Hideo Sasaki Foundation Announces 2025 Design Grants Winners

June 18, 2025

The Hideo Sasaki Foundation announced today the winning teams for our 2025 Design Grants. The Design Grants are an annual competition to showcase projects that promote equity and empower local communities in Greater Boston and the Massachusetts Gateway Cities.

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Sasaki Foundation Releases 2024 Annual Report

May 16, 2025

The power of design belongs to all of us. This is the mantra of the Hideo Sasaki Foundation and a sentence I say over and over again at presentations, with funders, and to our grantees and youth interns. We believe this strongly and are honored to walk this walk every day. Thank you for joining us on our mission towards building a more equitable design industry. Together we have accomplished so much, but we still have lots of work to do!

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Hideo Sasaki Foundation Announces 2025 Design Grants Finalists

May 13, 2025

The Hideo Sasaki Foundation announced today the finalists for its seventh annual Design Grants program. These eight teams will pitch to a jury of experts on Thursday, May 29, 5:30-8:00 p.m. at Pitch Night, a public event. The Design Grants are an annual competition to showcase projects that support and drive interdisciplinary innovation and empower our local communities.

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Sasaki Foundation Publishes 2023 Design Grants Research

April 2, 2025

Check out our newly released 2022-2023 Design Grants Research Report to learn more about our fourth cohort’s work, offering innovative solutions to address food resilience, access to childcare, environmental justice, community infrastructure, and gentrification, with an ongoing impact in Greater Boston and beyond.

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Sasaki Foundation Announces 2024 Design Grants Winners

June 20, 2024

The Sasaki Foundation announced today the winning teams for its 2023 Sasaki Foundation Design Grants. The Design Grants are an annual competition to showcase projects that support and drive interdisciplinary innovation and empower our local communities.

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Sasaki Foundation Announces 2024 Design Grants Finalists

May 23, 2024

The Sasaki Foundation announced today the finalists for its sixth annual Sasaki Foundation Design Grants program. These seven teams will pitch to a jury of experts on Thursday, June 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at a public event sponsored by LeMessurier. The Design Grants are an annual competition to showcase projects that support and drive interdisciplinary innovation and empower our local communities.

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The phrase the power of design belongs to all of us is central to the Hideo Sasaki Foundation's ethos. We believe every individual and community should have the power to shape the built environment around them. Our design education programs are paid internships that exist to educate young people, from diverse backgrounds and identities, about the power they have to shape their world. We amplify their voices and support them on their journey from curious student to design professional.

Designing Environmental and Social Impact (DESI) is a 17-week paid internship that engages high school students from the Greater Boston area in researching and developing solutions to environmental and social issues in their communities.
Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED) is a 6-week paid internship that provides a design education opportunity for youth interested in exploring and pursuing careers in design.

Our goal is for students to emerge from these experiences with a deeper understanding of design and the career opportunities in the industry. The ultimate hope is for our interns to eventually pursue careers in design and related fields. Both DESI and SEED are continually expanding, providing more high school students with quality design education, introducing them to diverse design careers, and supporting their professional development.
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2025 by the Numbers
 

We engaged 116 design education participants, including interns, teaching assistants, project advisors, mentors, and clients.
Our programs provided 353 paid internship hours per intern (8,938 hours in total), with a combination of high-quality design education, industry exploration, and professional development.
Our programs saw a 91% cumulative attendance rate.
Of the surveyed interns, 95% reported having a positive overall experience.
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2025 in Demographics
 

Our interns were from 19 neighborhoods in Boston and the Metro North region.
Our interns represented 21 high schools, with 11% in 9th grade, 33% in 10th grade, 32% in 11th grade, and 25% in 12th grade.
Our interns were a roughly equal mix of first-time participants and returning students.
98% of our interns identify as people of color, and 63% of interns identify as female; these metrics are the inverse of the design industry’s current population.
We strive to support young people from underrepresented groups in gaining access to design education and influencing design decisions that affect their communities.
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2025 in Impact
57 Greater Boston high school students from diverse backgrounds accessed a design education and career exploration internship.

