Inspire action for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
MLK Day is a national call to service. A day to act on values of equity, community and change. While many observe it as a day off, millions use it as a day of giving back to their communities.
The 2026 theme is “Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way.” Empower your people to take meaningful action on January 19, 2026, honoring a vision of fairness, love, and equal opportunity.
Leverage the resources in this activation kit to easily create a campaign that raises awareness and drives participation on this national day of service.
The 2026 theme is “Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way.” Empower your people to take meaningful action on January 19, 2026, honoring a vision of fairness, love, and equal opportunity.
Leverage the resources in this activation kit to easily create a campaign that raises awareness and drives participation on this national day of service.
Empower your teams to take action
Benevity’s activation kits give you ready-to-use content to launch timely, purpose-driven campaigns, saving you time and helping you boost engagement around key moments like MLK Day. With the ready-to-go, expertly-curated content supporting validated nonprofits, this activation kit will help your team be fully prepared to support MLK Day on January 19, 2026!
Giving opportunity
How to use this content: You can use this template to create a giving opportunity for the MLK Day of Service 2026. We’ve created the text to be broadly useful for different programs. It’s flexible and adaptable so you can customize it for your program.
Build Community on MLK Day:
Honor a vision of fairness, love, and equal opportunity.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is more than a federal holiday. It's a National Day of Service that inspires us to give back to our communities. Observed every third Monday in January, this recognizes Dr. King's life and his powerful, nonviolent leadership during the Civil Rights Movement. His work for justice and equality changed the nation forever. When we honor MLK Day, we actively honor his vision of a society built on fairness, love, and equal opportunity.
This year, the theme is "Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way." This call to action reminds us that while much progress has been made, the work for justice and equality continues. Nonprofits across the country are at the forefront of this effort. They are essential for bringing people together to improve quality of life, access to education, access to healthcare, and more. When we support organizations committed to the world of which Dr. King dreamed, we keep Dr. King's legacy alive.
Honor a vision of fairness, love, and equal opportunity.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is more than a federal holiday. It's a National Day of Service that inspires us to give back to our communities. Observed every third Monday in January, this recognizes Dr. King's life and his powerful, nonviolent leadership during the Civil Rights Movement. His work for justice and equality changed the nation forever. When we honor MLK Day, we actively honor his vision of a society built on fairness, love, and equal opportunity.
This year, the theme is "Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way." This call to action reminds us that while much progress has been made, the work for justice and equality continues. Nonprofits across the country are at the forefront of this effort. They are essential for bringing people together to improve quality of life, access to education, access to healthcare, and more. When we support organizations committed to the world of which Dr. King dreamed, we keep Dr. King's legacy alive.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non Violent Social Change: Inspiring new generations to carry forward his unfinished work.
- Equal Justice Initiative: Challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
- National Urban League: Empowering communities and changing lives.
Volunteer opportunity
How to use this content: You can use this template to create a volunteer opportunity for the MLK Day of Service 2026. We’ve created the text to be broadly useful for different programs. Choose causes that address the unique needs of your communities. Your people may have great ideas on where their service is most valuable and welcome. Your previous volunteer campaigns may also provide some options.
Help Others on MLK Day:
Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. by volunteering on the National Day of Service.
You can be part of something inspiring and powerful by joining with the more than 60 million Americans who volunteer every year. Support your community and honor Martin Luther King, Jr. by getting involved and helping others on the National Day of Service, January 19.
Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. by volunteering on the National Day of Service.
You can be part of something inspiring and powerful by joining with the more than 60 million Americans who volunteer every year. Support your community and honor Martin Luther King, Jr. by getting involved and helping others on the National Day of Service, January 19.
You can participate by doing any of the following activities:
- [INSERT ACTIVITY] to support [INSERT CAUSE NAME/LINK HERE]
- [INSERT ACTIVITY] to support [INSERT CAUSE NAME/LINK HERE]
- [INSERT ACTIVITY] to support [INSERT CAUSE NAME/LINK HERE]
- [INSERT ACTIVITY] to support [INSERT CAUSE NAME/LINK HERE]
Sign up to this volunteer opportunity and commit to helping in your community.
Thank you for volunteering!
Validated nonprofit recommendations
Screening and selecting nonprofits takes a lot of careful work. And we do it for you.
Benevity’s teams research, evaluate and recommend nonprofits based on:
· Up-to-date regulatory information and program eligibility
· Self-certification declarationsCompleted automated clearing house payments/electronic funds transfer details
· Rigorous vetting against multiple watchlists (adverse media, politically exposed persons)
· Regular follow-up to ensure causes remain in good standing
Benevity gives your people access to nearly 2 million validated nonprofits globally.
Benevity’s teams research, evaluate and recommend nonprofits based on:
· Up-to-date regulatory information and program eligibility
· Self-certification declarationsCompleted automated clearing house payments/electronic funds transfer details
· Rigorous vetting against multiple watchlists (adverse media, politically exposed persons)
· Regular follow-up to ensure causes remain in good standing
Benevity gives your people access to nearly 2 million validated nonprofits globally.
For MLK Day of Service, consider supporting:
Equal Justice Initiative
Montgomery, AL
Charity ID: 840-631135091
Martin Luther King Jr Center For Non Violent Social Change
Atlanta, GA
Charity ID: 840-581030989
National Urban League Inc.
