Young people have led some of the most significant environmental movements in history. Yet, youth climate movements only receive 0.76% of global climate philanthropic funding - with those in the Global South receiving significantly less. The Iris Project exists to address this funding gap, and the unique challenges youth leaders face, by supporting youth-led initiatives to grow and scale.

The Iris Project exists to prove that funding young people is not risky; it’s smart. In the form of a global, annual award, The Iris Prize provides unrestricted grants to youth-led initiatives - from ideas to established projects - paired with mentorship and bespoke capacity building. This is because we believe that young people can be powerful agents of change; they understand the challenges that the world is currently facing, and they are well positioned to develop and implement locally-focused, community-integrated solutions to address them.