90% of interns gained a deeper understanding of the design process.
83% of interns improved their technical skills through design software workshops.
94% of interns surveyed reported that our programs were great professional and workforce development experiences.
78% of interns surveyed reported interest in pursuing a career in the design industry.

38 volunteer design professionals gained both professional and personal fulfillment.
6 nonprofit, community, and civic organizations received design support that expanded their capacity and advanced their missions. 
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2025 SEED 3 graphic for Friends of the Chinatown Library (FOCL)
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SEED 3 interns Elfe, Sam, and Kathleen
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This year, our design education programs continued to build equity in design, pushing towards a more representative industry. We gave more high school students from diverse backgrounds access to paid internships and design education. We supported these students with continuous and progressive engagement with design in college. We provided undergraduate and graduate college students the opportunity to gain and practice industry-relevant skills. And we supported the work of local community-serving organizations.
With even more support, we can continue to strengthen the design workforce pipeline by amplifying the voices of young designers from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and communities, and helping them harness the power of design to positively shape both the present and the future.
Read more in our 2025 Design Education Snapshot, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date in 2026.
 
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            [post_content] => [et_pb_section fb_built="1" module_class="mongo-image" _builder_version="4.27.0" background_image="https://www.sasakifoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/IMG_6689_blogheader.jpg" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row column_structure="1_8,3_4,1_8" module_class="mongo-image-with-text" _builder_version="4.16" background_size="initial" background_position="top_left" background_repeat="repeat" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="1_8" _builder_version="4.16" custom_padding="|||" global_colors_info="{}" custom_padding__hover="|||"][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="3_4" _builder_version="4.16" custom_padding="|||" global_colors_info="{}" custom_padding__hover="|||"][et_pb_text admin_label="Header small text" module_class="slide-big" _builder_version="4.27.0" global_colors_info="{}"]December 5, 2025
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="Header big text" module_class="slide-white slide-massive-2 " _builder_version="4.27.0" custom_css_main_element="font-size:6vw;||line-height:6.2vw;" global_colors_info="{}"]Hideo Sasaki Foundation Releases 2025 Design Education Snapshot
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[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="Post Title" _builder_version="4.27.0" text_font="|700|||||||" text_font_size="40px" text_line_height="48px" custom_margin="||50px|" global_colors_info="{}"]Hideo Sasaki Foundation Releases 2025 Design Education Snapshot
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The phrase the power of design belongs to all of us is central to the Hideo Sasaki Foundation's ethos. We believe every individual and community should have the power to shape the built environment around them. Our design education programs are paid internships that exist to educate young people, from diverse backgrounds and identities, about the power they have to shape their world. We amplify their voices and support them on their journey from curious student to design professional.

Designing Environmental and Social Impact (DESI) is a 17-week paid internship that engages high school students from the Greater Boston area in researching and developing solutions to environmental and social issues in their communities.
Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED) is a 6-week paid internship that provides a design education opportunity for youth interested in exploring and pursuing careers in design.

Our goal is for students to emerge from these experiences with a deeper understanding of design and the career opportunities in the industry. The ultimate hope is for our interns to eventually pursue careers in design and related fields. Both DESI and SEED are continually expanding, providing more high school students with quality design education, introducing them to diverse design careers, and supporting their professional development.
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2025 by the Numbers
 

We engaged 116 design education participants, including interns, teaching assistants, project advisors, mentors, and clients.
Our programs provided 353 paid internship hours per intern (8,938 hours in total), with a combination of high-quality design education, industry exploration, and professional development.
Our programs saw a 91% cumulative attendance rate.
Of the surveyed interns, 95% reported having a positive overall experience.
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2025 in Demographics
 

Our interns were from 19 neighborhoods in Boston and the Metro North region.
Our interns represented 21 high schools, with 11% in 9th grade, 33% in 10th grade, 32% in 11th grade, and 25% in 12th grade.
Our interns were a roughly equal mix of first-time participants and returning students.
98% of our interns identify as people of color, and 63% of interns identify as female; these metrics are the inverse of the design industry’s current population.
We strive to support young people from underrepresented groups in gaining access to design education and influencing design decisions that affect their communities.
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2025 in Impact
57 Greater Boston high school students from diverse backgrounds accessed a design education and career exploration internship.

