diff --git a/notification/templatetags/notification.py b/notification/templatetags/notification.py
index db72514c1..6d491e65f 100644
--- a/notification/templatetags/notification.py
+++ b/notification/templatetags/notification.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ def _context_user(context):
 
 def _unread_messages(context):
     unread = []
+    message = ""
     user = _context_user(context)
     if user:
         unread = NotificationSet.get_unread(user)