Thank you for your interest in the Moonshot Innovation Space Program. Please complete the following application in its entirety to be considered for Cohort 8.

We've extended our deadline to Monday, March 31, 2025, at 5 PM MST. However, those who submitted/will submit by the original deadline of Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 5 pm MST, will be given priority.

Before you begin, review our application reminders below:

• There are 6 main sections to the application: General Information, Time + Financial Commitment, Fellow Qualifications, Problem to Solve + Solution Design, Video Response OR Cover Letter, and Demographic Information (optional)
• There is an additional section to complete for applicants who are seeking to launch a new program/organization.
• View this application’s questions in a worksheet format so that you can easily draft your responses before submitting your application and refer to the Moonshot Fellowship Applicant Guide 2025-2026 for more information.
• You should be able to save and revisit this application form at any time. We suggest you bookmark the application link.
• Please be sure to press "Save and Go Back" or "Save and Continue" to ensure your responses are being saved.

Applicants who are selected to join Cohort 8 must commit to the full 9-month fellowship that begins in early September 2025 and ends May 2026.

The cost of participation in the 2025-2026 Moonshot Innovation Space is $600. For those with financial need, scholarships are available.

This requires participation in:

• Weekly workshops on Thursday evenings (typically 6-8:30 pm),
• One monthly weekend workshop (typically 10 am-4 pm), 
• One Friday, full day workshop, and
• Two weekend-long retreats (Local Retreat: Saturday-Monday; National Retreat: Thursday-Sunday)

Moonshot Innovation Space Expectations Outside of Workshops:

• Executive Coaching - 6 hours total
• Pre-work/Post-work - ~30 minutes per session
• Weekly Office Hours (optional, but encouraged)
• Mid-Fellowship and End of Fellowship check-ins with Moonshot staff

Fellows will need to request off from work on the following weekdays:

• Monday, 9/15/2025 - Local Retreat (Bailey, CO)
• Friday, 10/3/2025 - Full Day of Site Visits
• Friday, 1/23/2026 - National Retreat
  • NOTE: Thursday, 1/22/2026 is a travel day; Fellows are expected to be able to travel starting at 6 pm
• Thursday, 5/14/2026 - Showcase (arrive at 3 pm for setup and prep)

In the cohort community, your attendance and participation is critical to the cohort's collective learning. As such, we offer financial assistance to those in need of resources to make this happen (e.g., child care).

Please review the Cohort 8 Moonshot Innovation Space Calendar and ensure you do not anticipate having conflicts with workshop dates. If you have more than 3 conflicts with workshop dates, or must miss any retreat days, we encourage you to apply to the fellowship in a future year.

Moonshot is seeking up to 20 youth-centered individuals from historically marginalized identities to join our next cohort. To ensure our programming aligns effectively, Moonshot seeks applicants who bring the following skills, professional and lived experiences, and qualities:

• Lives and plans to implement their solution in Colorado, specifically in the Denver metro area, Brighton, CO Springs, or Ft. Morgan
• Identifies as a member of a historically marginalized community, including but not limited to a person of color, nonbinary and/or gender-nonconforming individual, LGBTQ, or woman
• Is over the age of 18
• Is able to attend workshops in-person in Denver
• Experiences, skills, and values are rooted in racial equity, justice, inclusion, and belonging
• Strong subject matter knowledge, experience, and skills in community solution focus area
• Driven by community and sees value in sourcing community needs and engaging community in co-design & implementation processes
• Strong personal accountability & self management
• Highly organized, motivated, and detail-oriented
• Emotional intelligence & empathy
• Inclusive leadership and relational & strategic decision-making (previous supervision experience is not required)

Please review this list of Moonshot Fellow Qualifications to ensure that you are able to provide examples and experiences that show your competence in these areas throughout the application process.

Please provide us with preliminary information about the problem you aim to solve and your community solution design (if you have a preliminary design in place or are looking to implement within a current organization).

We don't expect you to have a totally fleshed out answer for each question, but we are curious about applicants' current thinking. You do not have to have your plans for your community solution solidified!

We see the Moonshot Innovation Space as an opportunity for Fellows to explore their ideas and partner with community to create a solution.

In order to learn more about your community solution and the experiences and individuals inspiring you to explore designing and implementing your idea, please upload your answers to the following questions by EITHER recording a 5-10 minute video OR writing a 1-2 page cover letter addressing the following:

• What problem do you aim to solve through your solution and why is it important to the community that is impacted by the problem?
• How have you built connections and engaged with the community you are hoping to work with to design and implement your solution?
• How does your experience, background, and identity influence your desire to design and implement this community solution?
• To design and implement your community solution well, what are the subject matter areas (e.g., early childhood education, mental health, climate justice, etc.) someone would need to know? Where do you feel your content knowledge and experience falls in those areas?
• What are your top 3 priorities for your own leadership development and/or the design of your community solution during your time in the Moonshot Innovation Space?

Moonshot seeks to support underrepresented and historically marginalized leaders in spaces that impact youth. This section is optional and the answers to this section will not impact your candidacy or your selection into the program.

Our selection committee will use this information to ensure Moonshot is cultivating a diverse pool of applicants.

Moonshot requires fellows to commit to the following agreements upon acceptance to the program:

• Fellow will co-design a solution with the community to improve positive outcomes for youth and families in Colorado communities.
• Fellow will hold high standards of excellence for completion of deliverables for all sessions by the deadlines set or in a timely manner.
• Fellow will agree to accountability norms and demonstrate the Moonshot Core Values during the Moonshot Innovation Space fellowship.
• Fellow commits to being responsive to feedback and demonstrating a desire to learn and improve through coaching.
• Fellow commits to attend and be an engaged participant in workshop sessions.
• Fellows must be able to commit 2-3 hours per week, one weekend day per month, and two weekend-long retreats (Local Retreat: Saturday-Monday; National Retreat: Thursday-Sunday) over the course of the 31-week program synchronous and asynchronous fellowship activities (see calendar).
• Fellows will maintain confidentiality of conversations that take place over the course of the fellowship, both formally in-session and out of session.
  The Moonshot Innovation Space fellowship provides a confidential space that explores matters of career, family, identity, and challenges that participants face personally and professionally.

Program Fee: We ask that each Moonshot Fellow contribute a $600 investment as a commitment to joining the Moonshot Innovation Space. This investment represents how you will be showing up for yourself, your cohort, and the community as you step into this transformative journey. All investments will be absorbed back into program costs for the fellowship. Scholarships are available to those with financial need.

We want to ensure all Fellows can participate in this program. If finances are a barrier, or if you have any questions, please email us at info@moonshotedventures.org.

• The first program fee is due by August 4, 2025.
• The second program fee is due by September 4, 2025.