Save the Harbor seeks applications from Revere organizations for 2023 Better Beaches Grant Program

  Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) are now seeking Better Beaches Program grant proposals from organizations to support free beach events and activities in Revere this summer.

  Last year, Save the Harbor awarded $17,500 in Better Beaches grants to Revere organizations like Revere Beach Partnership, Greencrab.org, Revere Parks & Recreation, NamaStay Sober and Haus of Threes. This money was used to put on Cooking with Green Crabs, an artisan beach market, beach yoga, movie nights, sand sculpting and more. In 2022, Save the Harbor’s Better Beaches Program invested more than $250,000 in the program, supporting 62 organizations in nine waterfront communities from Nahant to Nantasket. In turn, those organizations ran over 180 events.

  This year, Better Beaches state funding has increased. Save the Harbor we will be awarding more than $300,000 in 2023 Better Beaches grants for even more events free to the public. If you or your organization has a great idea for a free beach event or program, just follow this link: https://www.savetheharbor.org/better-beaches.

  “Our goal for [Cooking with Green Crabs] was to get people in the community excited about the many ways you can cook with green crab and provide free resources and recipes in multiple languages so that more people can learn about this underutilized resource,” said Greencrab.org Founder/Director Mary Parks. “We were so excited to partner with Eating with the Ecosystem for this event, given their focus on local and underutilized seafood and our biggest thanks to Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Program for making this event possible.”

  The Better Beaches program puts resources in the hands of local beach lovers, supporting and empowering them to execute events for their communities. The impact is clear – Save the Harbor has brought millions of community members to the region’s beaches with over 1,000 free events since 2008.

  Grant applicants can come from any community if their idea centers on one of our region’s public beaches. Better Beaches funds will be awarded to organizations, programs, individuals and creatives who empower, amplify and invest in community members of color, people with disabilities, people whose first language is not English and members of the Queer community. The event must be free and open to the public, be executed in summer 2023 and comply with DCR’s restrictions on what’s allowed on the beaches.

  A Trike Called Funk, a Better Beaches grantee, used their funds to perform at events on multiple beaches and host their own event series: Bike to the Beach and Boogie. “None of this would have been possible had it not been for the support of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the Better Beaches initiative,” said A Trike Called Funk Cofounder A.a.Ron Myers. “We are happy to amplify Save the Harbor and celebrate what they’re doing to bring people together and to appreciate, but also become stewards of, these beautiful blue and green spaces in and around Boston.”

  Information about the events and programs that were supported last year can be found in Save the Harbor’s 2023 Impact Report, which is available at https://www.savetheharbor.org/publications.

  You can apply for a Better Beaches grant at https://www.savetheharbor.org/better-beaches. You will be notified of the result of your application in April. If you have any questions about the Better Beaches Program, please contact Maya Smith at smith@savetheharbor.org.

  Funds to support the program have come from DCR, the Baker/Polito Administration and the Harpoon Shamrock Splash, which will take place on March 12, 2023. To register for the Splash, visit https://savetheharbor.securesweet.com/default.asp.

  Save the Harbor’s success would not be possible without its program partners and event sponsors, including Arctic Chill, FMC Ice Sports, Bay State Cruise Company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Blue Sky Collaborative, Boston & Maine Webcams, The Boston Foundation, BostonHarbor.com, Boston Properties, Coast Cannabis, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Comcast, Cronin Group, Constellation Generation, Comcast Foundation, The Daily Catch, DCR, Eastern Salt Company, Inc., Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Harpoon, IR+M Charitable Fund, JetBlue, John Hancock Financial Services, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, Massport, P&G Gillette, Mix 104.1, National Grid and the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation. In addition, Save the Harbor recognizes the Metropolitan Beaches Commission Co-Chairs – Senator Brendan Crighton of Lynn and Representative Adrian Madaro of East Boston – and the legislative and community members of the Commission as well as Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano for their support for our beaches and our communities. Save the Harbor also thanks the Baker-Polito Administration, the Massachusetts Legislature, Save the Harbor’s partners at DCR, the Boston Centers for Youth & Families, the YMCA of Greater Boston and the hundreds of people who take part in the Shamrock Splash for their support.