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There are at least 40,000 California community college students with untouched scholarship money with their names on it — at least $500 each from CalKIDS, the California Kids Investment and Development Savings program. A partnership initiated last year will identify the students for colleges to connect with, according to a Thursday announcement from the governor’s office
Launched in 2022, CalKIDS is a state initiative that automatically awards at least $500 to low-income students and English learners, with the goal of helping families save for college or career training.
Even though the money is automatically deposited into an interest-bearing savings account under a student’s name, students or their families must claim the accounts by registering online.
Available to use right away, more than $20 million in unclaimed scholarship funds are waiting for the community college students until age 26.
The funds can help them cover the educational expenses of tuition, books, fees, computers and equipment required for attendance.
In May, CalKIDS first partnered with the California Cradle-to-Career Data System. CalKIDS recently solidified a data-sharing agreement with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in February. The partnership with both entities identifies community college students with CalKIDS funds.
Knowing who has funds set aside in an account, community colleges can use the information for individualized outreach to make sure students are aware.
“This partnership demonstrates what’s possible when government agencies work together,” said State Treasurer Fiona Ma. “When we align our data systems and institutions, we remove unnecessary barriers to create an easy step for our community college students to achieve their goals with the help of CalKIDS.”
What is calkids
CalKIDS was created to help students from underserved communities gain access to higher education by creating a savings account and depositing between $500 and $1,500 in their name.
The California Department of Education determines eligibility based on students identified as low income under the state’s Local Control Funding Formula or as English language learners.
Low-income public school students and English learners are automatically awarded $500 if they:
- Were in grades 1-12 during the 2021-22 school year.
- Were enrolled in first grade during the 2022-23 school year.
- Are first graders in subsequent years, meaning the number of accounts grows annually.
An additional $500 is deposited for students identified as foster youth and another $500 for students classified as homeless.
In early 2024, EdSource found that fewer than 8.3% of eligible families had claimed their account, despite fanfare surrounding the launch.
To expand its reach and create more awareness, CalKIDS changed its approach to marketing by targeting specific groups, including high school graduates and college students. Students told EdSource they didn’t learn about CalKIDS until their senior year of high school while visiting college campus open house events or as college freshmen while working with student support programs.
By mid-2025, the targeted outreach had led to 12% of all accounts statewide being claimed.
More than $79 million has now been dispersed for college and career readiness, including over $37 million for community college expenses.
And as of late February, of over 4.1 million eligible student accounts, a number that grows annually, nearly 17% have been claimed.
Now even more accounts will be claimed, the partnership promises.
“This new partnership,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “will connect more community college students with the scholarships already set aside for them.”
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