Looking for social media or newsletter ideas for October? We have them! Psst, you can also use these writing ideas for blog posts, videos and more. These writing ideas for October come from our Monthly Nonprofit Writing Prompts email newsletter. Fill out the form below to get November’s prompts emailed to you the week of October 2nd.

Your Writing Prompts for October 2024

On the Calendar

10/01: National Homemade Cookie Day or World Vegetarian Day. Share your favorite cookie or vegetarian recipes or have your staff or supporters shares theirs.

10/04: World Smile Day. If cooking isn’t your thing, share photos of your volunteers or clients smiling and tell their stories. If you are a health related org, you can promote dental health.

10/05: Do Something Nice Day. Encourage your supporters to do something nice for someone else in your name.

10/05: World Teacher’s Day. Point out some of the educators in your field and what they have done for your cause.

10/09: Curious Events Day. Are people curious about a certain program or person regarding your organization? Or are there any “curious events” related to your organization or cause?

10/12: Moment of Frustration Day. Vent away or provide some ideas on releasing frustration in a healthy way. Encourage your readers to share what frustrates them on your social media posts or in the comment section on your blog.

10/13: Train Your Brain Day. Share some brain teasers, word puzzles or riddles that relate to your organization and get your supporters using their brains in a different way.

10/14: Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day. What new frontiers are you exploring? Or how can you honor those who lived here first?

10/14: Canadian Thanksgiving Day. Thank your clients, volunteers and supporters.

10/16: Bosses Day. Do a “Day in the Life” of your boss feature or highlight the “real” boss of the organization.

10/16: Dictionary Day. Help your readers define some of the jargon associated with your cause. (Then stop using it in communications to them!)

10/19: Evaluate Your Life Day. Report back to your donors on what’s happening at your nonprofit.

10/26: Make a Difference Day. This is a day to encourage volunteers and community service.

10/30: Mischief Night. Encourage your supporters to make a little mischief and flood your legislators inboxes, voicemails, and mail boxes with concerns on a vote or issue that affects your cause.

10/31: Halloween. Give us some insight into staff personalities and let us know what they will be for Halloween. Tell us what your favorite candy is. This can be a great time for lighter updates if your org deals with heavy topics.

October is also:

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
• Domestic Violence Awareness Month
• Sarcastic Month
• Vegetarian Month
• Global Diversity Awareness Month
• National Disability Employment Awareness Month
• ADHD Awareness Month

Week 1 of October is “Getting Organized Week”

Week 2 is “Fire Prevention Week” and “Pet Peeve Week”

Other Dates:

• 10/01: International Music Day
• 10/01: International Coffee Day
• 10/02: Rosh Hashanah begins
• 10/04: World Animal Day
• 10/10: World Mental Health Day
• 10/11: National Coming Out Day
• 10/11: International Day of the Girl
• 10:16: World Food Day
• 10/17: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
• 10/17: LGBTQ+: Spirit Day
• 10/29: National Cat Day

Metaphor of the Month

This month’s metaphor is Fall. Think about leaves changing colors, pumpkin spice everything, Halloween, fears, costumes, cooler weather, Fall Festivals, football, school, apple picking, sweater weather, bonfires, Thanksgiving, shorter days, Black Friday, Giving Tuesday, the color orange, and falling leaves.

How can you relate these things to your organization?

Pop Culture, Events, and News

Many organizations’ Fiscal Years begin on the 1st.

There is a Vice Presidential Debate on the 1st.

The MLB Playoffs will begin in October.

The American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special happens on the 6th in place of the awards show.

The NHL season starts October 10th and the NBA regular season starts October 22nd.

Paris Fashion Week ends the 8th.

Many communities will be hosting fall festivals.

Expect to see lots of “Spooky Season” and pumpkin spice content.

The world’s largest drawing festival, The Big Draw, takes place in October. This year’s theme is #DrawinginMotion.

Movies coming out in theaters this month include Joker: Folie à Deux, White Bird, Devara Part 1, Saturday Night, Piece by Piece, Terrifier 3, Smile 2, Hard Truths, Goodrich, and Venom: The Last Dance.

Streaming movie premiers include Salem’s Lot, Hold Your Breath, House of Spoils, It’s What’s Inside, The Platform 2, Lonely Planet, Woman of the Hour, The Man Who Loved UFOs, Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan And Sara, Don’t Move, Time Cut and Mr. Crocket.

