For this final workshop, Youth4Capacity was joined by Care About Climate, Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and UNDP's Youth4Climate. It built on the momentum of the first workshop at the Summit of the Future in New York, which introduced tools to access funding, as well as the second workshop, offered virtually under the Climate Catalysts Mentorship Programme, where youth learned to craft compelling proposals and engage effectively with donors.
To deepen this knowledge, this final workshop focused on:
Effective approaches and tools for accessing funding: Understanding the climate funding landscape, types of funding sources (grants, donations, sponsorships, crowdfunding), key considerations for youth organizations, research techniques for identifying relevant funders, tools and resources for mapping funding opportunities, building a compelling case for support, articulating the value proposition of climate solutions, and tailoring pitches to align with funder priorities.
Developing successful funding proposals and engaging with donors: Crafting effective funding proposals, key components of successful proposals, writing tips and best practices, engagement strategies for donor relations, building and maintaining relationships with donors, effective communication and reporting, strategies for securing multi-year funding and long-term commitments, and case studies of successful donor partnerships.
Sustaining funding and ensuring scalability: Developing sustainable business models, case studies of scalable models and their impact, best practices for replicating and scaling successful youth-led projects, financial planning for long-term stability through a systems thinking approach, and adapting to changing funding environments.
Objectives
Equip youth with practical strategies for fundraising and mobilizing financial resources for climate initiatives.
Enhance the organizational capacities of youth-led climate projects to increase their financial sustainability and impact.
Foster a collaborative network among young climate activists, organizations, and potential funders.
Explore how to access funding in the early stages of an initiative and what characteristics are common in those that succeed in moving to a larger scale.
Foster discussions on roadblocks, personal resilience and skill building amongst young climate leaders.
Agenda
Time/Duration
Segment
Speaker & Affiliation
5 mins
Opening Remarks
Alessandro Guerri, Director General, Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, Italy
15 mins
Context setting - Sharing key messages from the first 2 workshops of the 3-part series focusing on “How to access funding for your climate solution” & “How to raise and mobilize funds for your climate solution”.
Yes, and… Fishbowl - Using the innovative "Yes, and..." format from improvisational comedy - accepting and building on ideas - speakers engaged in a dynamic discussion. Ping-ponging between challenges and solutions, they shared their experiences on sustaining and scaling funding for youth-led climate projects, fostering effective communication and idea-sharing.
For outcomes of the fishbowl discussion, see below.
Experience-sharing line-up - Participants were instructed to form two lines facing each other. Each participant responded to a question, with participant A answering first, followed by B. Topics included introducing their climate projects or passions, envisioning ideal funding for youth-led solutions, and sharing strategies for fundraising and resource mobilization.
All participants
Speakers
Credit: UN Climate Change / displayed individuals.
Key Takeaways from Fishbowl Discussion
Difficulty in accessing long-term, consistent funding, often due to structural barriers
The necessity of providing flexible and accessible funding for local grassroots organizations
The importance of building trust and effective communication with funders
The critical role of sharing knowledge resources to help youth and community-led projects access climate finance effectively
The need for mentorship and capacity-building to sustain and scale youth-led climate initiatives.
Success stories demonstrating how funding, guidance, and community support can transform early prototypes into impactful projects
