American Climate Leadership Awards 2025
Applications Are Now Open!
In 2025, ecoAmerica’s American Climate Leadership Awards (ACLA) will award over 40 individuals and organizations with more than $200,000 for their success in accelerating climate change advocacy and activation in the United States.
Know someone doing great work in climate action? Or maybe it’s YOU? This is your moment to shine! APPLY or NOMINATE a climate leader.
Since 2019, the American Climate Leadership Awards have celebrated over 150 local and national leaders, granting over one million dollars to individuals and organizations propelling climate solutions. With over 100,000 broadcast views, ACLA advances successful climate action through financial awards, public recognition, and guides for others to replicate the finalists’ winning work. View finalist How-To Guides HERE.
2024 Winners
Climate Resolve | ACLA 2024 Winner
Climate Resolve connects communities, organizations, and policymakers to address the global climate problem with local action.
Adah Crandall | ACLA 2024 Winner
High school graduate, Adah Crandall, is a climate justice organizer from Portland who focuses on the intersection of climate and transportation.
Award Categories
General
Open to individuals or organizations excelling in climate engagement or advocacy. Scale of reach and impact can range from local to national.
Winner $50,000; Runner-Up $25,000; 8 Finalists $10,000; 20 Semifinalists $1,000
Youth
Open to youth (14-24 years old) contributing at the school, community, or state level.
Winner $10,000; 10 Finalists $5,000
Honor
One exceptional climate leader advancing national progress on climate action and solutions.
What’s New in 2025
- Expanded Qualification: Welcoming in-progress efforts with proven impact.
- Broader Youth Range: Youth eligibility to ages 14-24.
- New Entrants: Welcoming small business applicants and other organizations with climate programs.
- Easier Application: A single, streamlined application.
- One spectacular awards show that brings together all finalists, celebrating their achievements.
What’s the Same
- Recognizing climate leadership from local to national and broad engagement.
- Awards for impact with clear tactics and measurable results.
- Promoting replicable success with stepwise finalist guide features for others to replicate.
- Esteemed judging panel to review your application.
- Current efforts only. No ideas or plans.
2025 Judges and Hosts
Alexandria Villaseñor
US Youth Climate Strike Movement
Aishah-Nyeta Brown
Climate Storyteller
Margaret Klein Salamon, PhD
Climate Emergency Fund
David Pogue
Climate Expert
Jeff Goodell
Writer
Xiye Bastida
Climate Justice Activist
Graham Hill
The Carbonauts
Jerome Foster II
Environmental Activist
Co-Host
Learn more about our judges HERE.
Timeline
September 16, 2024:
Applications and
Nominations Open
January 6, 2025:
Applications Due
January 31, 2025:
Leader Semi-Finalists Notified
February 17, 2025:
Finalist Materials Due
April 16, 2025:
Winners Awards Broadcast
Learn More About the Awards
+What will the winners receive?
General Leader Winner $50,000
Runner-Up $25,000
8 Finalists $10,000
20 Semifinalists $1,000
Additional Category
Youth Category Winner $10,000
10 Finalists $5,000
The finalists, runner-up, and winners will also receive prominent national recognition before, during, and after the event including in social, earned, and owned media from ecoAmerica. All youth entrants qualify for leader awards.
+How do you apply?
- Apply – Any eligible individual or organization can submit an application using this form by the January 6 deadline. Whether you are deepening your work in one community or are a leader scaling your program nationally, we invite you to apply to showcase your climate leadership.
- Nominate – If you know of someone who you believe qualifies for this award, please nominate them, and we will invite them to apply.
- After reviewing all applications, the most promising leader submissions will be named semifinalists, and invited to submit more detailed proposals for finalist consideration. The top leader semifinalists will be promoted in ecoAmerica communications and online, receiving recognition for reaching that stage.
- Top 10 – Leader semifinalist submissions will be reviewed, and from this group, ten finalists will be selected, notified, and promoted as Finalists for the American Climate Leadership Awards 2025. The winner and runner-up will be announced in Spring 2025.
+What are the eligibility requirements?
The American Climate Leadership Awards seeks submissions from initiatives that have:
Current programming in place or completed programming within the past year. Please note that plans for future programs will not be considered. Content 1
Demonstrated leadership and success in engaging a broader diversity of Americans to build public support and political resolve for climate preparedness, resilience, sustainability, and mitigation solutions.
A strong track record of effective climate action, including clear program objectives, tactics, and measurable results.
Successful programs or initiatives at the local or regional level, or for leaders at the national level that can be replicated by others.
Reached new audiences: We welcome applications from across the country, from the local to national level, and from all communities. In particular, we encourage applications from individuals and organizations working to bring in or include audiences who are new to climate action. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ACCEPT NATIONAL SUBMISSIONS FROM LEADERS ONLY. (NATIONAL YOUTH APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.)
Current programming in place or completed programming within the past year. Please note that plans for future programs will not be considered.
+How will my application be evaluated?
The Selection Committees for ACLA25 is comprised of climate experts and leaders from across a diversity of sectors and constituencies who will score the submissions based on the following criteria:
- Impact and a track record of success, including measurable key success metrics.
- Replicability, in other words, how easily another person or organization could follow your example and recreate a similar program for another region or constituency.
- How the initiative is broadening participation in climate action by engaging new audiences not typically involved in the climate movement.
- Innovation, including new, novel, or uniquely effective tactics.
- Effective storytelling, including demonstrating the success of how your program built public support and/or political will to slow and/or stop climate change or prepare or build resilience to it.
+Who should apply?
The Selection Committees for ACLA25 welcomes applications from:
- Transformational leaders who are employing innovative methods to broaden the participation of Americans in climate change solutions locally, regionally, and/or nationally.
- Youth between 14 and 24 years of age working at the local and state level.
- Outstanding nonprofits that have demonstrably moved their communities, organizations, or constituencies to effective climate action, advocacy, preparedness, or resilience including community, health, faith, youth, conservation, rural, conservative, and other organizations.
- Local for-profits with outreach or engagement initiatives geared toward building support for climate action within their city, town, county, or state.
- Think you or someone you know deserves this recognition? APPLY or NOMINATE a leader.
To apply, mark your calendar for September 16, 2024. Stay informed by signing up for our newsletter, following @ecoAmerica on social media, or emailing: acla@ecoamerica.org
Please Share on Social Media — Click HERE for the ACLA 2025 Social Toolkit