The Cambridge Public Health Department (CPHD) 2025 Health Promotion Mini-Grant Program will award up to $20,000 in total funding to projects that promote healthy eating, physical activity, or youth wellness.

Eligible groups for mini-grants include community organizations, schools, businesses, garden and farm programs, and government agencies that serve Cambridge.

A project proposal must address one of the categories below and is only eligible for one type of mini-grant per funding cycle:

• Healthy Eating and Physical Activity. $1,000 mini-grants are available for projects that promote healthy eating and/or physical activity in children and/or adults. Up to ten projects will be funded. Last year’s winners included such projects as a day of joy for individuals without housing; chair yoga classes for an Ethiopian elders group; and a staff summer wellness program encouraging movement and healthy eating.
• Youth Wellness. $2,000 mini-grants are available for projects that promote wellness in Cambridge youth, with a focus on youth age 12 to 18. Up to five projects will be funded. Last year’s winning projects included a series by local BIPOC artists focused on how art can support mental health; expansion of period preparation parties to help reduce the stigma around periods; and the introduction of yoga and mindfulness classes into an existing youth program.

See the full list of the 2024 mini-grant award winners.

CPHD is hosting two information sessions open to anyone who is interested in applying for either grant. The sessions will provide potential applicants the opportunity to review the application, ask questions and talk about potential project ideas. The links to register for these virtual sessions are below:

• March 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Register for info session.
• March 13 from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Register for info session.

The mini-grants are competitive. All applications are reviewed by representatives from the Cambridge Public Health Department, the Hideo Sasaki Foundation, and other organizations and groups.

The mini-grant guidelines and application are available on the Cambridge Public Health Department’s Mini-Grants web page.

The deadline for submission is April 4, 2025.

To learn more about the mini-grant program, contact Brigitte De Veau 617.665.3759 at bdeveau@cambridgepublichealth.org (Healthy Eating and Physical Activity) or Sarah Lincoln 617.665.3874 at salincoln@cambridgepublichealth.org (Youth Wellness).

Cambridge Public Health Department
The Cambridge Public Health Department protects and promotes the health of everyone in Cambridge through services, information, policies, and regulations. Main focus areas are communicable disease prevention and control, emergency preparedness and community resilience, environmental health, epidemiology, population health initiatives, regulatory enforcement, and school health.

The Hideo Sasaki Foundation
The Hideo Sasaki Foundation believes design has the power to address the most urgent challenges facing us, from social equity to environmental resilience. Design is an agent of change. And yet, access to design—for communities who need it the most—is often limited. Making change requires collective impact. At the intersection of philanthropy, education, and community, the Hideo Sasaki Foundation is committed to advancing the value of design, inviting diverse partners to co-create change. The Hideo Sasaki Foundation serves as the fiscal agent for the mini-grant program.