diff --git a/apps/notifications/api/notifications.py b/apps/notifications/api/notifications.py
index 335e7a0e0..eef4f6438 100644
--- a/apps/notifications/api/notifications.py
+++ b/apps/notifications/api/notifications.py
@@ -26,6 +26,14 @@ __all__ = (
 )
 
 
+def _get_placeholder_context(contexts):
+    return {
+        item['name']: '{{ ' + item['name'] + ' }}'
+        for item in contexts
+        if item.get('name')
+    }
+
+
 class BackendListView(APIView):
     permission_classes = [IsValidUser]
 
@@ -164,9 +172,10 @@ class TemplateViewSet(JMSGenericViewSet):
                         item['content'] = f.read()
                     item['source'] = 'data'
                 else:
-                    ctx = {x.get('name'): x.get('default') for x in item['contexts']}
+                    ctx = _get_placeholder_context(item['contexts'])
                     try:
                         rendered = render_to_string(meta['template_name'], ctx)
+                        item['template_content'] = rendered
                         item['content'] = rendered
                         item['source'] = 'original'
                     except Exception as e: