Call for Applications: Youth Climate Action Fund (Zambia)

Deadline: 11-Sep-2026

The Youth Climate Action Fund (YCAF) provides microgrants to support youth-led and youth-serving organizations in Zambia implementing innovative projects that address climate change and environmental challenges. The fund empowers young people to take leadership in addressing local environmental issues through community-driven initiatives. Priority areas include waste management and recycling, tree planting and urban greening, and climate education and awareness. Selected initiatives can receive between US$1,000 and US$5,000 to support project implementation. Projects are expected to contribute to climate change mitigation, climate adaptation, environmental protection, and stronger community resilience. Eligible applicants include youth-led organizations, youth-serving organizations, and sponsor organizations such as city agencies, schools, educational institutions, museums, and community organizations. Organizations must generally be legally registered, recognized as non-profit or charitable entities under local laws unless they are public entities, and have a bank account in the organization’s name. Applicants must be aged 15 to 24 years and submit a detailed project description using the provided microgrant application template. What Is the Youth Climate Action Fund? The Youth Climate Action Fund is designed to help young people in Zambia take an active leadership role in responding to climate change and environmental challenges. The fund supports innovative and community-driven projects that address local environmental needs while helping build more resilient and sustainable communities. The program recognizes youth as important contributors to climate action and provides financial support for practical initiatives led by or serving young people. What Are the Objectives of the Fund? The Youth Climate Action Fund aims to: - Empower young people to lead climate action. - Support innovative environmental projects. - Address local climate and environmental challenges. - Strengthen community resilience. - Promote climate change mitigation. - Support climate change adaptation. - Protect the environment. - Encourage the development of sustainable communities. - Increase youth participation in environmental decision-making and action. What Funding Is Available? The Youth Climate Action Fund provides microgrants ranging from US$1,000 to US$5,000. The grants are intended to support implementation of selected youth-led initiatives. Applicants should develop projects that can realistically be delivered using the requested level of funding and clearly explain how the grant will contribute to the project’s intended outcomes. What Are the Priority Areas? The fund identifies several priority areas for youth-led climate action projects. Waste Management and Recycling Projects can focus on improving waste management practices and promoting recycling. Youth-led initiatives may address local waste challenges and encourage communities to adopt more sustainable waste practices. Tree Planting and Urban Greening Tree planting and urban greening projects are another priority. These initiatives can contribute to environmental protection, climate resilience, and more sustainable communities. Climate Education and Awareness The fund also supports projects that increase understanding of climate change and environmental issues. Climate education and awareness initiatives can help communities understand climate risks and encourage practical climate action. What Climate Outcomes Should Projects Address? Supported projects are expected to contribute to one or more broader climate and environmental outcomes.

These include:

- Climate change mitigation. - Climate change adaptation. - Environmental protection. - Community resilience. Applicants should clearly explain which outcomes their project is designed to achieve and how the proposed activities will contribute to them. Who Can Apply? The fund is open to several types of organizations involved in youth climate action.

Eligible applicants can include:

- Youth-led organizations. - Youth-serving organizations. - Sponsor organizations.

Sponsor organizations may include:

- City agencies. - Schools. - Educational institutions. - Museums. - Community organizations. The applicant organization must meet the program’s organizational eligibility requirements. What Are the Organizational Eligibility Requirements? Organizations applying for the fund must generally: - Be legally registered. - Be recognized as a non-profit or charitable entity under local laws, unless they are a public entity. - Have a bank account in the organization’s name. Applicants should ensure that their organizational documentation and banking arrangements meet these requirements before submitting an application. What Is the Age Requirement? Applicants must be aged 15 to 24 years. This youth eligibility requirement is central to the program’s objective of empowering young people to lead climate and environmental action. What Is a Youth-Led Project? A youth-led project is an initiative in which young people take an active role in identifying environmental challenges, developing solutions, and implementing community-based climate action. Applicants should demonstrate meaningful youth involvement rather than simply designing a project for young people without youth leadership or participation. What Is a Youth-Serving Organization? A youth-serving organization is an organization that works to support young people and can provide a structure through which youth-focused climate and environmental projects can be implemented. Organizations applying in this capacity should demonstrate how the proposed initiative benefits young people and supports their participation in climate action. What Are Sponsor Organizations? Sponsor organizations can provide an organizational structure for supporting youth-led climate initiatives.

Examples identified by the fund include:

- City agencies. - Schools. - Ed