Every year the UN-Habitat Urban Youth Fund invites youth-led organizations across the developing world to apply for funding to their poverty reduction projects. Proposed projects should contribute to sustainable urbanization in the developing world.
The UN-HABITAT Youth Fund is a programme initiated by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-HABITAT) to support urban youth in developing countries with the aim of advancing the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the Habitat Agenda. The Fund is established with support from the Government of Norway.
Total annual grant funding of Urban Youth Fund is USD 1 Million. Grassroots initiatives and projects are eligible for grants up USD 25,000. Young men and women aged 15-32 living in urban areas in the developing world are the targeted beneficiaries of the fund.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicant organization must be led by youth aged 15-32 years. However, adults above the age of 32 years may still take part in the organization and youth-adult partnerships are highly encouraged.
- Applicant organizations must be legally registered for at least one (1) year by the relevant national, regional or local authority.
- Applicants must be non-profit, non-governmental organizations. UN institutions, governmental organizations and private enterprises may engage in partnerships with youth-led organizations applying for a grant.
- Applicant organizations must be legally registered in one of the following developing regions – Africa, Latin-America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Japan) and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand).
- Applicant organizations must involve girls and young women in decision-making at all levels of the organization. This includes senior management level and board.
- The applicant organization must have a bank account in the name of the organization. This name has to be identical to the name of the legal registration certificate.
- Organizations that carry out religious evangelization are not eligible to apply for a grant. However, development organizations affiliated to religious bodies may apply.
- Organizations that are affiliated to political parties are not eligible to apply for a grant.