CINCINNATI--This past March, Mayor Aftab Pureval announced that Cincinnati would join Bloomberg Philanthropies’ new Youth Climate Action Fund, which has provided technical assistance and funding for 100 Mayors to activate tens of thousands of young people to design, produce, and govern urgent climate solutions in cities across the globe. Cincinnati joined the Fund alongside cities from 38 countries across 6 continents, representing over 62 million residents. 

Thanks to the support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and United Cities and Local Governments, Cincinnati was able to award $40,000 in microgrants to youth-led and youth-focused projects through the second round of the GCP Seeds of Change Grant Program. 

A total of 9 projects were awarded, led by youth ages 15-24 and local non-profits. Projects were selected by a diverse youth review committee based on meeting eligibility requirements and strongly aligning with stated priorities. View a complete list of awardees and their projects here. 

Check out some of the impact that these grant awards will have in the coming months: 

• 5 out of 8 GCP Focus Areas will be activated by the grants, including Community Activation, Food, Natural Environment, Resilience and Climate Adaptation, and Zero Waste. Themes of equity and workforce development were found across many projects. 

• 18 Cincinnati neighborhoods will be impacted including 70% that are identified as Low-Income Disadvantaged Communities (LIDAC) as defined by the federal government 

• 63% of funded proposals are led by a Person of Color and 75% of grants will impact more than 50% people of color