Why we give out the grants:
Youth across the Arctic are at the forefront of cultural preservation, climate action, and community resilience. However, many young changemakers operate outside of large, well-resourced institutions. Instead, they are often part of grassroots community groups, student networks, Indigenous collectives, or informal youth-led initiatives — entities that frequently lack the administrative infrastructure or scale required to access traditional or larger funding mechanisms.

With this small-grant scheme, we aim to lower the threshold for participation and ensure more equitable access to resources. It offers a more flexible and inclusive funding approach, better tailored to the realities of local youth actors across the Arctic.

By doing so, this scheme seeks to recognize young people not merely as beneficiaries of development efforts, but as active agents of change — with the capacity to lead, influence policy, and create meaningful, locally rooted impact in their communities.

Call for Proposals: Youth-led Projects for Arctic Change 
These small-grants aim to empower youth and youth-led organisations to influence policy and address the pressing issues affecting their communities across the circumpolar Arctic. Through financial support and project guidance, this initiative enables young people to pioneer innovative and locally driven solutions.

Two grants will be awarded in this call.

Grant 1: Youth Realities & Identity in the Arctic: Cultural Expressions of Lived Experience

Grant 2: Youth Action for Arctic Futures: Youth Engagement in Policy Shaping for Climate and Nature

What are the projects intended to achieve?

Grant 1: Youth Realities & Identity in the Arctic: Cultural Expressions of Lived Experience

Projects should contribute:

• To amplify youth voices through creative and cultural expressions that reflect the diverse lived experiences of Arctic youth, including Indigenous perspectives.
• To preserve and promote Arctic cultural identity, languages, traditions, and ways of life through youth-led storytelling, arts, and documentation.
• To foster social inclusion and belonging by creating platforms for underrepresented youth to share their stories and realities.
• To increase public and policymaker awareness of youth perspectives on identity, wellbeing, and social challenges in the Arctic.
• To build youth capacity in cultural production, communication, and project leadership.

Projects should deliver one or more of the following results:

• Completed cultural or artistic outputs
• Increased visibility of youth voices
• Engagement of underrepresented youth
• Engagement of Indigenous youth
• Greater public awareness of Arctic youth experiences
• Skills development among youth participants
• Strengthened youth networks and collaboration

Projects may include, but are not limited to:

• Short films, photo essays, podcasts, or zines
• Public events showcasing music, dance, theatre, or visual art
• Youth-led documentation of local languages, oral histories, or traditional knowledge
• Murals, installations, or digital art
• Poetry collections, short stories, blogs, or youth magazines

Grant 2: Youth Action for Arctic Futures: Youth Engagement in Policy Shaping for Climate and Nature

Projects should contribute:

• To support youth-led initiatives that address climate change, biodiversity, and environmental justice in Arctic communities.
• To enable youth participation in policy processes, including local, national, Arctic Council, or EU-related decision-making on climate and nature.
• To promote community-based solutions to environmental challenges (including well-being), rooted in Indigenous knowledge, science, or civic activism.
• To strengthen the role of youth as change agents in shaping sustainable Arctic futures, with an emphasis on intergenerational equity.
• To increase the visibility and influence of Arctic youth in public dialogue, governance, and advocacy related to climate and nature.

Projects should deliver one or more of the following results:

• Implemented youth-led environmental or advocacy initiatives
• Increased youth participation in policy spaces
• Production of advocacy tools or policy recommendations
• Raised awareness of climate and nature issues
• Demonstrated impact on local environmental practices or discourse
• Increased youth leadership capacity

Projects may include, but are not limited to activities like:

• Advocacy campaigns
• Trainings e.g. public speaking, council work, advocacy
• Community and/or intergenerational dialogues
• Policy labs or simulations

If a general research project is planned, it should be co-created with youth in local communities.

For both grants, priority will be given to applicants engaging underrepresented or under-resourced youth, particularly Indigenous youth, in their proposed activities.

Who can apply, and what should you include (Eligibility)

Eligible organisations may include:

• Local grassroots youth Civil Society Organisations or Community Based Organisations
• Student associations and debate clubs
• Volunteer and youth-led organisations
• Indigenous organisations promoting youth participation
• Cultural organisations involving youth
• NGOs with a focus on youth engagement
• Other organisations integrating youth perspectives into their work or strategies

Eligibility criteria:

• Projects must include communication through arts and cultural expression (Grant 1) or a clear climate and nature policy focus (Grant 2)
• Projects must be youth-led (age 18-35), meaning youth are involved in the design, decision-making, and implementation of the project.
• Projects must also be implemented within the Arctic context, focusing on issues relevant to Arctic youth and communities.
• Applicants must be legally registered organisations able to sign contracts and assume financial responsibility.
• Applicants must be based in, or actively working on issues relevant to, the Arctic region.

