Youth Climate Action Fund

Empowering young people to take action and build a greener future for Glasgow

Are you 15-24 years old? Do you have an idea for a climate project?

Apply for a grant of up to £3,900 through the Youth Climate Action Fund now!

Would you like to be inspired to develop ideas for a project?

Sign-up to attend our Planting Seeds session on Tuesday 8th April via Eventbrite!

What is the YCAF?

In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a global Youth Climate Action Fund which provided funding to 100 cities worldwide to support young people aged 15-24, and organisations working with this age group, to design and deliver climate-focused projects in their cities. More information here.

As one of the participating cities, Glasgow received grant funding of US$50,000 to support youth-led climate projects through the distribution of local microgrants.

Following a successful first round of the programme which funded 8 diverse projects across the city, Glasgow has been awarded an additional $100,000 from Bloomberg to deliver a second round of the YCAF. During this round of the programme, we will be awarding grants of up to £3,900 to 17+ projects.

How can I apply?

You can apply through our online application form via a mobile phone, tablet, laptop or computer.
In the application, we will ask you for:

Contact details so we can get in touch with you
A description of your project idea
Details about the impact of your project
A brief timeline of the main project activities
A simple budget describing how much funding you need and what the money will be used for

You will have the option to save your progress as you are filling out the form.

Please make sure to submit your application by midnight on Monday 21st April.

If you need support filling out the form, please contact us: YouthClimateActionFund@glasgow.gov.uk.

Who is eligible for funding?

Projects must be led by at least 2 team members aged 15-24
Projects must be represented by a youth-led or youth-focused organisation*
Organisations must be based within the Glasgow City Council boundary

*A youth-led organisation is made up of at least three individuals aged 15 to 24 in leadership positions who actively participate in decision making within the organisation. Youth-focused organisations, while generally led by adults, provide core programmes and resources designed to meet the needs of young people. This can include community groups, third-sector organisations, schools, colleges and universities.

What can the funding be used for?

Projects should be environmentally focused and support at least one of the YCAF key themes, which are based on the themes of Glasgow's Climate Plan (PDF, 15 MB)(opens new window).

YCAF Themes (PDF, 643 KB)(opens new window)

What are the key dates?

Applications for round 2 of the Youth Climate Action Fund are now open and you can apply online here. Applications will close at midnight on Monday 21st April. Projects will be selected by the end of May, and delivered between July and October 2025.

YCAF Timeline (PDF, 507 KB)(opens new window)

Planting Seeds Talk Series

As part of the YCAF programme, we are running a series of online sessions with guest speakers focused on different climate-related topics. The aim of Planting Seeds is to showcase some of the work going on in Scotland to create a better future for people and planet and provide context around the YCAF Themes (PDF, 643 KB)(opens new window) , to prepare young people and organisations to develop ideas for impactful projects.

The first session be held on Tuesday 8th April from 2-3pm. This will include talks from Izzie Eriksen, Founder of ApparelXchange, and John Thorne, Sustainability Co-ordinator at Glasgow School of Art. Please sign-up to attend via Eventbrite.

This page will be updated with dates and sign-up links for future sessions shortly.

YCAF information session

An online Information Session was held on Wednesday 26th February for young people and organisations who were interested in finding out more about the opportunity.

The slides from the session can be found under Related Content at the bottom of this page.

YCAF Design Jam

The YCAF Design Jam took place on Friday 21st March at The Social Hub Glasgow. This was a free event for young people and youth-focused organisations to develop ideas for local climate solutions, supporting them to apply for the Youth Climate Action Fund to bring their ideas to life.

What is a Jam?
A Jam is a collaborative event geared towards working together, coming up with ideas, and building on the ones that stick. It is a fun and creative environment to come up with something new and test how to make it real.

Design Jams use a design thinking approach to encourage collaboration, innovation and a people-centred approach.