FAQ

Only Institutions of Higher Education (“IHE”) designated by the Secretary of Education as accredited Historically Black Colleges and Universities (“HBCU”) are eligible to enroll in the Retool Your School Program.

Please contact your President’s office and encourage your HBCU’s administration to register in the Retool Your School Program. Schools can contact retoolyourschool@waltonisaacson.com for assistance.

Yes. However, no applicants or representatives can take part (or agree to take part) in any media interviews or events or issue any press releases or other announcements regarding participation in the Retool Your School Program without the prior written consent of The Home Depot.

No.

There is no official “opt-in.” Each school’s President and/or other administrative point of contact will receive an email that allows them to register their school for any of the three Retool Your School grants. If you have any questions regarding your registration, please email the Retool Your School Program at retoolyourschool@waltonisaacson.com.

Submit your questions to retoolyourschool@waltonisaacson.com and a Retool Your School Program staff member will respond within 48 hours.

No. This portion of the Program has been discontinued due to other grants being introduced.

The Retool Your School Program provides the opportunity for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to win grants from The Home Depot to be used for campus improvement projects that promote sustainability and long-term benefits to the campus and students.

Respondents that enter the Program by the listed deadline will compete for the most online votes. The top 10 schools per Cluster with the highest cumulative voting score will win a Campus Improvement Grant. They will then be invited to submit a proposal for their project.

Sponsor will make Cluster Assignments using data provided on the Learning Opportunities Index and National Center for Education Statistics application. Clusters are defined below:

• Cluster 1 includes HBCUs with an enrollment of 4,000 or more students
• Cluster 2 includes HBCUs with an enrollment of between 1,201 and 3,999 students
• Cluster 3 includes HBCUs with an enrollment of 1,200 or fewer students

If your HBCU has registered to be a part of the Program, you can visit staging–rys-web.netlify.app/vote during the designated voting period (Monday, February 26, 2024 – Sunday, March 24, 2024) to vote for your HBCU.

No. There will be no social media voting during the 2024 Program year. All votes must be submitted through www.staging–rys-web.netlify.app/vote or through any in-person voting events that The Home Depot might sponsor. However, supporters can use the hashtag #RetoolYourSchool to promote their participation in the Campus Improvement Grant Voting Challenge as well as completed Campus Improvement Projects.

The cumulative voting score is the total of all votes received through www.staging–rys-web.netlify.app/vote as well as any in-person voting opportunities that might be provided.

No.

• School Administrator Registration: Tuesday, January 2, 2024 – Friday, February 23, 2024 
• Voting Period: Monday, February 26, 2024 – Sunday, March 24, 2024
• Winner Announcement: April 2024

Grants must be used for materials and/or services available through The Home Depot and Home Services at The Home Depot. Grants cannot be used for tool rentals or tool rental deposits. Some services will be accepted and paid for by The Home Depot gift cards. However, services such as HDInteriors cabinet makeovers, countertops, backsplash and home organization are unable to accept gift cards as tender due to system limitations. As such, winning schools must pay for these listed services out of their own funds.

All Grant awards will be publicly announced no later than Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Grants will be funded once the winning school’s project proposal has been submitted and approved by The Home Depot.

No. A school will not lose their grant funds if they do not complete the campus improvement grant project by the end of the calendar year.

No. There is no voting process for the Innovation Lounge Grant. The Innovation Lounge Grant winners will be selected according to the criteria outlined in the Program Rules.

No. There is no voting process for the Innovation Lounge Grant. However, you can use the hashtag #RetoolYourSchool to promote your school’s participation in the Program as well as any completed Innovation Lounge projects.

Innovation Lounge Grants will provide on campus spaces where students can come together to ideate, problem solve or explore entrepreneurship or career pathing. Innovation Lounges can also be used to host hybrid meetings and webinars.

Grant consideration will be given to applicants for the purpose of refreshing an existing campus space of up to 1000 sq. ft. Funding includes paint, flooring, lighting, building materials to support repairs, furniture/decor, and technology to support hybrid meetings and webinars.

An Innovation Lounge Grants does not include funding for new construction, demolition and rebuild, or spaces requiring the support of a general contractor or building permits to complete.

A school must submit a proposal for the opportunity to win an Innovation Lounge Grant. Proposals will be judged based on certain criteria set by The Home Depot. These criteria include, but are not limited to:

1. The school’s eligibility (School has not previously been awarded an Innovation Lounge)
2. Whether the designated space is less than 1000 sq. ft. as required
3. Whether the space needs only minor repairs to refresh the space (no major renovations)
4. Whether the school has provided a clear description of the project
5. Whether the scope of work can be completed within designated timeline and budget

Ten schools will be selected based on criteria set by The Home Depot.

