In 1999, Dr. Daniel Koshland Jr., the son of San Francisco Foundation’s founding chairman, established the Koshland Young Leader Awards (KYLA). The awards program recognizes young leaders who balance extraordinary challenges yet continue to show academic promise and community leadership. To date, the program has awarded nearly $1 million to more than 170 young leaders to give them a jump start as they enter college.  

Candidates embrace a commitment to strengthening their families and communities despite facing formidable life challenges. Eleven outstanding San Francisco Unified School District juniors will receive $14,000 each to fund their tuition and/or education-related expenses.   

Learn more at https://sff.org/KYLA 

Application Requirements 

Competitive candidates must: 

• be a junior in a San Francisco Unified School District High School 
• have demonstrated academic excellence (at least a weighted 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, employer, clergy or college prep program staff who can speak to your qualifications. The recommendation should not be from a relative. See our Guidelines on choosing a recommender HERE. 

Tax ID or Social Security Number (SSN) are not required to apply. However, if selected, the student will need to provide either a Tax ID or SSN.  

You can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help you think and polish, but everything meaningful must come from you—your ideas, your story, your voice.  See our AI Guidelines HERE. 

Application Timeline 

February 9, 2026: Applications are open.   

April 9, 2026: Applications are due.   

Late May 2026: San Francisco Foundation notifies all 2026 Koshland Young Leader Award winners.         

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