© Yazid S. Mikail

Here, you can read quotes from youth activists interviewed for this study. Interviews were conducted on a confidential basis, to encourage participants to freely and frankly discuss their funding experiences. We would like to thank everyone who generously gave their time. This includes young people based in Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ghana, India, Japan, Solomon Islands, the U.K. and the U.S.

Call to Action

1/  Increase funding for youth-led climate justice action

Interviewees on availability and distribution of philanthropic funds

“I’m seeing youth climate action pop up in more and more spaces. I feel that the financial landscape is slowly expanding – but youth organisations are expanding too so it is still difficult to get funds”
(Latin America)
“Raising funds feels like incredibly hard work. There’s more funding for safe, boring things than to systems change stuff where many young people are interested in creating change”
(Europe)
“Funders focus on high profile youth movements in Europe and the U.S. – this is not helping movement and frontline organisations in MAPA countries (Most Affected Peoples and Areas)”
(South Asia)
“We have to redistribute the money better between us and to other people that want to increase their voices too. Some big organisations get stupid amounts of money every year – while indigenous communities are not being represented and need to do crowdfunding”
(Latin America)
“Climate justice is about power and agency for the communities that are directly impacted. It’s not about us, but how to support them better. A lot of that comes down to finance and access to the right spaces. Even within the climate justice movement, I think there’s still a shift that needs to happen”
(North America)

Interviewees on hesitancy and leadership among funders

“I’ve had conversations with multiple funders who are hesitant to fund young people. Why are you hesitant? These interventions are literally going to shape our futures. I think there’s a mentality of ageism and the narrative that young people are kind of naïve, but they’re really not. They’re driving the change”
(International)
“Funders often think that young people don’t know how to do things. But give credit and listen to the youth. Youth can change reality very fast”
(Latin America)
“Sometimes it’s just that people don’t take you seriously and at times prefer to find adult led projects targeting young people, rather than finding young people doing things themselves”
(Europe)
“We need champions, funders willing to go to the mat for us as a youth organization. We don’t have connections. We’re not wealthy ourselves. We don’t have institutional backing. Movement work is not where funders are most comfortable giving. We need more funders able to say to the rest of philanthropy, look, you guys should be giving them more money. Or look at what they’ve been doing, it’s been really effective”
(North America)

Interviewees on funding scarcity, volunteerism, security and risk

“Retaining youth in climate justice movements is a huge issue. Volunteering in Africa is a whole other context to the rest of the world. Here we don’t have social benefits, no state support. Mostly we work with volunteer grassroots groups. If someone offers then a job outside, although they are passionate about the movement they have to go”
(Africa)
“Finance isn’t the only reason for burn out but it is a big one. Many students do not expect pay as yet, but there’s a lot who need to make a living, and activists who can do very little because of maintaining other work”
(South Asia)
“Our network is huge in terms of youth we’ve got on board, but there’s only a few very active volunteers. When they leave the campaign for paid work we have to bring new people in – this cycle is not sustainable and the magnitude of it is overwhelming for those who are left”
(South East Asia)
“We’re always in survival mode and there’s a lot of things that we would want to do, but we can’t for lack of funding”
(Europe)
“Everyone is doing this on a voluntary basis. We often provide for our families as well. It’s a huge responsibility for us as young people engaging in something we care about, but worried because we have to put food on the table. We do not have benefits and privileges from our own government and we need at least some employment opportunities”
(Oceania)
“Global South and Global North youth are different in terms of the ability to come out and advocate. Some risk even losing their lives if they start up activism. Some of us don’t even have laptops. Some of us don’t even have the privilege of getting an education, but still we’re committing”
(Oceania)
“Security is one of the most important things, because in some countries and in some communities it is more dangerous to be an environmental defender. I think it is very important that within financial support, there is separate, additional support for the protection and security of the people involved”
(Latin America)

2/  Enact youth-friendly grantmaking practices

Interviewees on access to philanthropic funds

“Once you are in that world of funds and donors, it can seem easier, but getting there is difficult. There is a entrance barrier to this world”
(Latin America)
“The private and family foundation side remains quite anonymous, and you can’t really find those contacts. Then the bigger foundation side, is very bureaucratic and a lot of times you have to know the funder beforehand in order to be aware of of the grant opportunities that exist”
(North America)
“Access to funding is very challenging, we had to do old school googling of it online – we didn’t know who to ask or where to even start looking. Its overwhelming to work on all this and the actual campaign as well”
(South East Asia)
“Often funders are expecting to see a lot of institutional stability, or audited financial reports. How many grassroots organizations can provide all of this? We need to find different models, ways for these groups to access funding without needing a long organisational history”
(International)

