Creative Collaborations

Creative Collaborations is open to IU units, IU student groups, and all greater-Bloomington area community groups and non-profit organizations.

If you have received a Creative Collaborations award in the most recent award cycle (FY 2025–26), you are not eligible to apply for the FY 2026–27 cycle. The University’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30 (e.g. fiscal year 2026 runs from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026).

• Sponsoring organization and at least one additional supporting organization
• Multidisciplinary, collaborative program proposal
• Campus entities must include partners outside of their home unit and school
• Proposal must include a minimum of 2 programs (and maximum of 3) that take place at IU Cinema
• Access to funding to support your proposal, if awarded
• At least one community-forward activity that takes place, ideally, off campus

You can access the online application for Creative Collaborations in the Submit a Proposal section of this page. The application opens each year at the start of Indiana University’s Fall Break and closes at the start of Thanksgiving Break.

You can request to view a copy of select spast successful proposals. This will be limited to the partners who have granted us permission to share their proposals.

All Creative Collaborations proposals will be evaluated by IU Cinema and our Program Advisory Board on the following criteria, weighted equally in evaluation:

• relevance of the request to the organization or unit’s mission
• relevance to IU Cinema’s mission and programming vision
• how the program fulfills a community (broadly defined) need
• how the program highlights your organization/group’s expertise   
• collaborative nature of the proposal 
• defined intended audience, specific outreach plans to reach and develop said audience, and defined metrics for determining program success
• inclusion of at least one event/activity/initiative that either takes place in the community or actively and specifically engages a community

Creative Collaborations awardees are responsible for the following, which includes both funding and program-related duties:

Funding: Partners agree to provide funds to IU Cinema to cover:

• full costs for public screening rights/materials for each program (~$450 per film, variable, depending on film)
• a portion of total ticketing fees and materials handling costs ($140 per program, flat fee)
• all associated costs and hosting responsibilities for visiting guests for your program(s) and any community activities you undertake to fulfill the community component of the Creative Collaborations program (variable costs based on guests you invite)

Accessibility: Commit to programs being free (but ticketed), open to the public, and included as part of the Cinema’s public programming schedule.

Marketing/Communications:

• Provide all required program information to aid in IUC’s creation of marketing materials to support your program
• Credit IU Cinema on any marketing materials you may create
• Send IUC all marketing materials you may create for approval
• Actively promote your program(s)
• Work to bring at least 70 patrons to each event

Program Details: Partners agree to provide the following:

• An in-person program introduction for each program
  • Recorded introductions are permitted but are considered additive to the in-person event introduction requirement
• If a post-screening Q&A is planned, partners must arrange for a Q&A moderator. as well as take all responsibility for inviting and hosting guest(s).

IU Cinema provides all Creative Collaborations partners with the below services for each program that takes place at IUC. The below items are contributed in-kind and have a value of $1,000 per program instance.

• Film Rights/Materials: Research and procurement of screening rights/materials
• Program/Staffing Services: Cover costs of venue usage and staffing for all programs, including projectionist, house managers, ticketing clerks, and ushers
• Marketing/Communications: full marketing support, including the design of materials to promote your program(s) and recognition of the partnership in all IU Cinema print and online marketing materials
• Program Details: Ticketing service, with the ability to offer blocks of tickets to partners upon request; assistance with additional event components (speakers, Q&A, panels, etc.)

We are mindful that some organizations have more resources than others, and we never want funding to be a barrier to any group’s ability to propose a program.

If your organization/unit’s budget exceeds $500,000.00 per year: IU Cinema cannot provide any additional support by way of funding.

If you organization/unit’s budget is below $499,999.00 per year: Your proposal should indicate the amount of additional funds you anticipate needing. In the review process, IU Cinema will analyze your proposal budget and funding request and determine what level of additional support can be provided. While we cannot guarantee additional funding, we make every effort to materially support our partners. Organizations with proposals requesting funding assistance should be prepared to provide a recent annual budget for the organization when submitting the application.

Applicants are encouraged to first watch this Creative Collaborations Program Overview video, which may help answer some of your questions. You can always email us at iucollab@iu.edu with questions as well.

Additionally, each year, we hold information sessions virtually, on campus, and in the community. We welcome anyone who wants to learn more about Creative Collaborations to attend. The schedule for upcoming information sessions can be found on this page in the Information Sessions section.

Depending on your program goals, IU Cinema provide several additional partnership options, including renting the Cinema for private events, which you can learn more about by visiting our Partnerships page.