2025 Young Change Makers Fellowship Application
Application Deadline: July 27, 2025 at 11:59pm EST
Thank you for your interest in the Young Change Makers Fellowship Program, a initiative by Comic Relief US’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC).
About the Young Change Makers Fellowship
The fellowship program aims to build the
capacity of participants from youth-led organizations and early-stage
changemakers, helping them strengthen their projects and better position to
access funding opportunities. With this program, we aim to build young change makers skills in grant making, fundraising, personal and organizational development – empowering them to achieve their organizational goals in support of sustainable change efforts in their communities.
This program, running from mid-August to
mid-September, will consist of five sessions led by experienced facilitators
and peer leaders. We welcome applications from young change makers representing youth-led organizations working anywhere in the world.
Kindly ensure that you meet the requirements from the eligibility checklist below before submitting your application.
Background
CRUS’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) launched the Juntanza Fund in June 2021, a grantmaking program that resources and links community-based organizations and social justice campaigns led by Black or Afro-descendent, Indigenous, historically excluded populations, girls and young women, differently-abled and LGBTQIA+ young people in the U.S. and historically excluded youth in the Global South. Juntanza means a union to help each other and achieve a common goal, originated from the practices of Afro-descendant communities in Colombia. The application criteria and issues funded by Juntanza grants are determined by YAC members, intended to be reflective of the group’s beliefs, values, and experiences.
Building on this work, the fellowship program
designed by the YAC helps close the gap that many young changemakers face:
having innovative ideas to solve urgent social problems, but lacking the
resources and opportunities to bring these ideas to life. This fellowship aims
to equip young leaders with the tools and knowledge to effectively access
funding opportunities like the Juntanza fund and lead their projects to drive
meaningful, sustainable change in their communities. Through this, the YAC
hopes to foster both immediate impact and long-term growth for youth-led
initiatives around the world.
Benefits
- Gain hands-on knowledge from top-notch development professionals and experienced peer leaders globally.
- Access to project-targeted personal development coaching.
- Gain skills that will enhance your ability to access and manage grants/funding opportunities.
- Join a global network of young individuals driving social change for mutual learning and potential future partnerships.
- Build a pathway for your organization to apply for Juntanza Fund grants in the future.
- Opportunity for your projects to be showcased on CRUS social platforms.
