California is fortunate to be the 5th largest economy in the world with an abundance of resources and diverse talent. Among those resources are our state colleges, which are not only premier institutions, but they are also changing lives and communities. Access to financial aid is critical for low-income students and students of color who want to go to college. Annually, California provides $2 billion in state financial aid, through the California State Aid Commission's Cal Grant program offered to all students, including undocumented students. However, thousands of students in California who are eligible for financial aid do not receive it. Over the last two years, nearly a half million high school seniors in California did not complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA). Despite notable informational, awareness, and completion efforts at the local level to increase these rates, only 54% of California's high school seniors completed a financial aid application in 2018, ranking the state 30th in the nation. Some of the reasons many eligible students do not complete a financial aid form are because they believe they do not qualify, have no information on how to apply, or do not want to share personal information because they fear deportation. This research brief offers district and school leaders strategies to increase financial aid application completion rates and equitably implement Assembly Bill 2015 (Reyes). While there are schools and districts making strides, more can be done to greatly increase financial aid awareness for more low-income students and students of color. Such "components of success" identified through research include: (1) prioritizing completion through policy; (2) collecting and monitoring appropriate data; (3) establishing and maintaining strong partnerships; (4) building relationships and trust; and (5) programming with students at the center. An advocacy action guide is provided to assist high schools and school districts to implement successful strategies that increase financial aid application completion rates. [This research brief was written with Anthony Chavez, Mariah Cochran, Mayra A. Lara, Jacques Lesure, José Muñoz, Yvonne Muñoz, Christopher Nellum, Rachel Ruffalo, Leni Wolf, and Andy Wong. Funding for this report was also provided by Michelson 20MM Foundation.]