TV shows returning or premiering include Joan, Sullivan’s Crossing, Found, Heartstopper, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Scare Tactics, The Franchise, The Real Housewives of the Potomac, Superman & Lois, 1000-lb Sisters, Accused, The Irrational, Abbot Elementary, House of Villains, Outer Banks, Teacup, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, Disclaimer, Tracker, NCIS, NCIS: Origins, FBI, FBI: International, and FBI: Most Wanted, Shrinking, Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity, Elsbeth, The Lincoln Lawyer, Blue Bloods, Fire Country, Hysteria!, Lopez vs Lopez, Rivals, Shark Tank, SWAT, The Equalizer, The Neighborhood, Poppa’s House, What We Do in the Shadows, Beauty in Black, Lioness, The Marlow Murder Club, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, and The Diplomat.

Source of the Month

Embrace your fears this Halloween season. Be bold and tackle an issue you have been too afraid to write about because it might ruffle some feathers. Or share what scares you.

If you would like these writing ideas sent to your inbox a month in advance, sign up for our Monthly Nonprofit Writing Prompts. I send this email newsletter the first week of every month with prompts for the following month. For example, I will email the prompts for November around October 2nd.

Sign up now to get writing ideas emailed to you in advance monthly.

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We know from our Annual Nonprofit Communications Trends Reports, the vast majority of you feel it is difficult or very difficult to say “no” to your supervisors when they make a work request. We found that most people who have trouble saying “no” give one of these seven reasons:

1. People-Pleasing Nature
2. Organizational Cultural Norms and Expectations
3. If I Don’t Do It, Nobody Will
4. Lack of Understanding About the Strategic Value of Communications Work
5. It’s My Job
6. Because I Am Committed to the Mission
7. Not Knowing What Is Strategic and What Isn’t

But saying “no” is like a magic trick: it can grant you more time in your schedule, reduce burnout and clear your mind.

Unfortunately, all magic comes with price and the price you might pay when you turn someone down is feeling guilty.

But maybe you don’t have to decide between being over-committed or feeling bad about letting someone down.

Let’s look at some reasons why you should say “No” and ways you can do it without feeling like the bad guy.

When you should absolutely say “No”

• It will take your time and attention away from something that is more important
• It does not align with your values
• It will make you feel (more?) burned out
• It will be bad for your mental health
• You know you will regret saying “yes”

Kivi also lists four big reasons why communications staff specifically need the ability to say “No” to work requests in her post Why Communications Staff Need the Ability to Say No:

1. Conclusions: When leaders and other staff often reach their own conclusions about what communications work is needed without understanding best practices.
2. Capacity: Non-communications staff grossly underestimate how long good comms work takes to produce.
3. Conflict: Comms staff are often expected to “just make it work” instead of executives making strategic choices between their own programs.
4. Confusion: Without coordination and appropriate timing of messaging, the people you are communicating with will be confused by too many messages and even conflicting messages received simultaneously from your organization.

Tips on How to Say “No”

“No.” is a complete sentence. You can just literally say “No.” or “No, I can’t do that.”

No really, there is absolutely nothing wrong with just saying “No” to someone without giving any reasons or cushioning it in any way.

But before we get to what words you use, Elizabeth Scott makes these 3 suggestions on how to say it in Say No to People Making Demands on Your Time:

1 Be firm, but polite.

You want to be sympathetic but do not want it to seem like you will change your mind if they push you.

2. Be clear.

If you know you aren’t going to ever say “yes” don’t tell them you will get back to them. You will disappoint them more by leading them to believe there is a chance.

3. No excuses necessary.

You don’t really owe anyone an explanation. A generic “It doesn’t fit with my schedule” should suffice.

Jonathan Alpert adds to those suggestions in  7 Tips for Saying No Effectively

• Say it
• Understand people’s tactics
• Set boundaries
• Put the question back on the person asking
• Be selfish

Ways Nonprofit Communicators Can Say “No”

In her post 7 Ways to Say No Without Actually Saying It, Kivi shares a few approaches to saying “No” that may work for you:

• “Let’s talk about our goal with this. What are we trying to accomplish?”
• “Doing this means I couldn’t do __________ this week. Is that a good trade-off?”
• “How about if I ________ instead?”
• “Can you get me more information?”
• “Let me think about that and get back to you.”
• “I’m going to put that on my Good Ideas List.”
• Say nothing at all.

