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!

Our fourth cohort of Design Grants teams wrapped up their projects in June 2023, positively impacting the communities of Chinatown, Chelsea, Somerville, and Mass. and Cass. In an effort to amplify even more community voices, we reached a growing number of community organizations through our 2023 call for proposals. We look forward to seeing what our fifth cohort is able to accomplish by the time they wrap up their projects in June 2024. We are already in awe of the incredible body of work that continues to grow and flourish through their design processes.

Through the lens of community learning, our events sparked conversations around cultural planning, Boston’s equity vision, the historic erasure of Indigenous peoples, human-centered design, the role of design education, and more. These programs brought more than 1,100 people together from Greater Boston and, thanks to virtual platforms, around the country.

Reflecting on design education, some of the most powerful and meaningful work we do is to create space for young people to explore a career in design. Our Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED) internship grew from 11 to 43 high school interns, and hired an additional 5 college students to guide the program. We are grateful for the meaningful experiences for all our students and volunteer design professionals.

We continue to focus on issues of equity in shaping our communities. We are well positioned to grow through our next strategic plan, currently in ideation by our Board of Trustees and staff. We are hopeful for the future of this work and honored you would come along the journey with us.

Read more in our 2023 Annual Report, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date in 2024.