SFF Black Excellence Scholarship for SF State
The San Francisco Foundation has established a scholarship program to assist students who plan to continue their education at San Francisco State University.
Template Scholarship Program
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants to the SFF Black Excellence Scholarship for SF State program must:
- Self-identify as Black, African, or African American
- Be high school seniors or current college undergraduates
- Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at San Francisco State University for the entire upcoming academic year
- Have a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent)
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $2,500 award. Up to 35 awards will be granted.
Awards are not renewable, but students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in May.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of the San Francisco Foundation. Payment is made in August.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic record
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
- An online recommendation
Financial need, as calculated by Scholarship America, must be demonstrated for the student to receive an award.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of the San Francisco Foundation play a part in the selection. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
- Copy of the first two pages of the most recently filed IRS Form 1040 used for the Financial Information section of the application. Please black out all social security numbers and bank account information.
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.
One online recommendation form must be submitted no later than April 22, 2026 at 3:00 PM Central Time.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
