February 8, 2022
Sasaki Foundation Launches 2022 Call for Proposals
Anna Scherling
Today, the Sasaki Foundation announces our 2022 Design Grants call for proposals. The Design Grants are an annual program seeking interdisciplinary, creative approaches to test new design concepts in communities in Greater Boston, the Gateway Cities, and Metro West. Since 2018, the Sasaki Foundation has received 52 applications representing more than 70 communities, and has awarded more than $170,000 through the program. Read more about our most recent grant winners here.
The 2022 call is under the theme Shared Voices: Charting a Course for Community Action. The challenges in addressing environmental resilience, displacement, affordable housing, access to mobility choices, meaningful public engagement, and other social equity considerations in planning and design are so broad and complex, they require a shared approach to facilitate all the necessary conversations and deliver actionable solutions. Most of these challenges faced by Boston communities are not limited to local neighborhoods—their effects are felt and shared across the Commonwealth and beyond. Multiple futures are at stake, and we can make a difference by acting now.
The Sasaki Foundation recognizes the need for interdisciplinary approaches, diverse community voices, and regional cooperation as key drivers to find shared solutions and create shared impact.
This year, applicants can choose to apply for $15,000 Action Grants, $7,500 Discovery Grants, and $2,500 Exploration Grants. We will award grants based on the strongest proposals in light of total available funding. All grants include engagement with the Sasaki Foundation and access to design expertise from Sasaki professionals. Proposals must have a community focus located in Greater Boston, the Massachusetts Gateway Cities, or Metro West. Interdisciplinary teams must be between two to four people and must include at least one representative from the proposal’s focus community.
If you have ideas on how to tackle climate adaptation, housing or transit inequities or displacement of residents, or how to foster community building and wellbeing, we encourage you to apply for one of our design grants, and to share this opportunity with your networks.
To learn more, please register to attend one of our virtual Open Houses at noon on Thursday, March 10, or 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 7.