Empowering a Youth-Led Future
2026 FES Annual Report
2026 has been a year marked with uncertainty, instability, and increasing climate disasters, FES has continued supporting youth to find their power and drive meaningful, deep, systemic change forward.
This year, we’ve witnessed youth-led action across the country continue to move forward with determination and ambition. In difficult times globally, it has been an honour to be able to keep helping young people achieve their goals and to help bring hope to Canadians looking for a better future.
Read our report to learn more about what we’ve accomplished this year, what our youth have accomplished, and what’s next for us.
Here are some of the report highlights:
FES has received $14.6M in requests for funding from youth.
Since launching our youth-for-youth fund in 2021, our number of requests from youth has grown year over year. 2026 was no exception. Even with fewer grants available than in the previous year, we received an extraordinary number of requests from our community. After taking a look at our cumulative total from the past 5 years, FES has been able to grant $3.1 million in funding for youth, fulfilling only 21% of the support needed.
Salaries and wages in the community impact sector are critically underfunded
After reviewing proposed budgets that youth submitted to us in applications, 56% of the funds that FES grants are in fact used for salaries and compensation to young leaders. Our grantees have noted that FES is one of the few funders they have found that will fund their salaries and wages, rather than limiting grants to project-related expenses. We hear time and time again that young people are underpaid, underresourced, and are often doing climate work alongside their studies or a full time job. But what if youth were to be paid a living wage to carry out their social impact organizations and projects? Our aim is to make this a reality so that this extremely important sector of work becomes a viable career pathway for young people who can build their careers while creating a better future for their communities.
Working with FES has made a real difference in my growth by giving me the support and confidence to step into broader sustainability and community leadership roles. [...] If I had not received this grant, I would not have had the same access to these networks or experiences, which have been key in shaping my path as a business development coordinator with Le 3e Espace in Falher, Alberta, as well as my wider community engagement.”
Indigenous youth are often left out as part of the answer to climate change
Indigenous youth bring a diverse set of expertise and resilience that is required to solve climate change. FES aims to structurally support the work that Indigenous youth are doing with our new Indigenous Youth Fund. This fund launched in 2026 to support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis youth aged 15–35 across what is currently known as Canada. The fund provides accessible and flexible funding for youth-led projects advancing climate action, Land and Water protection, cultural revitalization, community wellness, and Indigenous self-determination. This fund was built from direct feedback from Indigenous youth in our network, and aims to eliminate many of the barriers that restrict them from applying for grants in conventional funding systems and the climate philanthropic sector.
2026 has been an exceptionally difficult year for fundraising in the impact sector
This year has been defined by global shifts in gifting and funding patterns within philanthropy. Canadian organizers and social-change leaders have not been immune to the effects of this. Such effects have included withdrawals from trust-based giving processes, lower investment in social impact, and an increased rate of rejection for funding applicants. As an infrastructure organization reliant on philanthropic dollars, FES has been confronted by this. At the same time, we’ve also seen an increase in the demand for support from our community. With funding being even harder to access for non-qualified groups, we notice more and more organizations looking to us for funding, resourcing and general support. This has been a year of navigating this change, which we will continue to do in the coming year.