President's Building Bridges Fund

The President’s Building Bridges Fund is a one-time, nonrenewable grant to selected student-led projects that bring together groups of students along one or more of the following lines:

1. Building meaningful relationships between affinity groups whose interests or perspectives on important issues may diverge;
2. Advancing intellectual excellence by listening deeply, navigating tension constructively, and fostering cooperation across differences to solve common problems;
3. Acting against discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hate; and
4. Fostering dialogue and engagement across differences on campus about interfaith or intercultural issues, or a combination of both.

Applicants can request up to $5,000. Projects must be completed, and funds used, by Wednesday, April 29, 2026.

• Applicants must be current degree-seeking students at Harvard University.
  • Each student-led project requires a letter of support from the project lead’s Dean of Students Office. The project lead should contact the designated representative from their school’s Dean of Students Office as early as possible, well before the application deadline, to discuss their project proposal. The names and contact information of designated school representatives can be found below. The designated school representative should email a letter of support for each project from their school to buildingbridgesfund@harvard.edu by the application deadline.
• Applicants must demonstrate:
  • The potential to promote one or more of the following principles within the Harvard student community: building meaningful relationships between affinity groups whose interests or perspectives on important issues may diverge; advancing intellectual excellence by listening deeply, navigating tension constructively, and fostering cooperation across differences to solve common problems; acting against discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hate; and fostering dialogue and engagement across differences on campus about interfaith or intercultural issues, or a combination of both.
  • Awareness of, and engagement with, existing student programs and resources, avoiding duplication of current efforts.
• 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’s Dean of Students Office:

• Harvard Business School: Barbara Siegfriedt , Managing Director, MBA Student & Academic Services, bsiegfriedt@hbs.edu
• Harvard College: Alta Mauro, Associate Dean of Students for Culture & Community, altamauro@fas.harvard.edu
• Harvard School of Dental Medicine: Carrie Sylven, Senior Director of Student Affairs, Carrie_sylven@hsdm.harvard.edu
• Harvard Medical School (MD Students): Harpreet Singh, Assistant Director of Student Affairs, Harpreet_singh@hms.harvard.edu
• Harvard Medical School (Master’s Students): Kimberly Lincoln, Director of Administration and Student Affairs, kimberly_lincoln@hms.harvard.edu
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Tim Whelsky, Associate Dean for Student Services, twhelsky@hsph.harvard.edu
• The Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (PhD and GSAS & SEAS Master’s Students): Lakshmi Clark, Dean of Students, lakshmi_clark@fas.harvard.edu
• Harvard Divinity School: Katie Caponera, Director of Student Life, kcaponera@hds.harvard.edu
• Harvard Law School: Monica Monroe, Assistant Dean for Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging, mmonroe@law.harvard.edu
• Harvard Graduate School of Education: Taylor Goyette-Frechette, Assistant Director of Campus Inclusion and Community Support, taylor_goyette-frechette@gse.harvard.edu
• Harvard Kennedy School: Debbie Isaacson, Senior Associate Dean, debra_isaacson@hks.harvard.edu
• Harvard Graduate School of Design: Laura DaRos, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, deanofstudents@gsd.harvard.edu
• Harvard Extension School: Shirley Greene, Senior Associate Dean of Community and Belonging, greene@dce.mail.harvard.edu

• Each proposal will be evaluated by a review committee.
• Decisions will be released in mid-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’s completion.

Each application must include:

• Project name
• Description (including the potential to promote building meaningful relationships between affinity groups whose interests or perspectives on important issues may diverge; advancing intellectual excellence by listening deeply, navigating tension constructively, and fostering cooperation across differences to solve common problems; acting against discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hate; and fostering dialogue and engagement across differences on campus about interfaith or intercultural issues, or a combination of both.; and description of cross-School collaboration, as appropriate)
• Project milestones
• Marketing plan
• Itemized budget, including other funding support, using the budget template
• Letter of support from the designated School representative emailed directly to buildingbridgesfund@harvard.edu (see Criteria section above for the list of designated representatives and their contact information)

Applications for the 2026–27 academic year will reopen in Fall 2026.

For spring 2025, four student-led projects within Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences have been awarded funding through the President’s Building Bridges Fund. The projects are focused on building community across different faiths, cultures, and backgrounds and provide unique opportunities for students to engage in dialogue on complex issues and topics outside of the classroom setting.