No. Winners do not have to be within a certain Cluster to win an Innovation Lounge Grant.

No.

Grant recipients will work with The Home Depot to remodel an existing space. This includes a project manager, construction, and design team. Grant consideration will be given to applicants for the purpose of refreshing an existing campus space of up to 1000 sq. ft. Funding includes paint, flooring, lighting, building materials to support repairs, furniture/decor, and technology to support hybrid meetings and webinars. Gift cards should only be used for building materials and additional decor for the Innovation Lounge.

An Innovation Lounge Grant does not include funding for new construction, demolition and rebuild, or spaces requiring the support of a general contractor or building permits to complete.

• School Administrator Registration: Tuesday, January 2, 2024 – Friday, February 23, 2024
• Application Review and Scoring: Monday, February 26, 2024 – Sunday, March 24, 2024
• Winner Announcement: April 2024

No. There is no voting process for the Community Project Grant. The grants will be judged and scored according to the criteria outlined in the Program Rules.

No. There is no voting process for the Community Project Grant. However, you can use the hashtag #RetoolYourSchool to promote your school’s participation in Community Project Grant Program as well as any completed projects undertaken using a Community Project Grant.

The communities surrounding HBCU campuses are extremely important to the schools, students, alumni, faculty and staff. Our goal is to provide an opportunity to strengthen the relationships and partnerships in the communities surrounding the campus through volunteerism. Each Respondent must partner with a nonprofit organization which serves an area within a 10-mile radius of the HBCU campus.

A school must submit a proposal in collaboration with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for the opportunity to win a Community Project Grant. Proposals will be reviewed and analyzed against criteria set by The Home Depot to determine which HBCUs will be awarded a grant.

Three schools will be awarded a Community Project Grant based on their submitted proposal.

No, winners do not have to be within a certain cluster to win a Community Project Grant.

Grants must be used for a community project with a nonprofit within a 10-mile radius of the school. Grants are awarded to the nonprofit partner. The nonprofit will be required to sign an agreement acknowledging the funds will be used for the specific project outlined in the proposal.

No.

• School Administrator Registration: Monday, September 9, 2024 – Friday, September 27, 2024
• Application Review and Scoring: Monday, September 30, 2024 – Friday, October 11, 2024
• Winners’ Announcement: Monday, October 14, 2024

No.

Any freshman, sophomore, junior or senior with a minimum GPA of 2.75 currently attending an accredited HBCU is eligible to apply.

No.

A total of 60 scholarships of $2,500 each will be awarded. Thirty scholarships will be awarded in the spring semester and an additional 30 will be awarded in the fall semester.

You can apply for the scholarship here.

The United Negro College Fund will select the winners based upon submission of an application, transcript, completed FASFA and one-page essay.

No.

The resume workshops will cover the most important elements that highlight a job candidate’s qualifications and experience and provide access to different templates.

The interview workshops will teach students how to prepare for interviews, how to be critical thinkers during interviews, how to use the STAR method and which steps to take after an interview

Any student attending an accredited HBCU can sign up for a workshop.

No. You can choose to join the resume workshop only, the interview workshop only or both workshops.

No.

The Home Depot will host one virtual resume and one virtual interview workshop per quarter for up to 200 students.

No, but you will have access to The Home Depot recruiters and Early Career staff.

Students must be enrolled in and attending an accredited HBCU to participate in the workshops. Students will be admitted into the workshops on a first-come, first-served basis.

No.

An externship is a six- to eight-week paid virtual educational program focused on skill building, experiential learning and development. Students will work on relevant, real-world projects inside a structured training and collaborative environment. Students will receive training and complete work that will be presented to The Home Depot executives in business areas relevant to the project.

Sophomores, juniors and seniors who are enrolled in and attending an accredited HBCU can complete an application for a position in the externship program.

No.

The Home Depot will have six total externships – three in the fall and three in the spring. Fifty students will be selected to participate in each externship program for a total of 300 student participants within a calendar year.

You can apply for the workshops here.

No, but you will receive a certificate for the course completion and access to The Home Depot career panel, executives and leadership.

Students interested in the externship program must complete an application to be considered. Based on the applications, select students will be invited to interview with select members of The Home Depot team. Students will be assessed on the areas below in the application and interview. Based upon the overall assessment, externships will be awarded to students that meet or exceed the criteria.

ASSESSMENT AREAS:
Applicants will be judged based on their:

• Interest in, research of and alignment with The Home Depot and the externship project details,
• Ability to tell their own story with clarity and energy in a way that connects to The Home Depot externship,
• Urge to learn and ability to follow through,
• Alignment between maturity of applicant’s executive function and demands of externship,
• Evidence of communication and self-awareness,
• Evidence of proactivity, and
• Evidence of coachability.