Here are a few writing prompts to get you thinking creatively about March topics. If you were on our Nonprofit Writing Prompts email list, you would have received these a month ago. I’ll be sending out the writing prompts for April on March 3, so if you’d like to receive those, get on the mailing list now.
Special Days on the Calendar
3/2: Dr. Suess’s Birthday. Have a favorite story that’s really a bigger life lesson related to your cause? They read The Lorax out loud at graduation when I received my Environmental Science degree at Cal . . .
3/8-9 : Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras (the 8th) and the Start of Lent (the 9th). Mardi Gras is a celebration of feasting and excess right before the season of Lent, which is a period of fasting and repentance. What would a Mardi Gras mask for your cause look like, and what would someone who wants to make a difference give up for Lent? What’s the feast/famine in your field?
3/13: Daily Savings Time Begins. We are springing forward, which means losing an hour of our lives (OK, not really, but it sure feels like it). What would you do if you could get that hour back? It’s supposed to be about better use of daylight, so what can your supporters do with all their extra sunlight?
3/17: St. Patrick’s Day. You have lots of ways to connect here: think luck of the Irish, green, leprechauns, beer, and shamrocks.
3/20: First Day of Spring. Woo-Hoo!! Lots to work with here, which brings us to our metaphor for the month.
Metaphor of the Month
Spring as a season is itself a metaphor. What about your cause or your work is like . . .
- Hard ground softening
- Tulips poking through
- Animals coming out of hibernation
- Snow caps melting
- Buds and blossoms
- Triumph, rebirth, renewal
Pop Culture, Events, and News
South by Southwest, the music/film/interactive conference is March 11-20. Peruse the session topics for what the hipsters think is hot right now.
March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament starts March 15, with the Final Four on April 2 and 4. Does your organization or field have its own version of March “madness” or can you put a twist on the idea of brackets?
Major League Baseball teams are in Spring Training. What’s the equivalent in your field? Opening Day is March 31.
Source of the Month
Go to Alltop.com and find the topic most closely related to your mission, either via the search or by clicking around on the main categories or the alphabet. For example, you’ll find Alltop pages on animal rescue, climate change, racism, homeless, human rights, science, violence prevention, and lots of other topics in between.
Once you find your page, skim through all those headlines (these are blog post headlines you are perusing.) Do you spot any trends? Anything that you could riff on? Scanning an Alltop page is great way to take the pulse of your field.
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