And Daniel Potter suggests these 5 strategies in How to Say No: A Guide to Saying No Politely:

• Cushion it with kindness or a compliment.
• Give your reasons.
• Be brief, but not brusque.
• Leave the door cracked if the answer is more “not now” than “no”
• Offer an alternative.

If you want to learn more about the psychology behind saying “no” and how it makes us feel, check out How to Say ‘No’ Politely. This article dives into rejection, FOMO and the three ego states among other things. It also shares more tips like plan ahead and keep it simple.

The Gift of Your No

Finally, remember these words from Kate Northrup in How to Say No Politely (While Honoring Yourself)

The gift of your no is that everyone in your life knows that when you do say yes, it’s real. They know where they stand with you. It puts everyone at ease.

And you honoring your “yes’s” and your “no’s” means that you get to trust yourself more and more, each and every day. Since you’re the only one you’ll be spending your entire life with, that’s a pretty big deal.

May we all have the cojones to say no when we mean no and yes when we mean yes.

Content curation should be an important part of your content creation strategy as it can save you time, improve engagement, establish you as a helpful source of information, and can even improve your SEO. Nonprofits can curate content lots of different ways, but let’s talk about some basics first for those of you who have never curated content before.

Nonprofit Content Curation Basics

Content curation is simply gathering relevant content – that may or may not be yours – and sharing it with your followers.

In order to do it effectively, you need to:

• Know your audience and what is relevant to them
• Schedule time to look for content to share
• Share a variety of content from different sources
• Credit your sources*

*Linking to original content doesn’t automatically save you from copyright violations though. See my post Curating Content Versus Stealing It to learn more. 

When trying to find the right kind of content think about the type of content you are known for now. Then ask yourself:

What would the same people who come to you for that advice also want to know?

That’s the content you want to share.

For example, you as a nonprofit communicator are very likely to be interested in changes on a social media channel. But Kivi and I don’t want to write a new post every time social media platforms update something (we wouldn’t have time for anything else!). But there are people who devote all of their time to tracking social media changes so we will curate that content from those places and share it with you.

If you’re an animal rights organization, you are an expert in ending animal suffering. But it would be logical to assume that a lot of your followers would be interested in vegan/vegetarian recipes. Curating these types of recipes for your followers makes sense.

How to Look for Curated Content

Your main goal is to look for quality content that is relevant to your followers. Ask yourself:

• Is this content published by a reputable source?
• Will my audience be informed or entertained?
• How does this content relate to our own content?
• Does this content offer a unique perspective on a topic within our cause?
• Will I be able to add my own point of view/commentary to this content?

Where to Find Content to Curate

• Your social media newsfeeds
• Subscribe to newsletters
• Ask AI
• Google (BUT be aware that the top content has probably already been shared a lot)

Here are some tools you can use to help find content and keep it organized

• Feedly
• Hootsuite
• Google News Alerts
• Curate by UpContent
• TrendSpottr

How Nonprofits Can Share Curated Content

• Social Media

Share links to content from other people and share why you think your readers need to see this. Repost others’ content.

• Link Roundups

Put together a list of posts, articles, videos, etc on a particular topic related to your cause. These can be news roundups or features like “Things You Need to Know This Week/Month” or “What We’re Reading”

• Add Your Own Spin

These posts require a little more thought, but should still be part of curating content especially if you are interested in establishing yourself as an expert source. You could breakdown data from reports or surveys. Share why you agree or disagree with another piece. Or you could combine several different posts on a similar topic into a single comprehensive post to make it easier for your readers to find everything they need to know about that topic. But remember, it’s important you explain why the content is important to your readers.

For an example of this, see my post Can You NOT Be a Morning Person AND Be Successful?

• Curate Your Own Content

Yep, you can even curate your own content like we did with this post combining all of our resources on annual reports.

From our previous Nonprofit Communications Trends Reports, we know less than 20% of nonprofits say they frequently curate or share content from other organizations. We think that’s a missed opportunity as curating content will help you save so much time while still sharing useful information with your followers.

To talk more about content curation and other nonprofit communications best practices, join our private community. It’s free and give you access to discussion boards, resource libraries, special events and more!

