If you’re a community college student in California, there’s literally free money waiting for you right now, and the state just figured out how to get it into your hands.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration just announced a new partnership designed to connect community college students with CalKIDS scholarships they’re already eligible for. For those who haven’t heard of it, CalKIDS is California’s automatic scholarship program that gives eligible students up to $1,500 in free grant money to use on education expenses like textbooks, laptops, and course materials. The catch? You have to actually claim your account and know about it in the first place, which is where a lot of students fall through the cracks.

Here’s the good news: The state is now using existing data systems to identify eligible community college students and directly reach out to them. The initial results are impressive. The partnership has already identified 40,000 community college students sitting on over $20 million in unclaimed scholarships.

Since its launch in 2022, CalKIDS has already helped nearly 70,000 students tap into more than $37 million for community college expenses. That’s real money making a real difference. For context, we’re talking about students who might be working multiple part-time jobs while trying to complete their degrees. An extra $1,500 can literally be the difference between staying enrolled and dropping out.

The collaboration involves California’s Community College Chancellor’s Office, the California Cradle-to-Career Data System, and State Treasurer Fiona Ma’s office. They’re using secure data-sharing agreements to cross-reference who qualifies, then community colleges can reach out directly to their enrolled students with the good news.

California’s community college system serves over 2.2 million students annually and is absolutely critical to economic mobility across the state. Making sure these students actually access the money that’s already reserved for them is a pretty big deal. Community college chancellors aren’t mincing words about the impact, they’re calling this a game-changer for first-generation students and folks balancing school with work.

If you’re a community college student in California, you can head to CalKIDS.org to confirm if you qualify and claim your scholarship. You’ve got until age 26 to use the funds on eligible education expenses, so there’s no rush. The state is also encouraging community colleges to use their Data on Demand platform to directly contact students about available funds through existing campus communication channels and student support services.

This is exactly the kind of government coordination that actually helps people instead of creating more bureaucracy. Money that was already earmarked for students is finally reaching them.