Creating Change 2026 Proposals

Workshop Proposal Guidelines

Washington, DC — January 21–25, 2026

Deadline for proposal submissions: September 15, 2025
Notifications delivered beginning: November 2025

The National LGBTQ Task Force’s annual Creating Change Conference is the nation’s foremost political, leadership, and skills-building conference for the LGBTQ+ movement. Through Creating Change and other advocacy programs, the Task Force is pushing back against a continued wave of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks in local communities, states, and across the nation. As the Task Force prepares for its 38th Creating Change Conference, we know our movement is unstoppable.

Join us in DC – submit your proposal today!

Submit Proposal

To submit a workshop proposal, please read this completely. It contains critical instructions and information.

Registration Fees, Travel, and Lodging

Registration fees help cover about one-third of the cost of producing Creating Change and support the organization’s ongoing work. Thank you for making the investment with us!

All presenters whose proposals are accepted for scheduling will receive a link to register at the presenter rate.

If your proposal is declined, you will register at a discount equal to the cost of Kick-Off registration.

Presenters are responsible for the cost of travel and lodging.

Please do not register for Creating Change 2026 until you receive notice regarding your proposal. Notices will be sent via email beginning November 2025. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Conference Schedule and Location

All programming will be held from Wednesday, January 21 to Sunday, January 25, 2026. Presenters are expected to plan travel and lodging according to the conference dates above. Session scheduling requests cannot be accommodated.

All programming will be held at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.

Content Priorities

Sessions at Creating Change include movement-building, grassroots organizing, leadership development, organization-building, and educational opportunities for both new and seasoned activists, advocates, and leaders. Our current social and political climate also requires an explicit commitment to the Task Force’s values of racial, economic, gender, and disability justice.

Therefore, the Task Force prioritizes proposals that:

Center Trans, Black, and/or Indigenous people and communities.
Demonstrate a deep analysis of the intersections between LGBTQ+ issues and other movements for social justice, including reproductive freedom, environmental justice, immigration, and education/access to information.

Workshop Format

Workshops are 75 minutes and must feature opportunities to build skills and knowledge, emphasizing participant engagement and interactivity. When submitting your proposal, please be mindful of what can be effectively communicated in the time allotted.

Tracks

To keep the Creating Change Conference schedule clear and to ensure each proposal is reviewed by the right subject-matter experts, every workshop must align with one to two primary tracks: Building Capacity for the Movement, Democracy and Civic Engagement, Health and Wellness, Practice Spirit, Do Justice, and Sexual Healing and Liberation.

You will also tag up to three items in each of these sub-fields: Skill & Sector, Demographic Audience, and Intersectional Lens. These tags help reviewers compare like with like and help participants quickly find sessions that meet their needs.

Notice: Software limitations prevent us from capping selections. DO NOT select more options than stated in each section. Selecting beyond your workshop’s core focus prevents the review team from proper review and attendees from finding aligned sessions.

Building Capacity for the Movement

Sessions in this track focus on building individual, community, organizational, and movement capacity for doing the work of LGBTQ justice, equity, and liberation. Sessions in this track will prioritize knowledge dissemination, skills-building, and shifting attitudes within individual, interpersonal, and organizational systems. The work of dismantling white supremacy, anti-Blackness, transphobia, antisemitism, misogyny, ableism, and classism is also a priority in this track. Sessions may address best and/or innovative practices in the areas of resource development/fundraising, human resources, leadership development and management tools, fiscal management, communications and marketing, board development, and legislative and ballot measure campaign tactics.

Democracy and Civic Engagement

Sessions in this track will offer in-depth conversations to build the necessary political power and social momentum to meet our current moment. Sessions will create space for strategizing and creative exploration to push forward an equitable and intersectional democracy. Skills and knowledge gained in this track will emphasize lessons for building effective coalitions, defending against legislative attacks, and advancing a people-powered, pro-LGBTQ+ agenda at the ballot box and in local government and state houses.

Health and Wellness

Sessions in this track focus on the broad range of physical and behavioral health issues critical to LGBTQ+ communities, as well as how resistance and resilience manifest in the short term and long term for people with multiple marginalized identities. Sessions may focus on medical and cultural practices such as talk therapy, music and dance, acupuncture, and meditation as tools for liberation, health, and healing. Sessions in this track may also provide information and data about the state of health for LGBTQ+ people and what we can do to yield better individual and community health outcomes.

