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Application Eligibility
All applicants must be at least 25 years of age as of July 1, 2025. Applicants must be able to demonstrate leadership in their places of work or in the community and have a strong commitment and desire to serve the public good.
Some dates of the program may require participants to miss work or family functions. Class members cannot miss more than one day in aggregate, and must be in attendance for the first day, the September luncheon, the DC trip, and the last day of class in full. Failure to meet these requirements will jeopardize the class member’s graduation and alumna status. If an applicant has a conflict with one or more program dates below, that applicant is encouraged to apply another year. All sessions will be held in downtown Indianapolis, with the exception of the trip to Washington, D.C.
While there is no cost to participate in the program, participants will be responsible for paying for their transportation to and from the program and flying to and from Washington D.C. in April. Financial aid is available for those who need assistance with transportation costs. All financial aid requests are kept confidential. Hotel rooms will be provided at no cost to class members for sessions that are two days or more.
Please contact info@hoosierwomenforward.org with any questions.
2025-2026 Program Dates
2025:
Saturday, August 23 from 10am – 4pm (mandatory attendance)
Tuesday, September 16 at 1pm through Wednesday, September 17 at 2pm (mandatory attendance)
Note: The September class session coincides with Hoosier Women Forward’s Annual Luncheon on Wednesday, September 17. There will be evening programming on Tuesday night and all class members will be staying at a hotel in Indianapolis, provided and paid for by the program.
Friday, October 24 from 10am – 4pm
Friday, December 12 from 10am – 4pm, with optional evening event.
2026:
Tuesday, January 20 from 9am – 7pm, including a mandatory reception from 5-7pm
Saturday, February 21 from 10am – 4pm
Saturday, March 21 from 10am – 4pm
Wednesday, April 15 at 1pm through Friday, April 17 at 3pm (Washington. D.C. – mandatory attendance)
Thursday, May 14 from 10am – 6pm (mandatory attendance)
Application Instructions
The general application form and the $25 application fee must be postmarked or received electronically by Tuesday, June 17th at 5:00pm Eastern time. Letters of reference must be received directly from the reference writer electronically in PDF form by Thursday, June 19th at 5:00pm Eastern time. Any portion of the application received after these stated deadlines will automatically eliminate the applicant from consideration.
To pay your application fee online, please fill out the payment form at the link in the application. ActBlue will send you a receipt once the payment has processed.
All applicants for Hoosier Women Forward must have references from two community sponsors. We encourage you to choose references who can personally speak to the work you have done and assist you in telling your story. Please click on the reference form link in the application, send the reference form to your two sponsors and ask them to follow the instructions for submitting the completed reference form, which include submitting in PDF form if done electronically. It is your responsibility to make the necessary requests for letters of reference and to ensure their timely submission. HWF Board Members, Executive Director, and staff may not serve as sponsors.
You will receive a confirmation email upon submission of your general application and application fee. Similarly, once BOTH letters of reference have been submitted, you will receive an email confirmation. Again, it is your responsibility to ensure your application and fee are in by June 17th and your two letters of reference are in by June 19th. There will be no deadline extensions for any reason.
All information submitted herein will be kept confidential with the Selection Committee, composed of members of the HWF Board of Directors. The Selection Committee will make every effort to choose a class that reflects the ethnic and geographical diversity in Indiana. Applicants will be judged on accomplishments to date, leadership capabilities, and their level of commitment to moving Indiana forward with progressive policies and ideals.
Finalists will be contacted for interviews conducted via video conferencing during the first two full weeks of July. All applicants will receive a response regarding the status of their application by August 1st.
Email info@hoosierwomenforward.org if you have any questions about the application or the application process. Please limit your responses to each question to no more than 250 words. We encourage you to save your essay answers in a separate document before submission in case you run into technical difficulties with Formsite.
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HWF gave me the confidence to make a major move and step forward in my career and grow in my community leadership. Having a team of fierce, inspiring sisters by my side has helped me step up to the call of “why not me?”