Youth Climate Action Fund

1. Starting July 15: Go to the portal, called Bonfire, and view this Request for Proposals (RFP).
2. Form a team of more than one young adult ages 15 to 24.
3. Find a fiscal sponsor. Learn more in the Potential Fiscal Sponsors section.
4. Write the proposal.
   1. Download and fill out the Proposal Template.
   2. Ask your fiscal sponsor to review your proposal. They may have suggestions based on their experience.
   3. Check your proposal for grammar, typos, etc.
   4. Need support? Check out Resources in the next section.
5. Send your finalized proposal to your fiscal sponsor so they can upload it into Bonfire, the City’s application platform. This is the final step! Check the Key Dates section for next steps.

Use the links below to access program materials and resources:

To have your organization listed in this table or to make a change to your listing, please email us at [email protected].

Disclaimer: The Sustainability Office neither publicizes nor endorses commercial entities and reserves the right to determine which nonprofit organizations are included in this list.

Who Can Be A Fiscal Sponsor?

Projects are led by young people, but funds must be disbursed to organizations who serve as fiscal sponsors. Eligible recipient organizations include:

• Youth-led organizations (e.g., youth clubs or groups).
• Youth-serving organizations (adult-led organizations supporting young people).
• Sponsor organizations, such as city agencies, schools or other educational institutions, museums, or community organizations. This includes City Departments that are not involved in the program administration or project application review.

Private companies, individuals or political parties or party-affiliated organizations are not eligible.

All organizations must:

• Be legally registered entities.
• Be recognized as a non-profit or charitable organization under local laws (unless a public entity).
• Have a bank account in the organization’s name.
• Be registered in Bonfire. To register, go to the  Bonfire website and click “Register” in the upper right-hand corner.
• Be registered as a City vendor. Learn how to become a vendor with the City.
• Pass through the funds to the young people who designed, are leading, and will be responsible for implementing the project. Up to 15% of the awarded microgrant can be allocated to administrative costs incurred by the sponsoring organization.

For compliance purposes:

• The City unit managing the program (i.e., the Sustainability Office) cannot act as a sponsor for a project.
• Sponsors cannot be partisan organizations or political parties.
• Microgrant recipients cannot be the subject of any applicable sanctions regime, which means that an individual or entity is not restricted by any financial, trade, or travel sanctions imposed by governments or international bodies.

Information Session (Pre-Bid Conference): An informational session for interested applicants and partners to learn about the program, review application requirements, and ask questions.

• Virtual Co-Design Session: July 22 details coming soon!

Office Hours: Drop-in support for youth and fiscal sponsors who want help understanding eligibility, project ideas, or application materials. Wednesdays from 4:00 to 5:00 pm from August 5 until September 2 on Teams. Use this link to attend.

Co-Design Workshops: A collaborative session open to youth applicants and potential fiscal sponsors to share ideas, build connections, and strengthen applications. This session will be a key outreach opportunity during the application period.

• Virtual Co-Design Session: July 30, 12:00 to 1:00 pm, details coming soon!
  • What is this? A brainstorming session. Find a young adult team and organization. Develop ideas.
• In-Person Co-Design Session August 20, details coming soon!

Explore the funding themes below to view project ideas that could be supported through YCAF:

Waste & Circularity

• Youth-led composting or waste reduction campaigns.
• Art celebrating how your community values food.
• Compost: cycle plants into the soil to grow more plants.
• Food preservation: skills for saving money long-term.

Mobility & Transportation

• Bike, transit, or walkability projects that improve access and safety.
• Evaluate active transportation conditions.
• Create an electric bike (e-bike) or electric scooter (e-scooter) lending library.
• Develop a walking school bus or bike bus program.
• Improve bicycle or e-scooter parking in a high-demand location.

Nature & Resilience

• Neighborhood tree planting or heat mitigation.
• Bosque Pollinator & Habitat Restoration Project.
• Harvest the Rain Community Demonstration Garden.
• Schoolyard Outdoor Learning Oasis.

Cross-Cutting

• Community art or media projects focused on any of the topics above.
• Climate education workshops or school-based outreach focused on any of the topics above.

Biodiversity: The biological diversity of flora and fauna species on Earth, a complex web of life that underpins the natural life processes on the planet. Human-caused environmental damage reduces biodiversity; creating a healthy, sustainable society requires increasing biodiversity.

Carsharing: A transportation service that provides short-term access to shared vehicles, allowing users to rent a vehicle as needed without the need to own or maintain one.

Circular Economy: A circular economy keeps materials from becoming waste for as long as possible. In a circular economy, products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting.

Extreme Heat: Periods of unusually high temperatures and/or humidity that pose serious risks to human health, ecosystems, and infrastructure. Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, especially in urban areas with less shade tree cover.

Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI): A stormwater management method that uses living, natural systems to reduce and treat stormwater runoff before it reaches surface waters, while also providing other co-benefits such as increasing tree canopy, reducing urban heat, and creating wildlife habitat.

Greenhouse Gases (GHG): Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, trap and hold heat in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. Much of human activity emits greenhouse gases, such as burning fossil fuels for energy and transport, farming land for food production, and deforestation.

Green Transportation (Alternative Transportation): Transportation methods that minimize environmental impacts by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and energy consumption, including walking, biking, public transit, carpooling, electric vehicles, and other low-emission travel options.

Micromobility: Small, lightweight transportation modes used for short trips, such as bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, and other low-speed personal mobility devices.

Natural Solutions (Nature-Based Solutions): Actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human wellbeing, ecosystem preservation and resilience and biodiversity benefits.

Rainwater Harvesting: The collection and storage of rainwater from surfaces such as roofs or land for later use (e.g., irrigation, landscaping, or non-potable household use). This helps reduce water demand and manage stormwater runoff.

Resilient Communities: Communities that can anticipate, withstand, and recover from environmental, social, or economic disruptions (such as climate impacts) while maintaining essential functions and improving long-term well-being. Community resilience emphasizes adaptability, equity, and local capacity to respond to change.

Stewardship: The responsible care and management of natural resources to ensure their viability for current and future generations. Environmental stewardship emphasizes responsibility, conservation, and active participation in protecting ecosystems.

How do I find a fiscal sponsor?

See the Potential Fiscal Sponsors section.

How will my application be scored?