Did you know over 16% of emails from nonprofits either go to spam or don’t get delivered at all? Meaning many of you still aren’t maintaining healthy email lists even though we’ve been talking about this for several years now. Your email list needs to be ready for year-end fundraising which, believe it or not, is right around the corner!

A clean email list is essential for making it through the more rigorous filters inbox providers put up to handle the influx of holiday messaging.

Here are 6 things you should do NOW to have your email list ready for a successful year-end email campaign:

1. Try to re-engage lapsed subscribers.

• 6 Messaging Options for Email Re-Engagement Campaigns
• We Are Running an Email Re-Engagement Campaign and People Have Feelings
• We Want You Back! How to Re-Engage Inactive Email Supporters

2. Delete or suppress those who haven’t engaged in AT LEAST 90 days.

• Is a Bigger Email List Always Better? Nope.
• Why Deleting People from Your Email List is a Good Thing
• When to Stop Snail Mailing and Emailing People, Part I
• Should You Contact People Who Unsubscribed from Your Email List?

3. Run some list building campaigns to get new subscribers.

• Nonprofits Should Try Some New Email List Building Techniques
• 3 Email List Building Pop-Ups for Your Website

4. Think of different ways to segment your list.

• Powerful Segmentation Ideas for Year-End Online Fundraising Campaigns
• You Need to Fix Your All or Nothing Email List

5. Create (or freshen up) your welcome series.

• Email Welcome Series Best Practices
• Do You Have an Email Welcome Series for New Subscribers? Probably Not

6. Test your automation processes

Create test email accounts from various inbox providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Apple, etc) to check the subscription/unsubscribe process works like it’s supposed to and to make sure your emails are getting through and look right.

I know it’s September, but taking the time to get your email list ready now will make life so much easier in a few months!

Need more help? We have resources and discussions happening in our private community right now! Not a member of our community? Join now! It’s free.

Need social media and newsletter ideas for September? Then you are in the right place! You can also use these writing ideas for blog posts, videos and more. These writing ideas for September come from our Monthly Nonprofit Writing Prompts email newsletter. Fill out the form below to get October’s prompts emailed to you the week of September 4th.

On the Calendar

You’ll find events with specific dates on the shared Google Calendar.

9/02: Labor Day. Is your organization helping find jobs for those out of work? Interview a volunteer on how they juggle a career and volunteering.

9/06: Read a Book Day. Review a book that highlights your cause. Suggest books to your volunteers that will help them get fired up. (International Literacy Day is on the 8th)

9/08: Grandparents Day. If you work with seniors, do a photo spread of them with their grandchildren. Or have people who have lost their grandparents write letters to them.

9/09: National Boss/Employee Exchange Day. Swap roles with your boss (or vice versa) and document the day for Reels, TikTok, etc.

9/10: Swap Ideas Day. Find another nonprofit to collaborate with to share ideas on a common problem. Find a staff member who works in another area and ask them their thoughts on a problem your area has (like what should we include in our content).

9/12: National Day of Encouragement. Get those quotes ready and give your followers a boost of confidence. Or share how your clients have overcome the odds to show others they can do it too.

9/13: Positive Thinking Day. Share how you WILL eradicate the issues your cause faces. Or talk about toxic positive thinking as it relates to mental health issues.

9/22: Autumn Equinox. Relate the changing of the leaves or fall trends to your cause. Or just make fun of the pumpkin spice everything that’s coming.

9/25: National Comic Book Day. What comic book hero would stand for your cause? What villain would be against you? Can you compare these characters to real-life people in you organization? You can also create your own comic book hero!

9/28: Ask a Stupid Question Day. Is your organization one that’s hard to explain? Know some people who are embarrassed to admit they don’t know the answers? Do a top-ten list of stupid questions you have received. Or turn this idea upside down and take an “apathetic” question like “How can we possibly make a difference, so why bother?” and tell how you will.

