There’s a historic amount of free money up for grabs, and tens of thousands of San Francisco kids may qualify for a piece.
The money comes from computer mogul Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, who will chip in $250 for each child age 10 and under with a so-called Trump Account. The Dells have donated $6.25 billion to the tax-deferred savings account named after the president, but only kids who live in ZIP Codes with a median household income of less than $150,000 can tap into the philanthropy.
It’s unclear how many San Francisco children will meet the criteria. Based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about half of the San Francisco area would qualify. Census data shows those areas had 62,392 people who were 18 or younger (information on children 10 or younger was not available).
Who qualifies?
The Excelsior and Outer Mission should be among the biggest beneficiaries of the program. The neighborhoods, which share ZIP Code 94112, have 14,530 youth residents and a median household income of $130,906. Also eligible are residents of Bayview-Hunters Point (ZIP Code 94124), which has a median income of $82,928 and 8,414 residents age 18 or younger.
Residents of the Richmond, Chinatown, and parts of the Sunset and SoMa also qualify.
Residents of Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island (ZIP Code 94130) make the cut too, with a median income of $91,750. There are only 433 kids and teens on the islands, the lowest concentration of young people in the eligible areas.
Who’s out?
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are 52,310 youth in 13 of the city’s higher-income ZIP Codes, including the Marina, Pacific Heights, and the Presidio. These kids would not qualify.
The city’s wealthiest ZIP Code is 94105, Rincon Hill, with a household median income of $239,781 and only 888 kids and teens.
Read the fine print
The Dells will initially use the Trump Accounts infrastructure to give $250 to each qualified child. The program, formally called Invest America, was made possible by President Donald Trump’s landmark Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
Trump has also announced that children born between 2025 and 2028 will receive a $1,000 contribution from the U.S. Treasury, regardless of their ZIP Code.
Families may not withdraw funds from a Trump Account until a child turns 18, at which point the accounts convert to traditional IRAs.
Though the accounts became law as part of the president’s legislation in July, the Dells say they will not launch until July 4, 2026, coinciding with the nation’s 250th anniversary.
‘Kindergarten to College’ accounts
San Francisco, meanwhile, has a long-running program designed to help every public school student put aside money for their college education.
Kindergarten to College (opens in new tab), or K2C, which launched in 2011, automatically opens a savings account with $50 for every student enrolled in the SF Unified School District. (About 7 million children nationwide hold similar savings accounts; most are in California, where the statewide CalKIDS (opens in new tab) program began in 2022.)
Unlike the new Trump Accounts, which will function similarly to traditional IRAs and can be used for various purposes after a beneficiary turns 18, K2C targets post-secondary education, such as four-year universities, community colleges, apprenticeships, and vocational training programs. Among other impacts (opens in new tab) for account holders, 6% are more likely to enroll in college, according to the San Francisco treasurer and tax collector.
Amanda Fried, chief of policy and communications for the treasurer, said city officials await details on implementation of the Trump Accounts, including tax implications and potential impacts on eligibility for public benefits. She added that the city plans to help families navigate potentially overlapping programs.
She expressed optimism that attention surrounding the Trump Accounts could drive broader investment in children’s savings programs.
“All of a sudden, we’re going to see philanthropy understanding this, and engaging in this at a different level,” she said. “I think it is possible that it’s going to be an inflection point where we’re going to be able to channel more meaningful resources specifically to kids who need it.”