New York City, NY
Charity ID: 840-131840489
Equal Justice Initiative
Montgomery, AL
Charity ID: 840-631135091
Martin Luther King Jr Center For Non Violent Social Change
Atlanta, GA
Charity ID: 840-581030989
National Urban League Inc.
New York City, NY
Charity ID: 840-131840489
News articles
How to use this content: This template is designed to help you create a news article, a summary post linking to a volunteer or giving opportunity, to promote the MLK Day of Service. Feel free to customize it to fit your program’s goals and setup. We suggest you link your volunteer and giving opportunities within this template to help drive engagement and track volunteer participation.
Build Community on MLK Day:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is more than a federal holiday. It's a National Day of Service that inspires us to give back to our communities. When we honor MLK Day, we actively honor his vision of a society built on fairness, love, and equal opportunity. Nonprofits across the country are at the forefront of this effort. When we support organizations committed to the world of which Dr. King dreamed, we keep Dr. King's legacy alive.
[LINK TO GIVING OPPORTUNITY]
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is more than a federal holiday. It's a National Day of Service that inspires us to give back to our communities. When we honor MLK Day, we actively honor his vision of a society built on fairness, love, and equal opportunity. Nonprofits across the country are at the forefront of this effort. When we support organizations committed to the world of which Dr. King dreamed, we keep Dr. King's legacy alive.
[LINK TO GIVING OPPORTUNITY]
Help Others on MLK Day:
You can be part of something inspiring and powerful by joining with the more than 60 million Americans who volunteer every year. Support your community and honor Martin Luther King, Jr. by getting involved and helping others on the National Day of Service, January 19.
[VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITY]
You can be part of something inspiring and powerful by joining with the more than 60 million Americans who volunteer every year. Support your community and honor Martin Luther King, Jr. by getting involved and helping others on the National Day of Service, January 19.
[VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITY]
Communication Templates
How to use this content: Here are two templates to spread the word about your campaign. One is to announce the campaign, the other is to share results. Customize the pieces that are enclosed in [square brackets]. Consider adapting the templates based on who is sending and your communication template.
Announcement template:
To: [All employees / All employees in a particular location / All employees in a particular division or department]
Subject: [Email heading]
Body:
[Greeting]
[Add an introduction. If you wish, you can adapt the following: “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is more than a federal holiday. It's a National Day of Service that inspires us to give back to our communities. When we honor MLK Day, we actively honor his vision of a society built on fairness, love, and equal opportunity. Nonprofits across the country are at the forefront of this effort. When we support organizations committed to the world of which Dr. King dreamed, we keep Dr. King's legacy alive.”]
Ways you can help:
Make a donation [Provide more details, and then link to a campaign page or to the pages for the recommended nonprofits in the Benevity platform.]
[If you have Volunteering, you could search for opportunities related to this topic in your local area.]
[You can also include other associated company-wide activities or initiatives.]
[If the campaign is led or sponsored by a team member or by senior leadership, and they are not sending the email, consider including a quote from the campaign’s sponsor.]
[Include a brief summary of why this campaign is important.]
Thank you for your kindness and support!
To: [All employees / All employees in a particular location / All employees in a particular division or department]
Subject: [Email heading]
Body:
[Greeting]
[Add an introduction. If you wish, you can adapt the following: “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is more than a federal holiday. It's a National Day of Service that inspires us to give back to our communities. When we honor MLK Day, we actively honor his vision of a society built on fairness, love, and equal opportunity. Nonprofits across the country are at the forefront of this effort. When we support organizations committed to the world of which Dr. King dreamed, we keep Dr. King's legacy alive.”]
Ways you can help:
Make a donation [Provide more details, and then link to a campaign page or to the pages for the recommended nonprofits in the Benevity platform.]
[If you have Volunteering, you could search for opportunities related to this topic in your local area.]
[You can also include other associated company-wide activities or initiatives.]
[If the campaign is led or sponsored by a team member or by senior leadership, and they are not sending the email, consider including a quote from the campaign’s sponsor.]
[Include a brief summary of why this campaign is important.]
Thank you for your kindness and support!
Results email template:
To:
[All employees / All employees in a particular location / All employees in a particular division or department]
Subject:
[Email heading]
Body:
[Greeting.]
[Add an introduction. The introduction may be similar or adapted from the introduction in the announcement e-mail.]
[Summarize the list of possible action items you included in the previous e-mail.]
[Summarize the results of these action items, including the amount raised, the number of volunteer hours, the number of Challenges completed, the number of people who participated, etc.]
[Mention any specific activities or successes that you would like to highlight.][If possible, include the personal story and/or a quote from someone who participated in the campaign.]
[If available, include an image of someone participating in the campaign.]
[Include a final congratulations and thank you.]
[If appropriate, include a reference to other initiatives you wish to highlight, or preview your program’s next campaign.]
To:
[All employees / All employees in a particular location / All employees in a particular division or department]
Subject:
[Email heading]
Body:
[Greeting.]
[Add an introduction. The introduction may be similar or adapted from the introduction in the announcement e-mail.]
[Summarize the list of possible action items you included in the previous e-mail.]
[Summarize the results of these action items, including the amount raised, the number of volunteer hours, the number of Challenges completed, the number of people who participated, etc.]
[Mention any specific activities or successes that you would like to highlight.][If possible, include the personal story and/or a quote from someone who participated in the campaign.]
[If available, include an image of someone participating in the campaign.]
[Include a final congratulations and thank you.]
[If appropriate, include a reference to other initiatives you wish to highlight, or preview your program’s next campaign.]