Interviewees on availability of core, flexible, rapid funds

“Thinking about ways how funds can be mobilised in weeks rather than in months is really important. Youth movements are used to doing things with little time, but accessing funds takes a lot of time, you have to ask well in advance. Quick funds would be very beneficial”
(Latin America)
“Change doesn’t happen in yearly grant cycles. But that is where most of the money is and it’s incredibly difficult to map out our staffing and strategies when we don’t know what the resources are going to look like from year to year”
(North America)
“The climate crisis is an intersectional issue and it will cross over into other things. If foundations create very specific criteria for what they’ll fund, that can create barriers to organizing because it really just limits who’s going to be able to do that and what kinds of people want to get involved”
(North America)
“Sometimes people have no idea about how to fundraise, and sometimes they are not willing to explore this too much because of the other obligations it leads to – not just to spend the money, but spend a lot of time reporting on it too”
(Europe)

Interviewees on the need for networks and other movement infrastructure

“A lot of youth organizations are just starting up. Young people want to take on the climate crisis by implementing their own ideas and agendas, but of course they want advice and need support. A network can really draw through the energy and momentum for these young people, who participate and ensure the network continues to grow”
(Oceania)
“Young people have the energy and other strengths which we need as part of the solution. Helping young people to get together can increase their impact, instead of allowing them to work in fragmented or scattered areas”
(Africa)
“As an ecosystem we need to talk with each other and share knowledge that can help to grow our organisations in our own countries. We need to get together more. All the climate events for the youth are really helpful, we become stronger by learning from each other”
(Latin America)
“The most difficult thing has to do with building that ecosystem and forming new leaders to join and keep doing the work. After a few years we won’t be part of the youth anymore, new people need to join to continue the work”
(Latin America)
“Well-established networks can promote climate justice through all influencing levels, from the grassroots to the international level”
(Oceania)

3/  Integrate young people into decision-making and day-to-day operations

Interviewees on diversity, equity and inclusion

“More funding would allow us to hire more young people from underprivileged backgrounds, from places or communities where they actually cannot afford to volunteer”
(Europe)
“Youth volunteers mostly experience the climate crisis as an intersectional agenda, we relate climate to gender, prejudice and biodiversity issues. If donors do not allow for links between those different topics, young people will be discouraged”
(Latin America)

Interviewees on participatory grantmaking and trust-based philanthropy

“I would propose that funders have a young indigenous professional directly involved in the decision-making process, who has a knowledge of what is needed based on his or her experience. That could make this whole financing system easier to understand and easier to access”
(Latin America)
“The best advice I would give to a funder is don’t just do it all online. Sit together with youth organisations, build trust and also understand each other’s needs. Build this like a relationship, a partnership”
(International)
“Listen first, then launch the fund. Talk with the youth and listen to their needs because sometimes the funds that are available don’t really adjust to the needs of youth and indigenous movements”
(Latin America)
“Authenticity is important within our movement spaces, and I think what makes a healthy funder is not only looking to grant money out, but being able to bring communities in and feel as if they’re welcome, that they’re involved in the process”
(North America)

Interviewees on careers for young people in the climate sector

“Our work can give our volunteers a sense of purpose or what they would like to do with their lives. Before they wanted to be a doctor or a pilot, now they are thinking they want to make a career out of climate justice too”
(Oceania)
“Funds that want to work in regions like Latin America must have managers and advisers from those regions. Most foundations I know have a very small staff and I don’t know if that’s good. Maybe invest more in staff in different places where you want to work, because you will find different projects and greater impact”
(Latin America)
“As a youth activist now working in the philanthropy world, I would suggest that foundations choose to hire more young people to do the grantmaking. Some changes are going on around diversity, equity and inclusion, but what better way can we understand than to hire people from different backgrounds? Understanding grass roots movements is key in the world we live in today”
(Latin America)
“We have young entrepreneurs who are creating climate solutions with innovative business ideas and at the same time, creating employment for themselves and other young people. They get to the point where they need a little push – small funding to upskill or grow that business – but that push is not coming. So they do get frustrated and we have to find a way to motivate them and to keep them going”
(Africa)