Awareness Days and Key Dates Nonprofits Should Know About in 2026

If you work in the nonprofit or charity space, you already know this truth even if you do not always like it: content planning is exhausting when you are reacting instead of preparing.

Awareness days are not just social media filler. Used well, they give you structure, permission to speak, and a reason to show up consistently without having to invent relevance from scratch every week. Used badly, they become noise.

This 2026 awareness calendar is here to help you plan with intention. Not to post on every single day. Not to stretch your mission until it snaps. But to see what is coming, choose what fits, and build campaigns that make sense for your organisation and your capacity.

The dates below are lifted exactly as published by Charity Digital. Nothing has been removed. Nothing has been reworded. Your job is to decide what matters and ignore the rest.

JANUARY 2026

01–31 January | Dry January
01–31 January | Veganuary
02 January | World Introvert Day
04 January | World Braille Day
11 January | Human Trafficking Awareness Day
19 January | World Religion Day
20 January | Martin Luther King Day
19–26 January | Cervical Cancer Prevention Week
24 January | International Day of Education
25 January | Burns Night
25 January | World Leprosy Day
27 January | Holocaust Memorial Day

FEBRUARY 2026

01 February–01 March | Black History Month (US)
01 February–01 March | LGBT+ History Month
04 February | World Cancer Day
04 February | International Day of Human Fraternity
02–08 February | Race Equality Week
05 February | Time to Talk Day
06 February | Reclaim Social Day
06 February | International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM
10 February | Safer Internet Day
09–15 February | National Apprenticeship Week
13 February | Galentine’s Day
14 February | Valentine’s Day
14 February | International Book Giving Day
17 February | Start of Ramadan
17 February | Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year
17 February | Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)
18 February | Ash Wednesday
20 February | National Love Your Pet Day
20 February | World Day of Social Justice
28 February | Rare Disease Day

MARCH 2026

01–31 March | Women’s History Month
01 March | International Wheelchair Day
01 March | Zero Discrimination Day
03 March | World Hearing Day
03 March | World Wildlife Day
04 March | Holi Festival
05 March | World Book Day
08 March | International Women’s Day
15 March | Mother’s Day (UK)
16 March | Disabled Access Day
19 March | Eid al-Fitr
20 March | International Day of Happiness
21 March | World Down Syndrome Day
22 March | World Water Day
28 March | Earth Hour Day
31 March | International Trans Visibility Day

APRIL 2026

01 April | Passover Begins
01 April | April Fool’s Day
02 April | World Autism Awareness Day
02 April | International Children’s Book Day
03 April | Good Friday
05 April | Easter Sunday
07 April | World Health Day
10 April | Siblings Day
11 April | World Parkinson’s Day
15 April | World Art Day
21 April | National Tea Day
22 April | Earth Day
22 April | Stephen Lawrence Day
20–26 April | Lesbian Visibility Week
23 April | St George’s Day
25 April | World Malaria Day
27 April–03 May | MS Awareness Week

MAY 2026

01–31 May | Coeliac Awareness Month
03 May | World Press Freedom Day
03 May | International Family Equality Day
04 May | Star Wars Day
04 May | May Day
05 May | African World Heritage Day
07 May | World Password Day
08 May | World Ovarian Cancer Day
10 May | World Lupus Day
10 May | Fair Trade Day
12 May | International Nurses Day
12 May | Mental Health Awareness Week
15 May | Endangered Species Day
17 May | Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
18 May | International Museum Day
20 May | National Rescue Dog Day
21 May | Global Accessibility Awareness Day
24 May | World Schizophrenia Day
25 May | International Missing Children’s Day
26–27 May | Eid Al-Adha
28 May | World Blood Cancer Day
30 May | World MS Day

JUNE 2026

01–07 June | Volunteers’ Week
01–30 June | Pride Month
01 June | World Reef Awareness Day
05 June | World Environment Day
06 June | D-Day
07 June | National Cancer Survivor’s Day
08 June | World Oceans Day
08 June | Parents’ Day
14 June | World Blood Donor Day
15–21 June | Learning Disability Week
18 June | Autistic Pride Day
20 June | World Refugee Day
21 June | Father’s Day
22 June | World Rainforest Day
23 June | International Women in Engineering Day
27 June | National PTSD Awareness Day

JULY 2026

01 July | International Joke Day
11 July | World Population Day
17 July | World Emoji Day
28 July | World Hepatitis Day
30 July | International Friendship Day

AUGUST 2026

08 August | International Cat Day
09 August | Book Lovers Day
09 August | International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
12 August | International Youth Day
19 August | World Humanitarian Day
22 August | International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
23 August | International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
26 August | International Dog Day
31 August | International Overdose Awareness Day

SEPTEMBER 2026

01 September | World Letter Writing Day
04 September | World Sexual Health Day
04 September | National Food Bank Day
05 September | International Day of Charity
08 September | International Literacy Day
10 September | World Suicide Prevention Day
12 September | Stand Up To Cancer Day
14 September | Ganesh Chaturthi
18 September | International Equal Pay Day
20 September | Yom Kippur
20–26 September | International Week of the Deaf
21 September | World Alzheimer’s Day
21 September | International Day of Peace
23 September | Bisexual Visibility Day
23 September | International Day of Sign Languages
25 September | World’s Biggest Coffee Morning
29 September | World Heart Day
29 September | International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

OCTOBER 2026

01 October | LGBT History Month (US)
01 October | Black History Month (UK)
01 October | Stoptober
01 October | Breast Cancer Awareness Month
01 October | World Vegetarian Day
02 October | International Day of Non-Violence
04 October | World Animal Day
05 October | World Teachers’ Day
06 October | World Cerebral Palsy Day
07 October | World Financial Planning Day
08 October | World Sight Day
10 October | World Mental Health Day
10 October | World Homeless Day
10 October | World Hospice and Palliative Care Day
11 October | International Day of the Girl
13 October | International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
16 October | World Food Day
17 October | International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
24 October | United Nations Day
29 October | World Stroke Day
31 October | Halloween

NOVEMBER 2026

01 November | Movember
01 November | World Vegan Day
02–06 November | Trustees Week
05 November | Bonfire Night
05 November | World Tsunami Awareness Day
08 November | Start of Diwali
08 November | Remembrance Sunday
09 November | World Adoption Day
11 November | Armistice Day
13 November | World Kindness Day
14 November | World Diabetes Day
15 November | National Philanthropy Day
16 November | International Day for Tolerance
20 November | World Children’s Day
20 November | Transgender Day of Remembrance
25 November | International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
30 November | Cyber Monday

DECEMBER 2026

01 December | World AIDS Day
01 December | Giving Tuesday
02 December | International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
03 December | International Day for Disabilities
04 December | Wildlife Conservation Day
04 December | First Day of Hanukkah
05 December | International Volunteer Day
09 December | International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide
10 December | Human Rights Day
10 December | Christmas Jumper Day
20 December | International Human Solidarity Day
25 December | Christmas Day
26 December | Boxing Day
31 December | New Year’s Eve

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