September is also:

• Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th – October 15th)
• National African Immigrant Heritage Month
• National Preparedness Month
• Baby Safety Month
• Self Improvement Month
• Classical Music Month
• Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
• Hunger Action Month
• Ovarian Cancer Month
• National Prostate Health Month
• Pain Awareness Month
• National Recovery Month
• Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

Other Dates in September:

• International Day of Charity is the 5th
• International Literacy Day is the 8th
• Stand Up to Cancer Day is the 13th
• World Suicide Prevention Day is the 10th
• 911 Remembrance Day is the 11th
• International Day of Democracy is the 15th
• Mexican Independence Day is the 16th
• Talk Like a Pirate Day is the 19th
• International Day of Peace is the 21st
• Business Women’s Day in the 22nd
• World Rivers Day is the 22nd
• Native American Day is the 27th

Metaphor of the Month

This month’s metaphor is School. Think about classrooms, virtual learning, textbooks, a syllabus, principals, teachers, students, tests, desks, chalkboard, smartboards, recess, dress codes, subjects, computers, detention, field trips, homework, back-to-school shopping, and report cards.

How can you relate these things to your organization?

Pop Culture, Events, and News

This NFL season kick offs on the 5th.

The US Open for tennis will wrap up the 8th.

There is a Presidential Debate scheduled for the 10th.

The MTV Video Music Awards are the 11th.

The Emmy Awards are the 15th.

The 37th Hispanic Heritage Awards are on the 27th.

Oktoberfest in Germany happens as well as local fests in the US.

Movies coming out in September include Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Transformers One, Speak No Evil, The Killer’s Game, Megalopolis, The Wild Robot, Lee, and Never Let Go .

On streaming platforms, we have Apollo 12: Survival, Uglies, Wolfs, and Rez Ball.

TV Premieres include English Teacher, Last One Standing, Slow Horses, Tell Me Lies, The Perfect Couple, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, Power Book II: Ghost, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Selling Sunset, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Bob’s Burgers, Billionaire Island, Emily in Paris, The Old Man, How to Die Alone, Three Women, The Great North, Universal Basic Guys, My Brilliant Friend, Sister Wives, Tulsa King, Halloween Baking Championship, Dancing with the Stars, High Potential, Agatha All Along, The Golden Bachelorette, Survivor, Frasier, The Penguin, 60 Minutes, Matlock, Rescue HI-Surf, 9-1-1: Lonestar, Brilliant Minds, The Voice, Murder in a Small Town, Penelope, Chicago Fire, Med, and P.D., Grotesquerie, The Masked Singer, 9-1-1, Doctor Odyssey, Grey’s Anatomy, Hell’s Kitchen, Nobody Wants This, The Simpsons, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol.

Source of the Month

Blog Round Up. Pick a topic related to your cause and create a blog post with links to recent articles, studies or blog posts.

If you would like these ideas sent to your inbox a month in advance, sign up for our Monthly Nonprofit Writing Prompts. I send this email newsletter the first week of every month with prompts for the following month. For example, I will email the prompts for October around September 6th.

Sign up now to get prompts emailed to you in advance monthly.

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Earlier today I presented a brand new webinar Easier Content Creation for Nonprofits: Mastering AI, Repurposing and Curation. In addition to tips on repurposing and curating content, I included a whole section on writing better AI prompts for your communications.

Want to watch the recording of this webinar? Become an All-Access Pass Holder! You can watch this webinar and hours of other recorded webinars, PLUS attend as many live webinars as you want for 365 days.

What Is Generative AI?

Think ChatGPT. Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create content based on a user’s request.  That request is called a prompt. And how well your prompt is written is the key to getting the best results from generative AI.

(If you aren’t familiar with AI, see How Marketers Are Using AI (Plus 4 Helpful Tips) to get started.)

There are several different types of AI prompts including:

• Creative – when you’re asking AI to create or compose
• Informational – you’re asking for details, facts or other information
• Reasoning – you’re asking AI to draw thoughtful conclusions about a subject
• Listicle – you’re asking AI to give you the results in a list format
• Instructional – you’re asking AI to give you the results in a step-by-step guide
• Differing Viewpoints – you’re asking for AI to take the opposite side of an argument (AI can’t actually give you an opinion)
• Summary – you’re asking AI to summarize a larger amount of information
• Keyword – you’re asking AI to focus on specific words or phrases and include them in its results

If you have tried using generative AI like ChatGPT, but just don’t like the results you are getting, it may be time to work on your prompts.

