How to Submit an Article
Open Call for Submissions
Blue Avocado publishes articles written by nonprofit leaders with real nonprofit experience.
We focus on practical insights grounded in real challenges, real decisions, and real outcomes.
If you have served on a board, led a nonprofit, managed a team, or raised funds, we want to hear what you learned.
- Read the basic submission requirements.
- Blue Avocado is looking for articles that fit these categories.
- Important: Write from your nonprofit experience.
- These content standards will help as you write.
- Here’s how donations work.
- Learn how to submit your article.
Submission Requirements
Experience comes first.
All submissions should focus on “Here is what we were facing”. “Here is what we did”, and “Here is what we learned”.
- Submissions must be original.
- Submissions must be new and not previously published on other websites.
- Exceptions are made for published authors that may wish to include a chapter out of their book – if said chapter has not been published elsewhere online.
- AI-generated content is prohibited. (We’ll know.)
- Written submissions must be a minimum of 1,000 words. Videos should no more than 10 minutes in length.
Blue Avocado Article Categories
We publish a wide range of nonprofit content. Submissions in the areas below receive editorial priority:
Submissions in these topics are still welcome, but they do not receive editorial priority:
We are not considering submissions on the following topics:
- Interim executives / interim leadership
- Submissions not written from experience
- Submissions written by AI
- Academic or theoretical commentary
- Sales or promotional content
- Submissions framing your company as the solution to the problem
Please submit completed articles.
The single most important thing to do in your submission: Focus on your experience.
Tell us what actually happened from your experience as a nonprofit leader.
- What problem were you facing?
- What decision did you make?
- What worked, what did not, and why?
Focus on “Here is what we did”, not general advice or theory.
Preference is given to authors with direct experience working or volunteering with community-based nonprofits.
If you don’t write from the standpoint of your experience, your submission will likely be rejected.
Content Standards
Blue Avocado articles are targeted toward the experience of the nonprofit sector. Submissions written for general audiences will be rejected. The idea behind Blue Avocado is that those with nonprofit experience can help other nonprofits, so let’s make it happen!
- Submissions should be focused on nonprofit issues, not general business issues.
- Private companies that submit articles in which they set themselves up as the solution to a problem they framed, will likely find their submission rejected.
- Submissions that are blatantly self-promotional will be rejected.
Tips
- Write for easy online reading. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points. Avoid long blocks of text.
- Again: AI-generated content is prohibited. (We’ll know.)
- Attribute content drawn from other sources.
- Style: Insight, perspective, advice, case study, first-person perspectives, checklists, quizzes.
Extra Credit for Irreverence
- Blue Avocado encourages irreverence in submissions. We welcome writers who speak truth on behalf of nonprofits. We aim to enlarge the good and diminish the bad without being overly negative. Share your successes, own your foibles, and do not shy away from the truth.
Donations
In keeping with our mission to support the nonprofit sector, authors with new articles published in Blue Avocado may request a $200 donation to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit of their choice. These donations are made by request only. Requests must be received within 30 days of the article being published.
Donation checks will be mailed directly the 501(c)(3) nonprofit 4-6 weeks after an article is published.
How to Submit Your Article
After reading the instructions above carefully, send us your submission through Submittable.
Submittable is a system that allows you to collaborate with us during the review and editing process.
Note: Submittable requires user registration.
We do not accept submissions sent by email, unless they require an Excel file. If your article includes an Excel file, please email it to editor@blueavocado.org.