translations

Our Translations Program breaks language barriers in climate education by mobilizing volunteers to translate critical climate information into over 100 languages.

Through partnerships with organizations like UNICEF, Yale, and Google, we ensure that non-English-speaking communities have access to vital climate knowledge.

We provide human-verified free and low rate translations to grassroots, youth-led and other social impact organizations and offer market-rate translations to large nonprofits, companies, and government agencies.

Volunteers receive training, resources, and support to make climate information more inclusive and actionable worldwide​.

CHAPTERS

The Climate Cardinals Chapters Program empowers youth leaders to build climate-ready, resilient communities by providing localized climate education where it is limited or missing — especially in non-English-speaking regions.

Chapters are led by young people already rooted in their communities, who bring deep local knowledge and a strong track record of action.

Each chapter operates independently within a school, university, or local community, leading initiatives that reflect their unique context.

Chapter leaders receive mentorship, strategic support, and access to a global network of peers — allowing them to exchange ideas, learn from diverse experiences, and collaborate across borders.

Fellowships

Our Fellowships Program empowers emerging climate leaders to grow as changemakers while advancing Climate Cardinals’ core mission.

The two-year program — with a third-year option for select Senior Fellows — provides mentorship, microgrants, and training in nonprofit operations, strategic changemaking, and project management.

Fellows gain hands-on experience across key organizational workflows, including translation, community engagement, partnerships, and education — all aimed at breaking down language barriers and expanding access to climate knowledge.

Senior Fellows take on greater leadership, guiding newer cohorts, leading major initiatives, and shaping the evolution of our core programs. Together, this youth-powered engine helps ensure that climate action is inclusive, multilingual, and locally informed — activating the next generation to lead where they live.

FAQS

  • We are currently finalizing our five-year strategic plan, built around four core pillars, each with three strategic goals. Every pillar is guided by qualitative and quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which we track quarterly through a live internal dashboard and ongoing feedback from our chapters, youth fellows, and translation partners.

    Once finalized, we will publish a public summary of the strategic plan and share our KPIs along with their definitions on this page.

    Starting in 2024, we release an Annual Impact Report each November, supplemented by an Internal Impact Check-In every July. These reports help us evaluate progress toward our KPIs and continuously improve the quality and depth of our impact.

  • We prioritize alignment with our five-year strategic plan, which is structured around four core pillars and corresponding strategic goals.

    While we are currently focused on strengthening the quality of our existing impact, we welcome collaboration with foundations and implementing partners on new programs that directly advance our strategic goals and improve outcomes for the communities we serve.

    At this time, we do not anticipate launching new standalone programs, but we are open to conversations about initiatives that meaningfully enhance our impact and align with our mission.

  • AI and machine translation have opened powerful possibilities for scaling access to information. Tools like Google Translate can process content in seconds, helping us reach more people faster than ever before. But speed doesn’t always equal accuracy—especially when it comes to languages with limited digital resources.

    Low-resource languages—like many Indigenous, regional, or under-digitized languages—are often underrepresented in AI training data. As a result, machine translations in these languages are frequently inaccurate, incomplete, or simply unavailable. Over 90% of machine translation funding goes to just ten languages, leaving billions underserved.

    Even in well-resourced languages, machine translation can miss tone, context, and cultural meaning. That’s especially dangerous when sharing climate information, where clarity and trust can mean the difference between action and inaction. Automated translations must be reviewed and adapted to meet real community needs.

    We’re tech-positive and believe in the power of AI. But it’s not enough on its own. The future isn’t one without human translators—instead, it’s one where translators use AI to do their work better. That’s why we combine technology with human insight: to build tools that are fast, fair, and trusted.

  • Climate Cardinals is a youth-led organization committed to transparency, inclusivity, and community-driven leadership. Our Senior Leadership team is composed of 3 out of 5 women and 100% multilingual individuals, with over 30 years of collective experience managing multimillion-dollar budgets and advising global leaders, including the UN Secretary-General, EPA Administrator, and WHO Director-General.

    We regularly engage our community through office hours, quarterly program calls, and annual all-hands meetings to share updates and gather feedback. Structured input from our chapters, fellows, translators, ambassadors, and thought leadership contributors informs ongoing program improvement. Senior Leadership also conducts one-on-one check-ins with active volunteers around the world.

    As we transition from fiscal sponsorship to independence, we plan to appoint volunteer community members to our Board of Directors. In the meantime, a Volunteer Steering Committee will be formed in Q4 2025 to provide strategic input on programs and organizational priorities.

    Each pillar of our five-year strategic plan includes qualitative and quantitative Key Performance Indicators, tracked quarterly through a live internal dashboard. Beginning in 2024, we publish an Annual Impact Report in November and an Internal Biannual Report in July to assess progress and identify opportunities to strengthen our impact.

  • See our 2024 impact report here.

    We will share additional impact reports moving forward on this page.