Writing Better AI Prompts

Use these tips to write better AI prompts that give you the BEST results:

1. Provide as much context as possible
2. Be specific and detailed
3. Explain what you want to achieve
4. Give the platform
5. Define tone of voice (and use it)
6. Give desired length
7. Ask for more than one result

When writing your AI prompts, be as specific and detailed as you can. And provide as much context as you can including where the content will be posted, how long it needs to be, and the tone/voice you want. And be sure to use that tone and voice even in the prompts. AI pays attention to everything you input.

For example, instead of just saying “I need a blog post about hiking safety,” your prompt should be something like:

I need a 400 to 500-word blog post written in a casual friendly tone about the dangers of hiking the Pacific Coast Trail during summer. Make it a top 10 list. The target audience is people in their 30s.

The second prompt will give you more tailored results meaning you don’t have to work as hard to edit it. And don’t be afraid to refine the prompt based on the results you get.

And be sure to ask for more than one result especially if you are using it for email subject lines or titles.

If you didn’t like the content AI comes back with, follow up with a prompt that explains what you liked about the results and what you didn’t. If you didn’t like the tone, give it an example of something written in that tone and ask it to try again.

Think of generative AI as a freelancer and give it the same feedback you would give a graphic designer. It’s really just a conversation.

But remember:

DOUBLE-CHECK EVERYTHING!

Harmful content, racial bias, copyright violations, and misinformation are all real issues. If your organization doesn’t have an AI policy, then go do that first! (And yes, Pass Holders have access to our AI policy webinar recording and templates)

AI is here to stay whether you like it or not. And it can be a helpful tool in your content creation process if you use it right.

Want to work together on your prompts? Join us for a Community Study Hall: Creating Better AI Prompts. Not a member of our community? Join now! It’s free.

You rushed out the door this morning and left your raincoat or umbrella, and it, of course, rains.

You didn’t get gas yesterday because you just wanted to get home after a long day and now you have to unexpectedly drive across town to take your child to the doctor.

You didn’t prepare a blog post for today because you were stressed because you’ve been working on a big project and now you are scrambling to post something. (OK, that one was me today!)

For all of us out there who end up piling on more stress trying to avoid stress, here are 10 tips from Gretchen Rubin’s 20 Very Easy Tips for Lowering Your Daily Stress Level.

“A little effort now means a lot less stress, later.”

Gretchen Rubin

1. Get up thirty minutes earlier than usual. I started with 15 minutes cause I am SO NOT a morning person and even that has helped.
2. Before you go to sleep, prepare for the morning. If I am working out in the morning, I pick out what I am going to wear and have the dogs poop bags ready to go (weird I know, but they always give me trouble opening them on mornings when I am rushing).
3. Bring a hat and an umbrella. This isn’t quite as important since I work from home, but I do keep an umbrella in my car.
4. Make a list. Pfft this one is easy for a list-making fool like me and it does in fact relieve stress instantly.
5. Listen to a favorite song. “I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Pony Club” puts me in a better mood instantly.
6. Keep an extra set of keys. This has saved the day on more than one occasion.
7. Exercise. As cranky as I am in the morning getting up to either walk the dogs or go work out, I am instantly in a better mood after (unless Hazel saw a cat, then I am probably still cranky and possibly in pain).
8. Throw something away. OK, bye bye sticky note that’s been sitting on my desk for three months with “$566” written on it that I have no idea what it’s for anymore, but didn’t want to throw away “just in case”.
9. Don’t say mean things about other people. As much as I want to say talking crap about someone who deserves it is cathartic, in the end I usually only get more wound up.
10. Put a Bandaid in your wallet. There is one in my crossbody #momlife

For the full list, visit the Positively Positive blog.

Need some help coming up with ideas for your August social media updates, blog posts, or newsletter articles? We have you covered. These writing ideas for August come from our Monthly Nonprofit Writing Prompts email newsletter. Fill out the form below to get September’s prompts emailed to you next week.

On the Calendar

08/04: Friendship Day. Give a big shout to friends and supporters of your cause or highlight staff, volunteer or client friendships.

8/09: Book Lover’s Day. Review a book or suggest books to your followers that shed some light on your cause.

8/12: International Youth Day. What role do young people play in your cause?

08/17: National Nonprofit Day. Create awareness for your cause by using the hashtag #nationalnonprofitday, thank supporters, or kick off fall fundraising a little early.

8/18: Bad Poetry Day. Have a little fun and write a (bad) poem about your nonprofit.

08/19: World Photography Day. Perfect for Instagram and other social media channels, this is a chance to post your best pictures.

