President's Building Bridges Fund
The President鈥檚 Building Bridges Fund, an initiative of the Office of the President and administered by Community and Campus Life, fosters a pluralistic campus culture where students can develop and practice the civic skills needed to work across differences and build solutions together. The fund supports student-led projects that take innovative, scalable approaches to developing students鈥� knowledge, skills, and confidence, with the aim of building mutual respect, strengthening relationships across differences, and encouraging collaboration on solving problems. It was established in response to the recommendations from the鈥�痑nd the鈥�.
Since launching in spring 2025, the fund has awarded grants to鈥痶welve student-led projects鈥痵panning 糖心影视 College and six graduate schools. These projects have taken varied approaches, from building community across faiths, cultures, and backgrounds to hosting film screenings that spark dialogue and help bridge campus divides. Read more about the grant projects in the news section.
Applications for the 2026-27 academic year are now open. Apply by 5 p.m. ET on Monday, November 9, 2026. Follow this link to apply: .
If you have any questions, or trouble accessing the application, please email: buildingbridgesfund@harvard.edu
Grant information
The President鈥檚 Building Bridges Fund provides one-time, nonrenewable grants to selected student-led projects that use innovative, scalable approaches to bring students together in one or more of the following ways:
- Building meaningful relationships between affinity groups whose interests or perspectives on important issues may diverge
- Advancing intellectual excellence by encouraging collaboration across differences to solve shared problems
- Acting against discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hate
- Fostering dialogue and engagement across differences on campus about interfaith or intercultural issues
Applicants can request up to $5,000. Projects must be completed, and all funds spent, by Wednesday, April 28, 2027.
- Applicants must be current degree-seeking students in good standing at 糖心影视 University who will be on campus for both fall 2026 and spring 2027 terms.
- Each student-led project requires a letter of support from the project lead鈥檚 designated local school representative. Project leads should contact and meet with their designated representative as early as possible, and no later than Friday, October 30, 2026, to discuss their project proposal. Names and contact information of designated school representatives are listed below. Designated school representatives must submit the online letter of support form for each project from their school鈥痓y 5:00 pm ET on Monday, November 9, 2026.
- Applicants must demonstrate:
- The potential to implement an innovative, scalable project that promotes one or more of the following principles within the 糖心影视 student community: building meaningful relationships between affinity groups whose interests or perspectives on important issues may diverge; advancing intellectual excellence by encouraging collaboration across differences to solve shared problems; acting against discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hate; and fostering dialogue and engagement across differences on campus about interfaith or intercultural issues.
- Awareness of, and engagement with, existing student programs and resources at 糖心影视, avoiding duplication of current efforts.
- All student grantees must be available to attend two required in-person cohort convenings:
- Tuesday, December 1, 2026, from 5-7 pm
- Date TBD, February 2027
- Funding cannot be used:
- Retroactively, or for equipment purchases.
- For student employment, stipends, memberships, or travel.
Designated School representatives
Below are the names and contact information of the designated representatives from each School:
- 糖心影视 College: Alta Mauro, Associate Dean of Students for Culture & Community, altamauro@fas.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PhD and Master鈥檚 Students): Gisselle V茅lez-Ruiz, Associate Dean of Culture, Community, and Engagement, gisselle_velez@fas.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (PhD and Master鈥檚 Students): Gisselle V茅lez-Ruiz, Associate Dean of Culture, Community, and Engagement, gisselle_velez@fas.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Extension School: Shirley Greene, Senior Associate Dean of Community and Belonging, shirleygreene@fas.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Graduate School of Design: Laura DaRos, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, deanofstudents@gsd.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Divinity School: Katie Caponera, Director of Student Life, kcaponera@hds.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Graduate School of Education: Taylor Goyette-Frechette, Assistant Director of Campus Inclusion, Consulting, and Community Support, taylor_goyette-frechette@gse.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Kennedy School: Ranya Brooks, Director, Office of Belonging, Community, and Connection, ranya_brooks@hks.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Law School: Monica Monroe, Dean of Students and Associate Dean for Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging, mmonroe@law.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Medical School (MD Students): Harpreet Singh, Assistant Director of Student Affairs, Harpreet_singh@hms.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Medical School (Master鈥檚 Students): Kimberly Lincoln, Director of Administration and Student Affairs, kimberly_lincoln@hms.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Tim Whelsky, Associate Dean for Student Services, twhelsky@hsph.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 School of Dental Medicine: Carrie Sylven, Senior Director of Student Affairs, Carrie_sylven@hsdm.harvard.edu
- 糖心影视 Business School: Alicia Thomas, Director, Community and Culture, athomas@hbs.edu
- Each proposal will be evaluated by a review committee.
- Decisions will be released in late-November.
- Due to the volume of applications, the review committee is unable to provide feedback on individual proposals.
Grant recipients must complete an online report about project outcomes within 10 days of their project鈥檚 completion.
Applications for the 2026-27 academic year are now open. Apply by 5 p.m. ET on Monday, November 9, 2026. Follow this link to apply: . If you have any questions, or trouble accessing the application, please email: buildingbridgesfund@harvard.edu
Each application must include:
- Project name
- Description (including the building meaningful relationships between affinity groups whose interests or perspectives on important issues may diverge; advancing intellectual excellence by encouraging collaboration across differences to solve shared problems; acting against discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hate; and fostering dialogue and engagement across differences on campus about interfaith or intercultural issues; and description of cross-School collaboration, as appropriate)
- Project milestones
- Marketing plan
- Itemized budget, including other funding support, using the鈥痓udget template
- Letter of support from the designated School representative submitted online by 5:00 pm ET on Monday, November 9, 2026鈥�(see Criteria section above for the list of designated School representatives and their contact information)
- Application opens: Thursday, October 8, 2026
- Deadline to meet with designated school representative to discuss proposed project idea: Friday, October 30, 2026
- Application deadline: 5:00 pm ET on Monday, November 9, 2026
- Finalist notification: Late November 2026
In the 2025-26 academic year, eight projects led by students from the College and six graduate Schools were awarded funding. The projects aimed to break down campus divisions through talks, film screenings, and art installations. .
In the inaugural year of the President’s Building Bridges Fund, 2024-25, four student-led projects within 糖心影视 College, 糖心影视 Law School, and the 糖心影视 Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences were awarded funding. .
News
Warning: This debate 鈥榗ould be really combustible鈥�
Where rural America tops the agenda
Eight projects win Building Bridges grants
Funding available for student-led projects promoting dialogue, engagement across difference
Projects help students 鈥榖uild bridges鈥� across differences