How to Apply

1. Fill in the application form.

2. Submit a project proposal (text format e.g. Word , 2-4 pages, excl. appendices) that includes:
Summary
Briefly describe what your project will do, who is involved, where and when it will take place, and what it aims to achieve

Relevance
Explain how your project aligns with the objectives of the grant and addresses key issues facing the Arctic

Context and Scope
Provide background on the local situation, community, or issue your project responds to, including its geographic focus.

Objectives
List the specific goals your project aims to achieve and the change you hope to create.

Risks
Identify potential challenges to your project and how you plan to manage or reduce them.

Sustainability
Describe how your project will have lasting impact beyond the grant period or inspire future activities.

3. Submit an Activity Plan - Appendix 1 (as a table)
Provide a brief outline with connected timeline of the main activities you will carry out to reach your objectives.

4. Submit a Budget - Appendix 2 (Spreadsheet format e.g. Excel)
Provide a budget that includes a cost breakdown (E.g. Staff costs, travel costs, meeting costs, communications costs, equipment costs)
Indirect costs (Maximum: 7% of total eligible expenditure)

How do we award grants (Selection and Award Criteria)

Proposals will be evaluated based on:

• Youth Leadership: Degree to which the project is youth-led in design and implementation, with meaningful roles for underrepresented groups and a focus on building youth capacity.
• Impact: Clarity and relevance of expected outcomes, alignment with Youth Together for Arctic Futures’ project values (project values listed at the end), grant objectives, long-term potential, scalability, and feasibility of the proposed plan, budget, and timeline.
• Inclusiveness: Efforts to engage diverse youth voices across gender, geography, ethnicity, and culture, with attention to inclusive leadership and cross-cultural collaboration.
• Arctic-European Exchange: Strength of proposed cooperation, dialogue, or knowledge-sharing between Arctic and European youth.
• Indigenous Involvement (if applicable): Assesses whether Indigenous youth are co-creators or decision-makers, and whether the project meaningfully engages Indigenous perspectives, knowledge systems, or governance through direct involvement or respectful collaboration

The Youth Together for Arctic Futures’ team will pre-select a shortlist of candidates based on the above criteria. Final selection will be made by the Youth Together for Arctic Futures’ Youth Board.

Contact & Support

For questions, guidance, or support in preparing your application, please contact:

Sissa Palmquist, sissa.palmquist@wwf.se

If you receive funding (Grant Conditions)

Applicants should take note of the following conditions that apply to the awarded grant: 

     Maximum Grant Amount:  Each project may receive up to €25,000 in total funding.

      Non-profit principle determines the exact amount of financial support: 

• Sub-grantee cannot make a financial profit from the grant
• The total income must not exceed the total eligible costs of the approved budget
• Any surplus at the end of the project shall be returned
• Timeline: 6-12 months
  
  Grants will be disbursed in two instalments:
• First instalment (65%) upon signing of the grant agreement and approval of the initial work plan.
• Second instalment (35%) upon submission and approval of mid-term reporting and demonstrated progress.
  
  Reporting Requirements:
• Reporting will mirror the Project Proposal in scope and detail, ensuring a light and manageable process 
• Mid-term spending against budget
• Mid-term written progress report
• Final written report and spending against budget incl. proof of activities (Such as photos)
  
  Monitoring & Communication:
• All project teams are required to attend a project start up meeting provided by the donor prior to the start of implementation. This will cover:
  Budget and financial management
  Reporting and compliance
  Risk management and adaptive planning
• Grantees are offered quarterly virtual meetings with the donor for guidance and support. These meetings serve to review progress, address challenges, and ensure alignment with objectives.

What is Youth Together for Arctic Futures?
In January 2024, the Youth Together for Arctic Futures project was launched. It is a 4-year project, funded by the European Union, aimed to support a critical mass of Arctic and European youth with knowledge, skills, and opportunities to work towards implementing good climate and nature policy for the Arctic. The project encourages and empowers youth to be active citizens and decision makers for a sustainable Arctic. It brings together Arctic and European youth to collaborate on advocacy and establish the EU-Arctic Youth Dialogue, with youth-created local, regional, national, and international activities.

Our Project Values
Together with youth, we aim to empower young people to shape a diverse, inclusive, and sustainable future for Arctic societies by connecting Arctic, Indigenous, and European youth through respectful dialogue, capacity building, and impactful leadership.