8/21: Senior Citizen’s Day. Does your cause help older people? Honor an older volunteer or staff member.

8/22: Be an Angel Day. Do you have a special person working with you who always goes above and beyond? Who in your field are real angels to people in need?

8/26: Women’s Equality Day. How has women having the right to vote affected your cause?

Also in August:

• National Minority Donor Awareness Day (1st)
• Sisters Day (4th)
• International Cat Day (8th)
• National Women’s Day (9th)
• International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (9th)
• International Youth Day (12th)
• World Humanitarian Day (19th)
• International Dog Day (26th)
• Family Fun Month
• National Breastfeeding Month (United States)
• Water Quality Month
• National Immunization Awareness Month
• National Wellness Month

Metaphor of the Month

This month’s metaphor is Sports. Teams, teaming up, scoring, winning, losing, competition, practice, game face, slam dunk, heavy hitting, goal, touchdown, three strikes, penalty, take aim, best shot, marathon, sore loser, gold medal, training, cancellations.

How can you relate these things to your organization?

Pop Culture, Events, and News

August is back to school time for lots of folks.

Preseason NFL games will start back in August.

The 2024 Black Girls Rock! Awards take place on the 1st.

The 73rd Miss USA Pageant is on the 4th.

The 2024 Summer Olympics will be wrapping up with the closing ceremony will be held on the 11th.

The Perseids Meteor Shower will peak on the 12th-13th.

The Democratic Convention will be held the 19th – 22nd.

The US Open in tennis starts the 26th.

Movies coming out in August include Harold and the Purple Crayon, Kneecap, Trap, Borderlands, It Ends with Us, Cuckoo, Flint Strong, Alien: Romulus, Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 2, Blink Twice, The Crow, The Forge, Slingshot, Afraid, Reagan, You Gotta Believe, They Listen and Kraven the Hunter.

On streaming platforms, we have Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, One Fast Move, The Instigators, Daughters, Jackpot, The Union, Incoming, The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, and The Deliverance.

TV Premieres include Batman: Caped Crusader, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Chicago Bears, The Umbrella Academy, Industry, Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life, Bel-Air, Emily in Paris, Reasonable Doubt, Only Murders in the Building, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and Terminator Zero.

Source of the Month

Recent Reports or Studies. Look for reports and case studies relating to your cause and highlight the key findings from those papers and what they mean to your cause or your clients.

If you would like these ideas sent to your inbox a month in advance, sign up for our Monthly Nonprofit Writing Prompts. I send this email newsletter the first week of every month with prompts for the following month. For example, I will email the prompts for September around August 4th.

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You aren’t imaging things.  It’s hard to get motivated to work during the summer. It’s so hot. Your friends are on vacation. The kids are home.

But you still have emails to send, social media to update, newsletters to publish and the 101 other things you’re asked to do as a nonprofit communicator.

Assuming you can’t just skip work all summer, how can you make it through the next few months?

Here are seven ideas to help you stay motivated at work during summer:

Look at Your Work in a Different Way

Instead of thinking of your lead newsletter article as a burden, think of how it will educate, motivate, or challenge your supporters. Or you can think of it as an important part of your professional development. You are enhancing your writing and marketing skills.

Prioritize Your To-Do List

If your to-do list is overwhelming, narrow it down to the three tasks you HAVE to do today. Then go back and add your other tasks as you go.

Break Your Work Into Smaller Steps

Anything you are working on starts with one smaller step. Don’t worry about the end result and just start with step one.

Just Get Started Already

Sometimes you are just not going to want to do something no matter how much you try to motivate yourself. This is when you Just. Have. To. Start. Working. As I mentioned above, breaking the work into smaller steps should help. It maybe time to take a deep breath and dive in.

Get Hyped

Got a song that gets you pumped? Or maybe a motivational speaker or article can help spark that work? Find it and use it! I am currently on a Chappelle Roan kick.

Reward Yourself

Create some motivation by giving yourself a treat when you complete a task. Chocolate, time on TikTok, a walk – whatever you think of as a treat can work.

Celebrate Your Wins

Keep a daily “Small Wins Diary,” regularly talk about small wins with others (Pass Holders, have a space in our Community devoted to this), and refocus your thoughts away from frustrating “how” questions to the more fulfilling “why” questions related to why you do your work.