Application Prep Sheet

Click the button below to download the application prep sheet (Word doc).

Online Application FAQ

Questions about how to navigate the online application? Check out these FAQs.

Application Tips

Memorable Title

Short, evocative titles make a strong first impression. Aim for clarity and creativity—easy to remember, easy to share. If using a subtitle, keep the first phrase punchy and the second descriptive.

Event Date & Time

Events take place between the first Friday and second Sunday of November, ending by 4 PM. Choose a day and time that work for your audience, and be mindful of major community events like Election Day and the Monumental Marathon.

Duration Matters

Most successful events last 90–120 minutes. Longer events can be difficult for audiences to commit to unless they are workshops or drop-in experiences.

Collaborating Partners

Depth matters more than numbers. Strong partnerships bring shared expertise, perspective, and accountability. If your event explores an issue outside your core mission, a knowledgeable partner is essential.

Audience Experience

Describe what people will actually do. The Selection Committee wants to clearly understand the flow of the event and how participants will engage—not just the topic.

Theme Connection

Be explicit. Clearly state how your event explores the festival theme and how audiences will experience or reflect on that interpretation.

Civic Tools

Events must intentionally engage at least one civic tool: arts, humanities, or religion. Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged but not required.

👉 Want more examples and Selection Committee insights? Download the full Application Tips guide.

Narrative Examples

Writing a strong application narrative is one of the most important—and challenging—parts of the Spirit & Place Festival application. This resource offers real narrative examples from past festival applications to help you understand what successful responses look like in practice.

The examples focus on the key narrative sections of the application:

• Title & Short Description

• Audience Experience

• Theme Connection

• Use of the Arts, Humanities, and/or Religion

Each example is presented in the applicant’s own words and reflects a range of event formats, disciplines, and creative approaches. They are not templates to copy, but illustrations of how clarity, intentionality, and specificity strengthen an application.

Because the festival application changes slightly each year, applicants should use these examples alongside the Application Prep Sheet to prepare their full submission.

💡 Pro tip: Successful applicants often review draft narratives with their partners and Spirit & Place staff. First-time applicants are especially encouraged to submit a draft early for feedback.

Connections
November 5 – 15, 2026

CONNECTIONS invites Spirit & Place event creators to explore what connects us to each other, to our shared values and histories, and to the civic life we hold in common. In 2026, as the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this theme opens space to reflect on belonging, democracy, and the relationships—personal, cultural, and structural—that shape our lives together.

Your event should be inspired by the theme and help participants think about, feel, or experience connection in a meaningful way. While many festival events naturally bring people together, Connections asks you to go a step further. Rather than simply creating connection, consider exploring what connection is, how it works, what strengthens or strains it, and why it matters in our communities and civic life today.

Use the arts, humanities, and/or religion to explore connection in ways that feel authentic to your work. Spirit & Places welcomes literal or symbolic, historical or contemporary, reflective or hands-on interpretations of the theme. Events might celebrate connection, wrestle with its challenges, or imagine new ways of relating to one another across differences. Connections can be personal, communal, national, or global—and often, all at once.

Download the theme prompts to get started!

January – May
Meet with staff!! Schedule time to chat about your ideas and to learn how the festival can be a great way to connect with the community. Email festival@iu.edu or call 317-274-2462.

February 19
10:30 – 11:15AM (Zoom)
Connections Lessons. What did festival attendees say mattered most to them? Explore community feedback from last year’s festival and how it can help shape your event. We’ll also spend time discussing the theme prompts. Registration Link Forthcoming.

March 26
10:30AM & 3:30PM
College Ave. Branch Library
Festival Application Info Session (In Person).
Unpack the festival selection process and discover how to craft a successful application. Same session offered twice on March 26. (Offered again in April via Zoom.)

April 1
Online application opens!

April 15, 16, & 21
VIRTUAL Festival Application Info Sessions
Visit our event page to register.

Friday, May 22 – MIDNIGHT
Festival Application Deadline

Please review the application guidelines for more details on key dates and meetings.

All times are Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Festival Partner Agreement
If selected for the festival, all partners must agree to the following:

• Festival Partner Meeting (Required)
  • Tentatively July 7. Lead partners and/or collaborating partners must attend.
  • Can’t make it? Send a team member in your place.

• Promotions & Marketing
  • You can’t rely solely on Spirit & Place to bring an audience.
  • Training sessions, PR resources, and consultations are provided.
  • All partners commit to distributing event guides before the festival.

• Withdrawals & Event Essentials
  • Event selections announced late June/early July.
  • Deadline to withdraw or confirm event details: August 3.
  • “Event essentials” include date, time, venue, title, short description, and image (jpg or tif, 300dpi).
  • Need help? We’ll guide you through it.

• Event Registration
  • You manage your own registration (some exemptions apply).
  • Spirit & Place offers an Eventbrite 101 tutorial if needed.
  • Registration forms must include email permission language.
  • Registration link due to Spirit & Place by October 1.

