About the Award
Today’s young people will bear the burden of the adverse impacts of climate change, yet little funding goes to youth-led solutions. Global annual funding for climate change work represents less than 2% of total philanthropic giving, or about $16 billion. Support for youth-led climate initiatives is even more limited, with just $14.2 million in annual grants. Informed by feedback from young climate leaders around the world, the Emerging Climate Champions Award directly takes into account youth perspectives, as well as cultural and localized contexts for climate work.
This open call seeks to shine a spotlight on climate organizations with youth leadership (ages 15-35). The Award invites applications from organizations with at least two years of operation that are community-led, and that have demonstrated experience, strong potential, and measurable results in advancing durable climate solutions in the communities they serve. Organizations from all around the world are encouraged to apply, including those from historically under-resourced and/or under-represented communities, such as Indigenous-led organizations, women-led organizations, grassroots organizations, and others.
The Award encourages more of us to rethink the role of young people in addressing the various climate challenges faced by communities around the world.
The Award welcomes organizations working across a full spectrum of climate issues and solutions, including but not limited to areas such as education, movement building, climate justice, science/technology, economic opportunity, community resilience, conservation, advocacy, sustainable agriculture, disaster preparedness, and others.
About the Process
The award process has been designed to be fair, open, and transparent – guided by the advice of young leaders working to address climate issues around the world.
After applications are submitted, they will undergo Administrative Review to confirm basic eligibility, followed by Participatory Review by other applicants. During the Participatory Review process, applicants will score and provide feedback on each other’s proposals using our established criteria outlined in the evaluation rubric. An evaluation panel of external experts will then review and score submissions using the same criteria.
The Emerging Climate Champions Award recipients will be announced in Summer 2026. At that time, flexible gifts of $1 million will be awarded to selected organizations and disbursed over one to five years.
Next Steps
Interested organizations are invited to visit climate.leverforchange.org for more information and to take the Organization Readiness Tool assessment to determine their eligibility.
Applicants must register to apply before 5 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Friday, August 15, 2025. Once registered, applicants must submit an online application before 5 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Monday, September 22, 2025. For more information regarding eligibility, please refer to the application portal. Questions about the Emerging Climate Champions Award can be directed to [email protected].
