City receives Bloomberg Philanthropies funds to empower young people in finding innovative climate solutions

Bellevue, Wash. – With a $50,000 award from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Youth Climate Action Fund, the City of Bellevue is expanding opportunities for young residents to lead in developing innovative climate solutions for their community this summer.

As a participating city in Bloomberg’s global Youth Climate Action Fund, Bellevue’s Sustainable Bellevue team will launch an open call in July seeking ambitious, youth-led climate project proposals. Bellevue’s young people ages 15–24 will be invited to submit their own project ideas that align with the city’s broader sustainability goals and are aimed at mitigating climate-related risks and strengthening community resilience.

“Bellevue is honored to be one of 300 cities worldwide that were given this opportunity to invest in our young people’s futures and ideas,” said Mayor Mo Malakoutian. “We are proud to demonstrate our commitment to Bellevue’s core values of innovation and stewardship by empowering today’s youth to lead tomorrow’s solutions.”

From start to finish, selected projects and the young people managing them will receive micro-grants of up to $5,000 to help bring these climate solutions to life, as well as ongoing guidance from the city and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

“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,” said Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “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.”