• Event Framing & Logistics
  • Do not repeat your festival event between August 1–December 31, 2026 (some exceptions apply).
  • Use Spirit & Place talking points at the beginning and remind attendees to complete the survey at the end.
  • Make all collaborating and venue partners aware of event guide distribution in late September/early November.

• Festival Volunteers
  • Spirit & Place will provide 1–3 volunteers per event. They will need a table in a visible location.
  • Volunteers greet attendees, maintain sign-in sheets, distribute guides, and collect surveys.
  • They have talking points but do not deliver remarks or help with setup/tear-down.

• Post-Festival: Partner Survey & Registration List
  • Lead partners must submit a partner survey by December 1, 2026.
  • Supply your registration email list (.xls or .csv).
  • Submitting the survey is required for future festival participation.

Partner Benefits

These are just some of the ways Spirit & Place supports its festival event partners.

• $200 event stipend
• Event coaching services
• Website features
• Enews features (~7,000 subscribers)
• Social media features (5,000+ followers on Facebook and Instagram)
• Paid digital ads. (Digital/social media strategy is subject to change.)
• Printed promotional materials (flier templates, event guides and yard signs)
• Public and media relations in partnership with Bohlsen Group.
  • Including one-on-one coaching sessions with Bohlsen Group!
• Event evaluation summaries
• Loaner equipment – OWL 360 Meeting Pro for virtual/hybrid events and a portable sound system for in person gatherings
• Trainings & workshops

Event Parameters

The Spirit & Place Festival celebrates arts, humanities, and religion in community life. It is a space for experimentation, relationship-building, civic engagement, amplifying unheard voices, and exploring community solutions. The festival embraces difficult conversations with a spirit of adventurous civility.

It is not a platform for preaching to your choir, proselytizing, repackaging existing events without deeply and intentionally considering the theme, or marketing your organization. Learn more by reading about Spirit & Place’s values.

Limitations and restrictions include:

• All events must take place in ADA-compliant facilities. Some exceptions exist for designated historical sites or outdoor locations. Event partners should make every effort to accommodate accessibility requests.
• No personal development workshops. The festival seeks community-focused events rather than individual self-improvement sessions.
• No research studies. The festival is not a site for conducting research, including community-engaged research. Scholars are welcome to share discoveries or insights from prior research and to use the festival as a platform to deepen community relationships, but research activities may not be part of the event itself.
• No fundraising & limited fee-based events. Fundraisers are not permitted, and free events are preferred. Some exceptions apply. Speaking with Spirit & Place staff is strongly encouraged if charging a fee.
• Date restrictions. Events should begin the first Friday of November and conclude by 4PM on the second Sunday of November.

Selection Process & Criteria

A team of community reviewers—not Spirit & Place staff— representing various disciplines, faiths, races, genders, and backgrounds evaluate festival applications based on the following criteria. This makes the Spirit & Place Festival not only community-created, but community-curated!

Selection Criteria are focused on:

• Strength theme connection
• Intentional use of Spirit & Place’s civic tools (arts, humanities, and/or religion)
• Collaboration
• Clarity
• Inventiveness
• Audience care
• Commitment beyond self (i.e., reflection of Spirit & Place’s mission & values)

Special preference is shown to events that have a never-before-seen quality, are interactive, diverse & inclusive, inspire community engagement, and/or are strongly collaborative. 

Interfaith events are always welcome, especially those involving non-Abrahamic faith traditions.

Download more details on the Selection Criteria & Preferences by clicking here for a Word doc or a PDF below.

Funding Your Event

Let’s be honest. Creating an event for the Spirit & Place Festival takes a lot of time, energy, and, in some cases, money. We strive to make the festival accessible to all applicants. In 2015 we moved away from a “pay to play” process to one in which we now support festival events with a $200 stipend.

We know it often takes more and encourage applicants to find sponsors and donors for their projects.

Donors & Sponsors
Event creators may – and should! – seek sponsors or donors and do as much pre-event fundraising as needed. While Spirit & Place does not recognize individual event sponsors and funders in its promotional materials, event creators are welcome to recognize these supporters in their event fliers, media alerts, social media, etc. Spirit & Place values intentionality and quality over size, and events can be successful without large budgets or expensive production.

Download these creative suggestions on how to fund your event. (Click here for a Word doc.)

Red Flags

Before you submit your application, take a moment to review the Selection Committee’s “red flags.” These are common issues that don’t disqualify an event, but often lead to lower scores. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s clarity, intentionality, and thoughtful collaboration. Understanding these red flags can help you strengthen your proposal and avoid pitfalls the committee sees year after year.

• Wish Lists. Do not list collaborating partners, speakers, or other talent with whom you have not spoken!
• Outside Your Lane. Look for partners who round out deficits in your proposed event and/or bring in a unique point of view, especially if you are tackling a topic outside your mission area.
• Transactional Collaborations. The strongest collaborations are co-creative. This means involving partners early in the design stage and/or providing content expertise. To be blunt: Adding a bunch of partner names to your application for the sake of naming lots of folks is not going to win points.