Twenty-five youth-led organisations working in 33 countries have been named winners of the Emerging Climate Champions Award, receiving a flexible, multi-year gift of $1 million each to advance climate solutions in their own communities. The awards, announced on 21 October 2026, form a $25 million global open call funded by the Enlight Foundation and The Patchwork Collective and managed by Lever for Change.
The winners were chosen from applications submitted by youth-led organisations based in 108 countries, according to the announcement. All of the winning organisations met the programme’s youth-led eligibility requirement by satisfying at least two of three youth leadership criteria, with leaders aged 15 to 35, and all had already demonstrated measurable results in partnership with the communities they serve.
The award covers a broad range of climate work, including conservation and biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and resource management, renewable energy, movement building, and policy and advocacy. The cohort also includes initiatives led by Indigenous peoples and women, groups the organisers say are traditionally excluded from traditional funding pathways.
Emerging Climate Champions Award: how the winners were chosen
Applications went through a multi-stage review, including administrative screening, a participatory review process, and an external evaluation panel of experts from around the world working in climate-related fields, philanthropy, or related areas. A further round of due diligence followed before the Enlight Foundation, The Patchwork Collective and Lever for Change identified the final awardees.
Lever for Change describes itself as a nonprofit that helps donors find and fund bold solutions to major global problems. It says it has influenced more than $2.7 billion in grants and worked with more than 500 organisations worldwide. The Enlight Foundation focuses on education equality, youth mental wellbeing and youth-driven climate solutions, while The Patchwork Collective is a family philanthropic effort supporting locally-led solutions to global challenges.
All 25 awardees, along with additional top-ranking organisations from the open call, have joined Lever for Change’s Bold Solutions Network, a curated network of vetted organisations that the organisers say has the potential to secure additional funding and expand their impact.
Why youth-led funding matters
The award was designed with input from young climate leaders, according to its description, on the basis that young people will bear a disproportionate share of the effects of climate change while youth-led organisations receive only a small fraction of global philanthropic climate funding. The award’s description puts that youth-led share at $14.2 million out of roughly $16 billion in annual philanthropic climate funding.
Xin Liu, founder and president of the Enlight Foundation, said lasting climate solutions happen when young people are given leadership, not only a seat at the table. Cedric Dageville, principal at The Patchwork Collective, said some of the most promising solutions are already taking shape in local communities. Kristen J. Molyneaux, president and co-founder of Lever for Change, said the recognition should also inspire continued investment from funders committed to supporting the next generation of climate leadership.
One winner: a Ghanaian organisation restoring nature
Among the winners is Agrointroductions Ghana, a Ghanaian environmental organisation established in 2014 that works on climate resilience, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development through science-based, community-centred solutions. Its chief executive, Abdullah Hamza, said lasting climate action is sustained by people with daily lived experience of its impacts, and that the recognition reinforces the organisation’s belief that supported community organisations can drive meaningful, community-led climate action.
The award comes weeks before the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026, where youth participation and implementation of existing climate commitments are high on the agenda. As Watan News has reported, COP31’s High-Level Climate Champion has called for the conference to focus on turning existing decisions into action on the ground: COP31’s High-Level Climate Champion promises everyone’s COP as 100,000+ expected in Antalya. More of Watan News’s climate coverage can be found at Watan News Climate.
Key facts
- The Emerging Climate Champions Award announced 25 winners on 21 October 2026.
- Each winner receives a flexible, multi-year gift of $1 million; the open call totals $25 million.
- The award is funded by the Enlight Foundation and The Patchwork Collective and managed by Lever for Change.
- Winners work in 33 countries; applications came from youth-led organisations in 108 countries.
- Youth-led eligibility requires meeting at least two of three youth leadership criteria, with leaders aged 15 to 35.
- Winning areas include conservation, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, movement building and policy and advocacy.
- One named winner is Agrointroductions Ghana, established in 2014, working on climate resilience and biodiversity conservation.
Conclusion
The award’s message is that climate leadership is already emerging from local communities, and that flexible, multi-year funding — rather than short-term project grants — can help young leaders scale solutions shaped by the places they serve. Whether the $1 million gifts translate into lasting impact will depend on what the winners build next, and on whether other funders follow the same approach.
