Est 2023A 501(c)(3) foundation working across 8 countries
Activating the leaders of Today, not Tomorrow.
We invest in young changemakers with academic support and mentorship — guiding them as they grow into leaders for their communities, wherever they start.
- 501(c)(3) non-profit
- 8 countries · 4 continents
- 300 volunteers
Our mission
We support the next generation of global leaders and changemakers from Africa — providing the academic support, mentorship, and pathways that help young people transition from students to leaders.
Learn more about us →Our reach
From a school in Freetown to the world stage
It started with one school in Freetown. Today it reaches projects across New York City and youth empowerment work at the United Nations — 300 volunteers and 4,300 young people in eight countries on four continents.
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Scholarships at Prince of Wales School cover tuition, books and meals for students whose results earned them the place — and whose families could not cover the cost.
Lagos, Nigeria
Mentors and mentees across West Africa extend the network beyond any single school or city.
Accra, Ghana
Volunteer mentors working with students identified early and supported through secondary school.
Nairobi, Kenya
Volunteers in Kenya carry the network across the continent — and it was from Kenya that Elaine Wachera left for a full ride to Wellesley College.
United Kingdom
Volunteers in the United Kingdom mentor students thousands of miles away, one young person at a time.
France
Volunteers in France join mentors in the United Kingdom, across Africa and in the United States.
New York, United States
From Sierra Leone to Columbia University — and across town, FKF delegates at the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum every year since 2023 and at the 79th General Assembly.
Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States
A first cycle of rejections, then covered SAT fees and essay coaching — and a full ride to Wellesley College.
Berea, Kentucky, United States
Application support and mentorship that turned ambition into fully-funded places at Berea College.
Beppu, Japan
From Sierra Leone to a degree at Asia Pacific University in Japan — support that reaches the other side of the world.
Our story
“Young people are not just future leaders — they are active changemakers today.”
Born in Sierra Leone and now based in New York, Francis Koroma founded the Francis Koroma Foundation in 2023 to make sure that talented young people never have to face the climb alone. A Columbia University student, Forbes Council member, and Youth Ambassador for Sierra Leone's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, he built the foundation on a simple belief: empower young people with support, opportunity, and mentorship, and they will rise.
In three years, that belief has reached 4,300 young people across eight countries — through scholarships, mentorship, and a global network of 300 volunteers.
Read the full story →Recorded by Francis on his phone for the foundation's second Founders Day.
Founders Day · 20 January 2025
Two years, one sleepless night and a bottle of champagne
“When we dream for others, we not only dream of what they can become, but of the world we can build together.”
Francis recorded this on the foundation's second birthday, and he starts where the foundation did: in his bedroom in 2023, unable to sleep, with a thought he could not put down. You don't have to wait until you're sixty to create change. And a foundation could be the place where people who want to give back, but don't know how, find each other.
Two years on, most of the message is thank-yous: to the mentors, volunteers and mentees who kept reaching out from different corners of the country and the world, asking the same three questions. How can I be part of it? How can I donate? How can I help?
Then he opens a bottle for everyone who couldn't be in the room. “This champagne is for everyone,” he says, gives the next chapter a name, FKF 2.0, and raises it to the dreamers, the believers and the doers.
“May your pain turn into champagne.”His toast — and the line the video ends on
Read what Francis says
From the video's captions, tidied for reading.
When we dream for others, we not only dream of what they can become, but also of the world we can build together.
My name is Francis Koroma and I'm the founder and president of the Francis Koroma Foundation. Today, as we celebrate two years of the Francis Koroma Foundation, I just want to take everything back down memory lane, to where this idea started: the inspiration, the curiosity to make a change, to do something.
I remember, two years ago, I was in my bedroom and I couldn't sleep, because I'm like: okay, I don't need to be sixty years old to create a change, or to have a foundation that can create an impact. A foundation where I can come together with like-minded people who also want to give back to society, but don't know how.
Fast forward to today: I'm so proud of everything that we have done, and I'm so humbled and grateful for the people who have come along the way to share this vision and mission with me, and to see what we can do when we come together. It is always mind-blowing to me when I think about it. I have had mentors, volunteers and mentees from different corners of the country, different corners of the world, just reach out to me and say: hey, how can I be part of it? How can I donate? How can I help? So thank you to all of you.
And lastly, to celebrate the anniversary with everyone we're not able to be together with right now, we're going to pop champagne. Just to say thank you, to reflect, and to celebrate. Because we have to be proud of whatever we're doing, proud of whatever we have done and the impact we have created. So this champagne is for everyone. This is FKF 2.0.
Happy anniversary, everyone, and may your pain turn into champagne. It's going to be a little bit messy. FKF 2.0: I can't wait to see what 2025 holds for us all.
So this is for the dreamers, the believers and the doers, and for all of you who have somehow assisted or supported the foundation. May your pain turn into champagne. Happy 2025. Thank you.
What we do
Four ways we walk alongside young people
Our impact · 2023–2026
Measured in lives, not just numbers
Stories of change
The young people behind the numbers
The 2025 Prince of Wales scholars
Idrissa Kabba, Sahr Moses Sandi, Mohamed A. Jalloh and Ishmael Tarawallie, awarded at the school's annual prize-giving.
Catherine — Volunteer of the Year 2024
An economics graduate at 21, student union Minister of Finance and UN Women intern, advocating for gender equality.
Prince Kevin Ogoo
An FKF volunteer becomes the youngest winner of the UK MEA Business Award for his AgTech startup.
Ways to give
A dollar can change a student's year
Your gift goes directly to scholarships, books, meals and mentorship for young people who have earned their place — and need a hand to take it.
- $10 — a month of books for a student
- $25 — exam fees for a scholar
- $50 — a term of one-to-one mentorship
Get involved