Better Beaches Grant Program
Applications are now closed and decisions have gone out. Check back here next winter for application details!
Since 2008, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay has partnered with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to award small grants to local organizations and artists who activate the region’s public beaches through free public events and programs on public beaches in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy, and Hull. The program has granted over $2 million to community groups, leveraging nearly an additional $5 million in cash and in-kind donations from Save the Harbor, local businesses, and local governments for a total investment of $7,036,693 in 1,463 events.
Whether you are part of an organization, an artist collective, or are a creative individual with a vision for a more diverse and activated waterfront, there are Better Beaches grant opportunities for you! Grant applicants can come from any community, as long as their proposed event takes place on one of our region’s public DCR beaches. The goal of the Better Beaches Grant Program is to give decision-making power directly to community members over community spaces.
Please review the resources below before you apply!
You may email Maya Smith at smith@savetheharbor.org with any questions regarding the Better Beaches Grant Program.
Participatory Budgeting
Save the Harbor has chosen to center community voices by reserving $25,000 of Better Beaches funds to be managed by participatory budgeting. Click the button below to learn more about the process of collecting ideas, making the ballot, and community voting.
Before You Apply
Learn more about the events we have funded in the past, DCR’s public beaches, frequently asked questions, and characteristics of a successful grant application.
Apply Here
It all begins with a great idea! If you are an individual or part of an organization with a unique idea for activating our region’s beaches this summer, we want to hear from you. Email Maya Smith at smith@savetheharbor.org if you’d like to learn more about becoming a Better Beaches Grant recipient.
The Better Beaches Program is possible thanks to:
Title sponsor JetBlue, program sponsors Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Dorchester Brewing Company, Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, the Healey/Driscoll Administration and the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Additional support from:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the Blue Sky Collaborative, Boston Consulting Group, Calamari Fisheries, Coast Cannabis, Comcast, David Nardella, FMC Ice Sports, EveryDejaVu, Harpoon Brewery, Income Research + Management, Izotope, Jeff Reagan, JetBlue, John Murphy, Kennedy Elsey, Mix 104.1, National Grid, P&G Gillette, the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Topo Chico, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Special Thanks to Metropolitan Beaches Commission co-chairs Senator Brendan Crighton of Lynn and Representative Adrian Madaro of East Boston, Senate President Karen Spilka, Speaker Ron Mariano and the hundreds of people who raise funds in the JetBlue Shamrock Splash every year.
