What the Youth Climate Justice Movement Needs from Philanthropy

Frontline youth movements have played a critical role in every social justice issue, from police reform to immigrants’ rights—and the youth climate justice movement is no different.

Youth activists have already shifted the momentum and the narrative on why the climate crisis is happening and who is responsible. We’ve pushed back against the fossil fuel industry’s greenwashing campaigns, exposing their false sustainability efforts and their “youth washing” efforts to co-opt youth activists. We’re leading fossil fuel divestment campaigns across our schools and states. When needed, we’ve disrupted and publicly shamed politicians.

In response to our demands, elected officials from President Biden down have responded and finally taken action. Mohammed Barkindo, the late secretary general of OPEC, called climate activists the greatest threat to the oil industry.

But even as we’ve won important victories, the youth climate justice movement has always been on the defensive, fighting against incredible odds. Our organizations struggle to raise funds, and our volunteer leaders—especially working-class youth of color—often juggle school, work, and daily challenges facing our families and communities. Youth activists across the country are underresourced and underserved within the environmental sector—a sector that has historically marginalized communities of color. Now more than ever, we need philanthropy to help fully empower us—and fund us—to organize and build a mass movement.

As young people, we’re deeply impacted by the climate crisis in our day-to-day lives, and our unique experiences and perspectives are pivotal in addressing the climate emergency and holding power accountable. For Sim, a co-author of this article, the hardscape of South Central Los Angeles is too much to ignore. He and his grandma both deal with asthma because of the poor air quality and the toxic environment where they live. Sim organizes for climate justice for two reasons: the survival of his younger siblings and other frontline youth like himself; and the preservation of resources, culture, and life for future generations.

Meanwhile, Esme, another co-author, began organizing after becoming increasingly anxious about the climate crisis. She witnessed pollution, record-high temperatures, and overall environmental degradation—all while the government and institutions took inadequate action. She felt powerless to make an impact until she began organizing around climate justice.

Youth climate justice movement organizations are the voices worldwide demanding a transition to just and regenerative systems. We’re the ones forcing the issue to the top of agendas with the urgency and truth the climate situation demands. We know what is needed to achieve climate justice in our lifetimes, and we’re fighting for it—but we can’t do it alone.

Philanthropy’s Part in Climate Justice   

As youth activists, we’ve had to hit the ground running. Our top priority has been to stop things from getting worse.

No one can deny that philanthropy plays a critical role in advancing social change. But despite the UN warning that we are in a “code red for humanity,” it is estimated that less than 2 percent of philanthropic funding is currently dedicated to climate change action. Even less is focused on grassroots organizing, and less still is focused on volunteer youth organizing. According to the 2022 Youth Climate Justice Study, between 2019 and 2021, youth-led climate justice initiatives represented on average only 0.76 percent of climate grants from the largest climate foundations.

Philanthropy can clearly do a lot more to support young leaders. Over the past couple of months, key youth climate justice organizations in Los Angeles have developed a joint plan to strengthen and grow our capacity as a movement. This process has given us time to strategize in a way and on a scale that we rarely get to do. We’ve also been in national conversation with similar youth-led organizations.

We’ve found that, across the board, we in the youth climate justice movement are treading water and doing our best to stay afloat with limited support from our adult counterparts, who constantly underestimate or co-opt our work. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment, and philanthropy must do its part to build a powerful frontline youth movement at the scale and with the impact the climate crisis demands. Here, we provide seven ways that philanthropy could support youth efforts.

1. Support frontline youth activists with training, leadership development, and stipends

We’re mostly volunteers who are loosely organized, navigating school, work, and our personal lives while also developing into adults. Many of us haven’t had access to systematic training and leadership development—we’ve had to learn by doing. Training for youth leaders needs to include political education, organizing skills, mentorships, and career pathways.

Youth stipends are also critical. The climate sector is notoriously White-dominated, and the barrier to entry for young, working-class organizers of color often requires significant personal sacrifice. For instance, Sim dropped out of college to stay in the movement, and others have similar stories.

2. Support spaces for collective strategy development, visioning, and movement building

As youth activists, we’ve had to hit the ground running. Our top priority has been to stop things from getting worse. We feel a great urgency to act and don’t have regular space for deeper planning and visioning together on a local, statewide, or national basis. But we know the value of building systematically and strategically with one another as well as with existing nonprofits and community organizations. Philanthropy can help with funding for facilitators and strategic planners, physical convening space, and stipends for participants.

3. Connect us to existing infrastructure and build flexible networks

Our movement doesn’t need to build a lot of new institutions and bureaucracies. Instead, we need networks and movement hubs that support our ability to be nimble and fluid as conditions on the ground continue to evolve. Targeted funding for coordinators and conveners would provide the glue for these networks to operate with strategic leanness. The networks and hubs could also be vehicles to connect youth to professional expertise in academia, communications, and government.

4. Create local and national funds that provide fast and accessible grants

Youth leaders plan to build our base, wage effective climate justice campaigns, and mobilize communities at scale. But we often don’t have the expertise, time, or resources to be successful in the professionalized world of foundation grant applications. Many foundations also require an established track record, but our organizations are young, with some activists still in high school. One approach that we’ve seen work is for foundations to create climate justice funds that understand the nature of this work and have streamlined application processes with fast turnaround times.

5. Prioritize grassroots organizing in communities of color

There is more climate funding out there but overwhelmingly, it’s been going to “Big Green” organizations and false climate solutions such as technological fixes.

These approaches aren’t from the bottom up, and they aren’t bold, innovative, or equitable. We’ve seen some funders take the same approaches for the past 30-plus years, even when they have failed and continue to fail us. We know the most impactful strategies to address the climate crisis are at the local level. We need to empower the BIPOC communities closest to the issues to lead.

6. Racial and economic justice funders should see climate as integral to their mission

Many racial and economic justice funders still see climate as a middle-class, White issue. Even though working-class communities of color are the most impacted by climate collapse, their leadership is often made invisible. Like the COVID-19 pandemic, when the entire social sector had to center the public health crisis, climate collapse will also impact every facet of our lives and society at an even larger scale. Social justice funders should start incorporating climate justice into their grantmaking now.

7. Build bridges with youth leaders and treat us with respect and solidarity

For many youth leaders, our challenge with philanthropy is that we often don’t know how foundations can help us. Many of us don’t even know that philanthropy exists. We don’t have access to or relationships with funders and donors. We need proactive funders to reach out to get to know us and to introduce us to their networks.

Youth stipends are also critical. The climate sector is notoriously White-dominated, and the barrier to entry for young, working-class organizers of color often requires significant personal sacrifice. For instance, Sim dropped out of college to stay in the movement, and others have similar stories.

The Need for Mutual Respect

“Our challenge with philanthropy is that we often don’t know how foundations can help us.”

While youth organizations need philanthropic support, funders need to approach young people with respect and awareness of adultism. In our work, we’re too often met with adults in power who act in patronizing and condescending ways. We will not win until the adults in the room listen to the wisdom of youth and of Indigenous and frontline communities. We have come to value the critical role of adults who treat us with respect and honor our leadership while also giving us the benefit of their wisdom and resources.

Young people have the vision and foresight to understand this moment in a unique way. We might not see the future we want right now, but we will fight to shape a world that is safe and healthy for those who come after us. As our elders, you are borrowing this world from us. Adults have taken from our future and gambled with our lives. Yet through our work, we have seen the power and potential of youth-adult partnerships in climate justice. We know what is needed to achieve climate justice in our lifetimes, and we now ask you to stand with us.