Young leaders advancing potential climate solutions could win $1 million grants

Youth-led climate groups are getting a $25 million injection from a philanthropic collaborative that hopes other funders will follow their lead in supporting solutions created by younger generations grappling with a future marked by increasing temperatures and rising sea levels. Despite recent upticks in donations to nonprofits combating climate change, Enlight Foundation President Xin Liu said emerging leaders on the front lines of the crisis are not getting enough of that money. So, she and The Patchwork Collective are offering $1 million multi-year grants to 25 community organizations led by 15- to 35-year-olds. “There’s a little funder stigma of trusting youth, trusting young funders, trusting their capacity, their ability to lead,” Liu said. “They’re really quite often very innovative and creative. And very much close to the problem, which drives them to come up with really impactful solutions,” she added. “As an older generation, we have a responsibility in helping them, empowering them, to scale their work, too.” The award is open to anyone globally who is tackling a broad range of climate issues, including education, justice, resilience, conservation, sustainable agriculture and disaster preparedness. Applicants have until September 22 to enter the open call run by Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the MacArthur Foundation. The competition is part of Enlight Foundation’s spenddown strategy. The nonprofit, created to fund education equality and youth empowerment, plans to give away all its resources in the next eight years. Lever for Change President Kristen Molyneaux said everyone has a role to play. More than a dozen young advisors gave feedback on the open call’s design and will help with peer review, according to Liu. Youth-led organizations and climate experts are welcome to participate in the external evaluation panel. Liu is inviting more funders to join because she said each additional $1 million will allow them to benefit another awardee. “The people who are most invested in this are the people who are going to be bearing the burden of climate change in their future,” Molyneaux said. “So, they understand the importance of this issue and how to mobilize their communities.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.