Practice Spirit, Do Justice

Conservative white nationalist Christianity weaponizes faith to further erode the separation of church and state and pit people of good conscience against one another. Sessions in this track will help participants to think about the ways in which formal and informal faith/religion/spiritual communities can be leveraged to reclaim religious freedom as a progressive and collective value and integrated in our campaigns and power-building efforts. Practice Spirit, Do Justice sessions will also teach participants how to dismantle the false narrative that queer identities and faith identities are incompatible.

Sexual Healing and Liberation

Sessions in this track emphasize the significance of sexual and relational dynamics throughout our work and lives. With the prevalence of sexual and relational violence, including within the LGBTQ movements, sessions in this track will model an intersectional and healing justice approach centered on breaking cycles of harm and reviving sexual liberation. Topics include survivorship, sex work, relationship dynamics, kink/BDSM, asexuality, sexual pleasure, and more.

Skill & Sector

As part of your workshop submission, you will be asked to select between one and three skills and/or sectors that your curriculum falls into.

Activism & Direct Action
Arts & Culture
Behavioral Health
Board Service
Campaign Organizing & Strategy
Communications, Marketing, & Branding
Community Care
Data & Research
Direct Service
Executive Leadership
Lobbying & Legal Advocacy
Organizational Development
Personal Development
Philanthropy & Fundraising

Demographic Audience

You will also be asked to select between one and three descriptions of the audience your workshop would be intended for.

Applicable to All
AANHPI
Asexual, Aromantic
Aging and Elders
Black
Bi+
Gay
Indigenous & Two-Spirit
Intersex
Latine
Lesbian
People Living with HIV
People of Color
Trans & Nonbinary
Youth & Students

Intersectional Lens:

Finally, you will be asked which of the following intersectional justice lenses apply to the core of your workshop.

Class/Economic Justice
Disability Justice
Environmental Justice
Immigration/Refugee Justice
Racial Justice
Reproductive Justice
Sex/Gender Justice
SOGI/LGBTQ Justice
Spiritual Justice

Learning Objectives

Workshop proposals are reviewed for emphasis on engagement and practice. On the submission form, you will be asked to respond to the following prompts:

What will participants know, feel, or be able to do after your session?
What interactive strategies will you employ to actively engage participants and meet the objectives of your workshop?
What are you prioritizing: sharing knowledge, sharing tools, building skills, or all the above?
Is your session advanced or applicable to all?

IMPORTANT: Submission Deadline

Proposals received by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on September 15, 2025, will be reviewed and considered for scheduling. The deadline of September 15 11:59 p.m. PT will not be extended. The Task Force reserves the right to decline proposals received after this deadline.

No Solicitation

Proposals that primarily promote or sell commercial products – and/or that promote or sell the commercial work of individual people – will be declined.

Proposal Review and Notification

Teams of Task Force staff and outside experts will review all proposals. Proposals are evaluated based on depth of content, plan for interactivity, demonstrated qualifications and experience, and whether there is an expressed commitment to representation and inclusion across race, gender, class, age, and disability. Each year, proposal submissions exceed what can be accommodated in the conference schedule, and only about one quarter of submissions can be approved. Consider proactively reaching out to other subject matter experts in your field to combine your efforts and submit one joint workshop proposal.

Notifications regarding the status of proposals will be delivered via email beginning on or after November 2025.

Language Justice and Access

Creating Change prioritizes accessibility to include the provision of American Sign Language (ASL) and Spanish/English interpretation in workshops and caucuses. Interpreters work hard to help build an accessible conference, relying on meaningful preparation to optimize the services they provide.

Presenters are responsible for submitting session materials (outlines, handouts, slide decks, etc.) by Monday, December 1, 2025, according to a process set by Creating Change staff.

If materials are not received by this deadline, your session may be canceled at the discretion of the Task Force. By submitting a proposal, you understand and agree to these terms.

Language access is for everyone. Thank you for joining us in this important commitment.

Thank you for reading! You are ready to apply to host a workshop at Creating Change!