In 2025, the Hideo Sasaki Foundation celebrated 25 years of advancing equity in design. We continue to create local impact through active community-based research, public programming, and design education, serving the communities of Boston and beyond. Thank you for joining us on our mission.

Investing in research, our sixth cohort of Design Grants wrapped up their projects in June 2025. The teams positively impacted the communities of Mission Hill and Roxbury, Dorchester, and Chinatown. And our seventh cohort, which will complete their projects in June 2026, is already doing incredible work. We also continued our partnership with the Cambridge Public Health Department on the Health Promotion Mini Grants. In 2025 the program funded 14 community organizations working towards a healthier Cambridge.

Our 2025 public programming sparked conversation around mobility equity and explored the past, present, and future of collaborative design. We also celebrated the power of women in the design industry. These programs brought more than 1,150 people together from Greater Boston and, thanks to virtual platforms, around the country.

Our design education efforts created space for young people to explore careers in design. Our Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED) hired 45 high school interns and 10 college teaching assistants to advance design projects for local nonprofits. Our Designing Environmental and Social Impact (DESI) after-school program hired 10 high school interns and 3 college teaching assistants to use design to improve their own communities. We are grateful for the meaningful experiences, volunteer design professionals, and support we receive from state and local funders.

Wrapping up this milestone year for the foundation, we press on to set ambitious goals and generate a meaningful agenda of research, programs, and partnerships that grow our impact in communities throughout Greater Boston. In these uncertain times, we still envision a future where the power of community-based planning and design is fully realized for the benefit of the public good. We hope you will join us as we continue this important work.

Read more in our 2025 Annual Report, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date in 2026.