Koshland Young Leader Awards

Competitive candidates must:

• be a junior in a San Francisco Unified School District High School.
• have demonstrated academic excellence (at least a 3.4 GPA) and be college/junior college – bound.
• have demonstrated significant leadership in their community, school, work, and/or home including active participation in school clubs, sports, volunteer work, paid work, religious community, college prep programming, family responsibilities, etc. 
• have overcome significant hardship (e.g., unstable housing, non-native English speaker, economic insecurity, health or mental health issues, immigrant story, family situation, etc.) 
• have a recommendation from a teacher, counselor, school administrator, or college prep program staff who can speak to their qualifications. The recommendation should not be from a relative.

Tax ID or SSN not required to apply, however if selected, the student will need to provide either Tax ID or SSN. If you do not have a Tax ID, this organization can help you obtain one. 

February 10, 2025: Student applications are open for the 2025 Koshland Young Leader Awards. 

April 10, 2025: Applications are due. 

Late May 2025: San Francisco Foundation notifies all 2025 Koshland Young Leader Award winners. 

June 2025: Event to celebrate the 2025 awardees.

To apply, please follow this link to our online platform, Submittable, to complete your application by 11:59 pm PT on April 10, 2025. Late and/or incomplete applications will not be considered.

You will need to submit: 

• Application Video – We want to learn about you and your story! Please record one video of yourself answering all the questions below. For high-quality recorded videos, we recommend watching this video. 
  • If a video recording is not possible and you prefer to submit a written version, please contact Mayra Roman at scholarships[at]sff.org.
  • The video must be recorded in English.
  • The video must not be longer than 8 minutes.
  • Video can be recorded on your phone, mobile device, or laptop, and need not be polished or have high production value. If you are unable to record in a private, quiet space or are concerned about the sound quality of your recording, we suggest using closed captioning. 
• Transcript – your most recent (unofficial or official)
• Reference Form
• Consent and Release of Liability Form
• List of Leadership Activities 

For questions about the awards program or the application, please contact Mayra Roman at scholarships[at]sff.org.

2024 Koshland Young Leader Award Winners

2023 Koshland Young Leader Award Winners

2022 Koshland Young Leader Award Winners

2021 Koshland Young Leader Award Winners