter to a handful of random donors to say thanks. Or... ask your donors, volunteers & beneficiaries to write a letter to local media outlets and online to highlight your organization.

Best Practice: Thanksgiving Email Illustrating Impact

As you might imagine, I get a number of Thanksgiving messages - email, social media, mail. I thought I would highlight one or two that best caught my attention, with a few insights. The first post was regarding an email I received from Earthjustice. The second post was about the EpicThanks campaign. This third post highlights a great email from Defenders of Wildlife that does an excellent job illustrating the impact the organization and, in turn, its donors had during the past year. Here is the email:

A few notes on the email:

• Great focus on impact, including links to five varied stories - at least one of which is likely to appeal to the recipient's passions.
• The three images at the top make it more likely that the reader will connect with one of those animals, if not all three.
• I appreciate the image of the organization's president, as it puts a personal face on the message and the organization.
• The P.S. is a nice 'gift' to the recipient, but also engages the reader on an on-going basis, if they download the free wallpaper. There are actually 33 different wallpapers to choose from. Since I've always been a fan of otters - here's a look at my favorite:

Kudos Defenders of Wildlife!

Best Practice: Thanksgiving Campaign @EpicChange

The @EpicChange campaign is well documented and often cited as an early example of putting Twitter to use for social change. If you've heard the term "Tweetsgiving" you have @EpicChange to thank.

Here is how they describe themselves online:

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Epic Thanks is a global celebration that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. Founded in 2008, the original TweetsGiving celebration was imagined and implemented by six volunteers in six days, and quickly became the #1 trending topic on Twitter as thousands of grateful tweets from across the globe filled the stream.

But the truth is TweetsGiving was never about twitter or social media. It's about the gratitude in our hearts, and the transformative power our thankfulness can have when we share it with one another. It's about cultivating a deep sense of for those remarkable souls who create hope in our world. That's why this year, TweetsGiving becomes Epic Thanks.

Over the past two years, from the gratitude of thousands, this global event has built two classrooms and a library in Arusha, Tanzania, where the twitterkids, led by local changemaker Mama Lucy Kamptoni, learn and grow at one of the best primary schools in their country.

This year, the celebration will spread to honor even more changemakers in other parts of the world. Stay tuned here to be the first to find out whose hopeful dreams we'll invest in this year.

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This year's campaign looks great and will hopefully celebrate similar success over the next few days. Here's a look at the campaign:

Campaign email:

It's engaging, acknowledges that I have participated in the past and immediately encourages me to get involved again. The only negative? For some reason, the one image doesn't load in any of the browsers I tried.

The website:

You can post to Twitter or Facebook and immediately show gratitude and promote the campaign. You can also personalize your own thank you card (see below).

Tweet:

Facebook:

Thank you note generator:

Best Practice: Thanksgiving Email

As you might imagine, I get a number of Thanksgiving messages - email, social media, mail. I thought I would highlight one or two that best caught my attention, with a few insights. This first post is regarding the email I received from Earthjustice. It was simple, to the point and linked to an impressive video. Here's the email:


My only complaint is that the unEARTHED component asking what I am thankful for is not more prominently featured. It looks like an afterthought at the end of the message... which could be interpreted as Earthjustice not caring what I think (NOTE: I don't think that's what they think).

Planning Ahead: Dec. Holidays Your Nonprofit Can Use

As many of you know, there is a page on this blog dedicated to holidays nonprofit organizations may be able to use for creative awareness or fundraising campaigns or internal management - such as getting your team behind National Write A Business Plan Month (December). I'm going to try and do this about a month in advance every month, to give you a little time to plan ahead. If you're interested in planning further ahead or reviewing some of the guidelines on making these holiday campaigns successful for your organization, make sure to visit the original page.

Here's a quick snapshot of some of December's holidays you may be able to use:

Coats & Toys for Kids Day
Day With(out) Art Day
Human Rights Day
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
International Human Solidarity Day
International Volunteer Day for Economic & Social Development
National Write A Business Plan Month
Special Kids Day
Tolerance Week
Universal Hour of Peace Day
Universal Human Rights Month
World Aids Month
World Peace Day/Winter Solstice