Habitat Youth Solutions 2025

About the grant

The Habitat Youth Solutions will:

• Provide seed funding of US$4,000 up to ten (10) youth solutions that promote a more innovative, inclusive, and collaborative housing ecosystem for sustainable and resilient communities.
• Invite up to 40 shortlisted youth-led solutions to be part of the Habitat Youth Assembly on June 24-26, 2025, in the Philippines to:
  - learn with experts about housing, climate change, inclusion, among others;
  - network with the 2023 Habitat Youth Solutions winners; and 
  - ideate with peers from across the region and explore opportunities for fundraising.

This micro-grant will only support solutions that are developed and managed by the youth for the benefit of the community where they operate. The youth solutions must be scalable and replicable in Habitat-supported communities. The age definition used by Habitat for Humanity to characterize youth is a person who is between 18 and 30 years old.

Guidelines

Geographical coverage

This call for application welcomes proposals from youth-led organizations, individuals, or social enterprises operating in Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Eligibility for applicants

Young individuals, youth groups, youth-led organizations that will apply for the Habitat Youth Solutions 2025 are subject to the same criteria as other partners of Habitat for Humanity. Applicants must be accountable, transparent and refrain from all discriminatory practices and adhere to Habitat for Humanity International’s safeguarding policies.

Applicants should fulfill the following criteria to be considered for the grant:

• Be a young individual, youth group, or youth-led organization: leadership and decision-making roles within the organization are held by people between the ages of 18 and 30.
• Be able to use the grant for either an existing project or a new one.
• Have no adherence to or affiliations with radical ideologies or antagonism against any particular country, culture, religion or belief system, ethnic group, gender, etc.

Eligibility for solutions

All submitted solutions must fulfill each of the following criteria to be deemed eligible upon review by the grant selection committee: 

• Origin: The solution is written, developed, and can be implemented by youth.
• Target audience: The solution targets the wider community to improve the housing ecosystem where the initiative operates. The solution can also be implemented or replicated in a Habitat-supported community.
• Objective: The solution should contribute to advancing affordable, decent, inclusive housing and sustainable communities as an overarching theme. The solution must also respond to any of Habitat’s identified trends, stressors, and shocks that allow the housing deficit to persist and grow: climate resiliency, urbanization, and multi-dimensional poverty.
• Duration: The solution should be implemented and completed by December 2025.
• Management: The solution is managed by a young person or a young group or a youth-led organization, meeting all eligibility criteria mentioned above. Applicant must be able to show an organizational chart or names of group members, including: age, gender identity, and role in the organization vis-à-vis role in the proposed solution.
• Lead applicant: The lead applicant must be directly involved in the implementation of the solution and is between the ages of 18 and 30 at the time of application. Should the proposal be selected as a finalist, the core members should participate in all components of the grant. More information and instruction will be communicated to the 40 shortlisted solutions’ lead applicants in their participation to the Habitat Youth Assembly on June 24-26, 2025, in the Philippines.
• Location: Project activities are implemented in one or more countries mentioned in the geographical coverage section.
• Language: Application of the solution must be in English.
• Ownership of initiative: The application must detail a proposed use for US$4,000 to jump-start, replicate or expand their initiative. It must include a description of the need, the target outputs, planned activities, and potential to sustain the project.

Application process

Interested individuals or groups or organizations may apply from Feb. 28, 2025 until April 13, 2025. The following requirements will be submitted through this link https://forms.office.com/r/rVehVhVeJ6:

• Fully filled-out online application form that contains (a) proponent information, (b) project summary, (c) challenges (problem identification and context analysis), (d) proposed youth-led solution, (e) project outcomes, (f) project outputs, (g) project impact and sustainability, and (h) project budget.
• A short video pitch (60 seconds maximum) for the proposed project. This can be as simple as your team describing highlights of your proposed solution.

Key dates

Evaluation criteria
 

First and second deliberations:

• Relevance (20%) The project demonstrates a strong understanding of the target community’s needs and local context. The project should align with local and global priorities on housing. The project shows commitment to building positive and long-term collaborative relationships between youth and other stakeholders.
• Impact (20%) The project addresses a significant housing or urban challenge and has clear potential to create impact on the target communities. It includes insightful arguments and engaging narrative on how the project contributes to achieving the desired impact.
• Innovation (20%) The project offers a unique and creative youth-led solution to the housing or urban challenge identified. It demonstrates a fresh perspective or new ideas to tackle the issue.
• Feasibility (20%) The project plan is well-structured and realistic. It demonstrates a clear understanding of the resources, timeline, and budget required to execute the project effectively. The project represents good value for money, with a clear and appropriate budget. The individual or youth organization has the capacity to implement the proposed activities within the given timeframe and budget.
• Sustainability (20%) The project includes strategies for sustainability beyond the micro-grant period and seeks to engage local stakeholders to ensure continued impact.

Validation by Habitat for Humanity country office:

• Applications will be screened and validated by the appropriate Habitat for Humanity country office where the proposed youth solution will be implemented. In addition to the criteria above, validation will consider (1) alignment with Habitat for Humanity’s mission and country priorities and (2) practicality of the proposed use of US$4,000 based on the local context.

Final judging:

• Presentation to a jury consisting of experts and partners.
   

Prizes and benefits

Winners will be contacted via email and provided with information on further steps, including agreements signing and fund transfer procedures. The grant of US$4,000 will be disbursed through the local Habitat for Humanity office/branch closest to the locations of the winning projects. The local Habitat entity will also receive US$1,000 to support the monitoring of the winning projects.

• The top 40 shortlisted youth solutions’ lead applicants will participate to the Habitat Youth Assembly on June 24-26, 2025 in the Philippines to showcase their solutions and network with global actors, potential donors, and investors.
• Up to 10 winners will be paired with expert mentors to help refine and implement their youth solutions in their local communities.
• Up to 10 solutions will receive a grant worth US$4,000. They will also receive mentorship from experts to help implement their project. Winning youth solutions may also be requested to showcase their project in future Habitat for Humanity events.