Climate Cardinals: Youth-Led Climate Organizations Need Funding to Succeed
No movement can afford to burn out its most ardent supporters. For the climate movement, that’s young people: while more than half of 16 to 25-year-olds are dealing with climate anxiety, we have still committed ourselves to climate action. At Climate Cardinals, a youth-led nonprofit focused on improving access to climate education by breaking language barriers, we juggle our commitment with studies, internships, and other responsibilities.
But our activism is only sustainable if it is adequately supported. Beyond moral support, we need financial and institutional backing that matches the scale and intensity of the efforts put forth by young activists.
The problem is that right now, the numbers don’t match the rhetoric. Despite being at the forefront of the movement, youth-led organizations receive only 0.76% of global funding from the largest climate foundations. This stark imbalance is set against an already constrained funding landscape that sees just 2% of total philanthropic contributions dedicated to combating climate change, according to a 2021 report from the ClimateWorks Foundation. While fossil-fuel subsidies keep breaking records, climate organizations — especially those led by young people — are fighting for scraps, struggling to secure basic financial backing.
At Climate Cardinals, we’ve succeeded against the odds, proving the resilience of youth-led initiatives. Over the past four years, our organization has grown from a group of like-minded high school students into a global network of more than 14,000 volunteers.
Our volunteers are working tirelessly to empower grassroots climate education and make climate information more accessible to non-English speakers. This is a cornerstone of climate justice — ensuring that all communities, especially those most vulnerable and least responsible for climate change, have access to the knowledge they need to fight for their rights and adapt to environmental challenges.
Like many young activists, we fit our volunteering efforts between lectures and jobs, squeezing our tasks and meetings into our limited spare time. Until we hired our first employee this year, the most anyone on our team had received was a $500 stipend, a modest acknowledgment of their massive contributions.
We’re here to make a difference, not a payday. We volunteer our time because we believe in what we’re doing. And it’s working: our network spans 80 countries, and we have translated over two million words in 105 languages as part-time volunteers. As high-schoolers, we were producing translations for groups like UNICEF and UNEP, showing the demand for our work from some of the largest organizations in the world.
A lack of funding in the past, however, has limited our ability to amplify our efforts and engage where it matters most. We have had to turn down numerous partnerships with other organizations, not because we weren’t interested — but because we simply didn’t have the resources. Without ongoing support, we risk burning out our volunteers and losing the groundwork we've laid for climate solutions at every level.
While funding constraints continue to pose difficulties, we’re fortunate to have found supporters that believe in the power of youth-led movements. Most recently, Google has pledged six-figure funding to our cause, enabling us to professionalize, onboard a full-time employee, and cover our administrative costs. It took us four years and the tireless work of thousands to get there, but we’ve proven that substantial funding is achievable for youth-led movements.
But that’s just a first step for us, and we are only one story among many. While we are beyond grateful for the support we have received, we are hopeful that it is the first of many such partnerships with funders for youth-led organizations as a whole.
To truly make a lasting impact, youth-led organizations need financial investment. Look at what we have done on our own. Now, imagine the possibilities if we had the full support of philanthropists, governments, and corporations committed to genuine change.
With adequate funding, we — and our peers at other youth-led climate organizations — can expand our reach, innovate solutions, and accelerate our efforts to secure a sustainable future. It’s time for those with the capacity to make a difference to step up and invest in the potential of young activists. Together, we can transform the landscape of climate advocacy and create lasting global change.
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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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