Youth Climate Action Fund

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

Are you 15-24 years old or an organisation working with this age group? 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!

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. We have extended our application process to give people the opportunity to apply after the Easter break. Please submit your application by 8pm on Monday 5th May.

Please check the YCAF FAQs (PDF, 894 KB)(opens new window) for more information about the application process.

If you need support filling out the form, you can contact us by emailing: 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 Themes (PDF, 643 KB)(opens new window), which are based on the themes of Glasgow's Climate Plan (PDF, 15 MB)(opens new window).

Please read the YCAF FAQs (PDF, 894 KB)(opens new window) for more details about what funding can be spent on

What are the key dates?

Applications for the Youth Climate Action Fund are now open and you can apply online here.

The first round of applications will close at midnight on Monday 21st April.

It will then open for a second round, where we will be accepting applications between Monday 21st April-Monday 5th May.

Please make sure to submit your application no later than 8pm on Monday 5th May.

Projects will be selected by the end of May, and delivered between July and December 2025.

More details can be found in the YCAF Timeline (PDF, 506 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). The talks are open to anyone who is interested in hearing from experts in a range of different fields.

The first session was held on Tuesday 8th April and featured the following guest speakers:

John Thorne, Sustainability Co-ordinator at Glasgow School of Art

John gave an insight into his experience of the power of creativity to inform, emote and transmit information to raise the profile of issues like climate change, and how we can connect climate action with social justice issues to transform our society.

Izzie Eriksen, Founding Director of ApparelXchange

Izzie spoke about the importance of bringing people together to work towards common goals, and the journey of ApparelXchange to create a sustainable clothing system for young people and families, integrated in every community across Glasgow.

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.

Please check the YCAF Information Session Slides (PDF, 20 MB)(opens new window) for an overview of the session.

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.

More details on the event can be found in the YCAF Design Jam Slides (PDF, 22 MB)(opens new window).