Projects for Peace

Applicants must have the following qualifications:

• Pursuing projects that are 8 weeks or longer
• In good standing
• Current Harvard College undergraduates, 1st-year through 1st semester senior during Spring 2026
• Enrolled full-time during Spring 2026
• Planning to enroll in Fall 2026

Preference will be given to students who have NOT received prior funding and for whom this is their last summer of college

$10,000 is awarded to each grantee. Grantees must complete a Projects for Peace final reflection, which has three parts: a narrative, an expense report, and photos of the project, with captions.

Projects for Peace particularly welcomes proposal that demonstrate:

• An innovative approach to the issue(s);
• Appreciation for and sensitivity to the context, communities, and/or cultures where the project takes place;
• Consideration of the dilemmas, challenges, or conflicts that may underlie the targeted issues or selected approaches and how the project engages with it;
• Consideration of sustainability and/or scalability of the approach;
• Critical self-awareness by the grantee.

Harvard College nominates two projects for consideration for Projects for Peace program funding: one prioritized proposal and one nominated alternate. The intention of this program is to fund 100 projects (or more, subject to additional funding), with at least one at each of the participating partner institutions. Final review and approval of all recommended proposals from individual campuses rests solely with the Projects for Peace office, which awards grant funds to each of the participating schools with winning project(s).

To be considered, a student (or group of students) must prepare and share via the Harvard University Funding Portal the following:

• A RESUME/CV: No more than two pages.
• A CURRENT TRANSCRIPT: Can be unofficial from my.Harvard, but must be current.
• A PROPOSAL NARRATIVE: No more than two pages, single-spaced, 1" margins, 10 pt Arial font. The proposal should include the following elements:
  • Project summary: What issue(s) will be addressed? What approach(es) will be used? With whom will the grantee(s) work? What is the rationale for these choices?
  • Background: What is your working definition of peace? What preceded this proposal in terms of personal experience, forming relationships, developing knowledge, and other preparation?
  • Implementation: What plans have been made for use of funds, use of time, and contingencies?
  • Anticipated Results: What are the potential short and long-term outcomes for participants, community collaborators, and grantee(s)? How will progress be monitored? How will the project contribute to peace?
• A PROPOSAL BUDGET: Share as a PDF, using naming convention below.
  • Projects for Peace funding is $10,000 per project.
  • The proposal budget must show anticipated expenditures of the full $10,000, according to the categories provided. Explanatory notes of particular expenses may be added to the budget form, or included in the proposal narrative.
  • All funds are to be reported in US dollars.
  • Budgets should use this template. For additional instructions on using the template, navigate here. 

NOTES ON FORMATTING:

• DOCUMENT HEADER: Within the document header, please include the following information:
  • Title of Project
  • Country/ies and/or tribal or ethnic lands where project will take place
  • Project Year
  • Nominating College, University, or Institution
  • Designated project leader name and all student team member names: For each student, please list their home country and college/university.
  • Other committed team members or partner organizations, and their home country and/or location.
• NAMING CONVENTIONS: Please use the following conventions to name each file.
  • Proposal: ProjectYear_institutionname_projectitle_proposal, i.e,, 2026_HarvardCollege_GreatProject_Proposal.pdf
  • Budget: ProjectYear_institutionname_projectitle_budget, i.e., 2026_HarvardCollege_GreatProject_Budget.pdf