PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh has been selected to join the Bloomberg Philanthropies Youth Climate Action Fund, an initiative providing $50,000 in funding and capacity to engage young residents.
The program aims to support young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in designing and delivering local climate solutions aligned with citywide priorities.
The Youth Climate Action Fund will provide microgrants for between eight and 20 youth-led projects across Pittsburgh. The city will partner with local non-profits, schools and community organizations to engage young residents in developing innovative solutions focused on community impact.
Mayor Corey O’Connor commented on the program’s local impact. “Through this program, we’re building a Pittsburgh for the next generation with the next generation,” O’Connor said. “Thanks to this investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies, our local young people will have the opportunity to be leaders in our communities and partner with the City in designing, planning and shaping the future of Pittsburgh.”
Projects could include neighborhood-level efforts such as urban gardening, stormwater management, community gardens and other climate resilience initiatives aligned with Pittsburgh’s Climate Action Plan.
Staff from the Department of Innovation and Performance and City Planning’s Division of Sustainability and Resilience will manage the program. They will support project implementation and help young residents lead their plans to completion, creating public spaces, strengthening infrastructure, mitigating disasters and building resilience.
Since its launch in 2024, the Youth Climate Action Fund has delivered results in 98 municipalities across 34 countries. The program’s scale-up is tripling its reach, with Pittsburgh joining 300 new cities worldwide.
Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies, highlighted the fund’s global reach and its role in fostering civic engagement. “The Youth Climate Action Fund is helping city halls around the world work alongside hundreds of thousands of young people to take action on city climate challenges and improve their communities,” Harris said. “They are showing how local government can be a partner on issues youth and residents care deeply about – and they are building trust along the way. We look forward to expanding on these efforts and inspiring a new generation of civic leaders.”
Survey research from the program’s youth participants showed that their trust in local government leadership rose from 61% to 83%, a 22 percentage point increase. Confidence in their own ability to address environmental challenges also grew from 65% to 90%. Nearly three in four youth reported their city hall values their input on climate policy.
Participating local governments also changed their operations. More than half established new formal structures, including youth councils, advisory boards and participatory budgeting processes, to sustain young people’s engagement. Forty-three % embedded youth input into long-term strategies and policies, while roughly 40% created dedicated staff roles. Nearly all reported plans to expand the effort.
To date, more than 300,000 young people across five continents have taken part in the fund. They have worked with their city halls to create more than 1,600 green spaces, plant more than 1.8 million plants and 235,000 trees, develop nearly 5,000 gardens, launch 268 composting stations and collect more than 405,000 pounds of trash and recyclables.
The fund is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ longstanding work to strengthen local state capacity through its Government Innovation program. It offers municipalities and their mayors a model that extends beyond climate, galvanizing partnerships with citywide stakeholders to advance progress on pressing problems and opportunities for the people they serve.
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