The Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) at Hunter College has announced that it is now accepting applications for the 2026-2027 Rooted + Relational Community Micro-Grant program. CENTRO will award up to 12 grants, each up to $5,000, to non-institutionally affiliated and non-academic community organizations, individuals, or projects for community-based programs. We invite community organizers, artists, creatives, writers, agricultural workers, activists, and cultural workers who reside in Puerto Rico and/or the United States and its territories to apply. 

The 2026-2027 the Rooted + Relational theme is Black Cuerpas: Race, Body Politics & Culture. CENTRO seeks to fund projects that examine

• How do race, gender, sexuality, and body politics shape the everyday lives and histories of Boricuas across the archipelago and diaspora? 
• What happens when we center race and Blackness in a field of study that has too often championed color-blindness and the myth of racial democracy to avoid the hard questions about racism, anti-Blackness, complicity, and erasure?

During the 2026-2027 academic year, grantees will implement their funded projects within their chosen communities. They will also present their work at a CENTRO event, attend three virtual meetings, and have their work highlighted through CENTRO’s communications and media channels.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicants must be community-based individuals, groups, or organizations engaged in artistic, community-driven, agricultural, activist, or cultural projects 
• Applicants must not be affiliated with a college or university (professors, graduate students, and academic staff are not eligible).
• Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
• Past Rooted & Relational Grant Recipients are not eligible. 

To learn more about the submission requirements and apply by April 30, 2026 at 11:59pm ET.

To learn more about the “Rooted + Relational” initiative, please click here. For questions or assistance with the application process, please contact: Rosa Cruz, Partnerships and Outreach Manager, at centrofl@hunter.cuny.edu. 

To apply, please fill out an application here.