BMO Generation Regen Challenge 2026 (Funded to One Young World Summit 2026, Cape Town) – YOA

Deadline: February 23, 2026

Applications are open for the Generation Regen Challenge 2026. Agriculture is a cornerstone of financial resilience throughout Canada and the United States, contributing considerably to GDP, using thousands and thousands in each international locations, and serving as a significant contributor to world meals safety. As the sector evolves, regenerative agriculture is gaining traction as a local weather-good answer that restores ecosystems, improves soil and water well being, strengthens lengthy-time period farm resilience, and delivers a variety of environmental and social advantages. Farmers, innovators, and communities are nicely positioned to lead a brand new period of regenerative and sustainable agriculture.

The Generation Regen Challenge goals to speed up the event and adoption of regenerative and sustainable agriculture throughout Canada and the U.S.. By funding revolutionary social enterprises and non-income, the problem helps options that restore ecosystems, sequester carbon, and rebuild resilient native meals techniques. The Challenge goals to assist innovators lead a worldwide transition towards agriculture that nourishes the land whereas feeding its individuals equitably and sustainably.

Announced on the One Young World Summit 2025, the Generation Regen Challenge will present $200,000 to speed up non-income or social enterprises in Canada and the U.S. working to shield and restore:

• Local Farming: Strengthen farming practices, enhance productiveness, sustainability and local weather resilience.
• Soil well being: Projects that enhance lands’ capability to sequester carbon, maintain and filter water and enhance different parts of soil performance.
• Animal welfare: Enhancing the welfare of farmed livestock and influenced wildlife.
• Biodiversity: Protecting, restoring and enhancing biodiversity on farms.
• Water: Enhancing water stewardship on farms in direction of a more healthy watershed.
• Crop Rotation and Diversity: Rotating crops and utilizing various plant species to enhance soil fertility and cut back pest strain.
• Indigenous and cultural practices: Supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis / Native American meals and agricultural practices, together with rising understanding, consciousness and broadening adoption.
• Food Security Systems: Improving entry to secure, nutritious, and culturally applicable meals for underserved or at-threat communities.

Benefits

• Two problem winners will obtain grants of $60,000 to assist their initiatives
• Four problem finalists will obtain grants of $20,000 to assist their initiatives
• Winners and finalists will obtain:
  • Scholarships to take part within the One Young World Summit 2026, Cape Town, South Africa which takes place from November 3-6, 2026. Scholarship assist is inclusive of flights and lodging.
  • Lifelong membership of the One Young World Ambassador Community, a worldwide community with 20,000+ members in 190+ international locations.

Eligibility

• Be between 18 and 35 years of age, main a non-revenue, charity or social enterprise.
• Your organisation have to be a registered Canadian non-revenue/charity or U.S. 501c3 OR
  • A social enterprise registered in Canada or the U.S. If your organisation is a social enterprise it’s essential to suggest a mission with a social goal and make sure that 100% of grant funds might be used for this mission.
• Your organisation should have been registered for no less than one yr by 23 February 2026.
• You should suggest a mission/programme that might be delivered by your organisation. The mission/programme have to be primarily based in and targeted on Canada and/or the U.S. This could also be an present mission/programme or one thing new.

Evaluation Criteria

Successful candidates will:

• Propose a strong regenerative or sustainable agriculture mission/programme.
  • The Generation Regen Challenge recognises that, whereas all ‘regenerative agriculture’ is sustainable, not all ‘sustainable agriculture’ is regenerative. Projects/programmes that may be thought-about examples of ‘sustainable agriculture’ will definitely be thought-about however initiatives that can be thought-about examples of ‘regenerative agriculture’ are most well-liked.
• Propose a mission/programme able to having a constructive affect on a number of of the next areas:
  • Local farming: Strengthen farming practices, enhance productiveness, sustainability and local weather resilience.
  • Soil well being: Projects that enhance lands’ capability to sequester carbon, maintain and filter water and enhance different parts of soil performance.
  • Animal welfare: Enhancing the welfare of farmed livestock and influenced wildlife.
  • Biodiversity: Protecting, restoring and enhancing biodiversity on farms.
  • Water: Enhancing water stewardship on farms in direction of a more healthy watershed.
  • Crop rotation and variety: Rotating crops and utilizing various plant species to enhance soil fertility and cut back pest strain.
  • Indigenous and cultural practices: supporting First Nations, Inuit and Metis / Native American meals and agricultural practices, together with rising understanding, consciousness and broadening adoption.
  • Food safety techniques: Improving entry to secure, nutritious, and culturally applicable meals for underserved or at-threat communities.
• Demonstrate innovation and show potential or precise change with initiatives that align to one of many following levels of innovation:
  • Developing and Testing: Accelerator packages; Experiments & Trials; Innovation prototyping; Needs assessing and so on.
  • Making the Case: Experiments & Trials; Research; Standards of Evidence; Business Case growth; and so on.
  • Delivering and Implementing: Pilot initiatives; Public & Social labs; and so on.
  • Growing and Scaling: Expansion of a confirmed concept; Replication of a confirmed concept; Impact Measurement; and so on.
  • Changing Systems: Policy and White paper growth; and so on.
• Demonstrate their capability to ship the mission inside proposed timeframe, handle funds offered and conduct required reporting and evaluation.
• Demonstrate a dedication to security and fairness. Projects ought to prioritise the protection and nicely-being of all individuals and communities concerned, whereas selling equitable entry, honest labour practices, and inclusive choice-making processes that respect the rights and dignity of all stakeholders, notably marginalised and underserved communities.

Application

• All purposes have to be submitted in both English or French.
• Only one application per organisation could be thought-about.

Click here to apply

For extra info, go to Generation Regen Challenge.