90% of interns gained a deeper understanding of the design process.
83% of interns improved their technical skills through design software workshops.
94% of interns surveyed reported that our programs were great professional and workforce development experiences.
78% of interns surveyed reported interest in pursuing a career in the design industry.

38 volunteer design professionals gained both professional and personal fulfillment.
6 nonprofit, community, and civic organizations received design support that expanded their capacity and advanced their missions. 
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2025 SEED 3 graphic for Friends of the Chinatown Library (FOCL)
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SEED 3 interns Elfe, Sam, and Kathleen
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This year, our design education programs continued to build equity in design, pushing towards a more representative industry. We gave more high school students from diverse backgrounds access to paid internships and design education. We supported these students with continuous and progressive engagement with design in college. We provided undergraduate and graduate college students the opportunity to gain and practice industry-relevant skills. And we supported the work of local community-serving organizations.
With even more support, we can continue to strengthen the design workforce pipeline by amplifying the voices of young designers from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and communities, and helping them harness the power of design to positively shape both the present and the future.
Read more in our 2025 Design Education Snapshot, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date in 2026.
 
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            [post_title] => Hideo Sasaki Foundation Releases 2025 Design Education Snapshot
            [post_excerpt] => The phrase the power of design belongs to all of us is central to the Hideo Sasaki Foundation's ethos. We believe every individual and community should have the power to shape the built environment around them. Our design education programs are paid internships that exist to educate young people, from diverse backgrounds and identities, about the power they have to shape their world. We amplify their voices and support them on their journey from curious student to design professional.
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the power of design

belongs to all of us

2019 SEED high school internship

Incubator at Sasaki | Watertown, Massachusetts

the power of design

belongs to all of us

Team at the Incubator at Sasaki

Watertown, Massachusetts

the power of design

belongs to all of us

Team at the Incubator at Sasaki

Watertown, Massachusetts

the power of design

belongs to all of us

Patron touching art in the Please Touch the Art exhibit

Mosesian Center for the Arts | Watertown, Massachusetts | photo courtesy Matt Jatkola

The Hideo Sasaki Foundation works to advance equity in the design of the environment. We sponsor research and programs that empower communities and strengthen education in design.

Events

2025 Celebration of Design

November 13, 2025

Enjoy food, drinks, and fun while supporting our mission of equity in design! Join the Hideo Sasaki Foundation on November 13, 2025, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at 110 Chauncy in Downtown Boston for the third annual Celebration of Design. We will celebrate Hideo Sasaki’s career, the Sasaki Foundation’s work, and the design community. All proceeds will support our mission of equity in design.

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What we do

Our values build on more than six decades of work by Hideo Sasaki, focusing on the following priority areas.

1

Research & Grants

Large-scale, complex challenges require cross-disciplinary thinking. That’s why we convene experts and innovators from all backgrounds. Our research and grants bring issues of inequity in design to the forefront.

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2

Community Learning

Informed and engaged residents are central ingredients of a successful community. That’s why we host public programs that amplify a diversity of voices and address socially relevant topics as we work toward systemic change.

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3

Design Education

A thriving design industry relies on a pipeline of diverse, talented, and passionate practitioners who infuse new ideas and disrupt established patterns. That’s why we provide youth with opportunities to discover and explore careers in design.

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History

The Hideo Sasaki Foundation is named after Hideo Sasaki, a Japanese American landscape architect who came of age in WWII. Hideo was a pioneer of modern design, a leader, and an educator. He articulated—and proved—the value of interdisciplinary design while breaking down the traditional barriers between practice and teaching.

The Hideo Sasaki Foundation was established by Sasaki, a multidisciplinary design firm founded by Hideo, with support from Hideo’s family and friends. Continuing Hideo’s legacy, we sit at the intersection of research, practice, education, and community-driven processes. We advance equity in design, inviting diverse partners to co-create change.

 

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Hideo Sasaki

1970s