The GIVEN Forum will be hosted by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The program will include visits to the St. Charles Borromeo seminary and the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, which is home to St. Katharine Drexel’s tomb.

The GIVEN Forum is a one-of-a-kind, multi-day event that provides leadership training, faith formation, and networking opportunities to emerging Catholic female leaders. It is designed to help young adult Catholic women with a heart for mission and an aptitude for leadership identify their particular gifts and find practical pathways to put them in the service of the Gospel.

The 2022 GIVEN Forum will begin on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 and end on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Participants must commit to attending the entire Forum.

The GIVEN Institute welcomes young adult Catholic women to apply for the 2022 Forum who will be between the ages of 21 and 30 as of June 21, 2022, who have significant leadership experience or leadership potential, who are engaged in their Catholic faith, and who desire to cultivate their gifts to enrich the culture, the Church, and those in their care. Women enrolled in RCIA programs may also apply.

The deadline to submit an application for the 2022 GIVEN Forum is February 18, 2022.

The deadline to apply for the GIVEN Forum is February 18, 2022, and The GIVEN Institute will notify the young women who have applied whether they have been accepted into the 2022 cohort in March.

Yes, mothers are welcome to bring infants under 1 year to the Forum.

GIVEN is committed to hosting the 2022 Forum safely and in person. We will follow the regulations and policies of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Neumann University. Under current requirements, GIVEN plans to exercise the following safety measures at the Forum:

• Face coverings: Everyone attending the GIVEN Forum will be required to wear a mask over her nose and mouth at all times indoors. 
• Daily health screening: Attendees and guests will be required to complete a daily health check and show the resulting clearance when entering a building.
• Additional safety measures for residential guests: For attendees staying in the dorms, guests who have received a COVID vaccination will be asked to provide proof of vaccination. Non-vaccinated guests will be asked to provide a negative antigen test completed within 24 hours of check-in or a negative PCR test within 3 days of check-in.

Please check back for updates as the situation evolves. Although we are taking necessary precautionary measures, our goal is to preserve the spirit of the Forum–a beautiful community of women leaders! We are looking forward to welcoming you to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia!

The GIVEN Institute will welcome 100-170 young women leaders to participate in the Forum in 2022.

“There were so many examples of women in the Church living vibrantly through different vocations. As a single woman with a career in business, being present at GIVEN opened my eyes to see that God can do anything with your ‘Yes’ if you give it to Him.”

“I had been discerning a vocation to the religious life for a few years before attending GIVEN, and although not expecting it at all, it was at GIVEN that God clearly called me to Himself. I went to the forum simply looking for leadership skills and networking opportunities with other Catholic women, and I left joyfully accepting God’s call to be totally His. I am now applying to a religious order!”

“GIVEN helped me to reexamine what I always felt was a tension between the vocation of a wife and mother with professional aspirations. It helped me to understand better the many fruitful ways that women live out their vocations in an integrated way.”

Yes! Past participants have come from many countries, including Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Singapore and the Philippines. International applicants should note that they will be responsible for traveling to the Forum and coordinating any needed documentation.

You can meet the 2022 GIVEN Forum speakers here!

We want everyone to identify and encourage young women to consider applying. If you are a priest, campus minister, religious sister, or any member of the lay faithful who knows a young woman with exceptional faith and potential, please let her know about the GIVEN Forum and send her the link to our website. Impact Investment sponsorships are also available for those who would like to financially support a young woman who has been accepted to the GIVEN Forum.

Through the generosity of benefactors and philanthropic foundations, the GIVEN Institute has been able to subsidize the cost of the leadership Forum and ongoing programming. Participant contribution to the Forum includes a registration fee of $650 and the cost of travel. Your registration fee includes food and lodging as well as Forum programming and dedicated one-on-one mentorship from August 2022-May 2023.

Yes, a limited number of scholarships are available for participants in need of assistance. Applicants will have the opportunity to request a scholarship while completing the application.

Absolutely. The GIVEN Institute encourages accepted participants to seek support from friends, family, parish members, and others so that they can attend the Forum and bring their gifts back to their local community. Many GIVEN Forum participants have also asked their workplace or diocese to sponsor their attendance.