FAQ

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

Please contact your President’s office and encourage your HBCU’s office of administration to register in the Retool Your School program. Let your school know to reach out to RYSsupport@uwginc.com for assistance.

Visit the #Hashtags page to retrieve your school’s unique hashtag.

Yes, however, no applicants or representatives can take part (or agree to take part) in any media interviews, 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.

Each school’s President and/or other administrative point of contact will receive an email that allows them to register their school. If you have any questions regarding your registration, please email the Retool Your School Program at RYSsupport@uwginc.com.

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

There will not be a “Campaign of the Year Award” in 2023. This portion of the campaign has been discontinued due to other new 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.

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 a student enrollment of 4,000 or more
• Cluster 2 includes HBCUs with a student enrollment between 1,201 and 3,999
• Cluster 3, includes HBCUs with a student enrollment of 1,200 or less

1. If your HBCU has registered to be a part of the program, you can visit retoolyourschool.com during the designated voting period (Monday, 2/27 – Sunday, 3/26) to vote for your HBCU

OR

2. Find your school’s unique hashtag on retoolyourschool.com and use it to vote on social media on Twitter and/or Instagram.

No.

• School Administrator Registration: Monday, January 9, 2023 – Friday, February 10, 2023
• Voting Period: Monday, February 27, 2023 – Sunday, March 26, 2023
• Winner Announcement: April 2023

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.

All Grant awards will be publicly announced no later than Monday, May 1, 2023. Winning schools will be notified in advance of the announcement date. Grants will be funded once the winning school’s project proposals have been submitted and approved by The Home Depot.

The cumulative voting score is the total of all votes received through retoolyourschool.com as well as social media through Instagram and Twitter using the designated hashtag during the voting phase.

Social media votes are defined as votes that use the HBCU’s unique hashtag on Instagram and/or Twitter. Each time your HBCU’s unique hashtag is used on Instagram or Twitter ONE (1) vote will be earned per post. This includes retweets and reposts.

No, using the same hashtag more than once in a single Instagram or Twitter post only counts as one vote. However, you can include multiple HBCUs’ hashtags in a single post; each hashtag will count as one vote per school.

Yes, it is against the Program rules to schedule votes and may result in disqualification from the Program. Any Respondent or individual who, at the sole discretion of Sponsor, abuses the voting process in any way, including, without limitation, mass robotic voting, scheduled votes, votes generated by a script or macro, use of automated devices or the use of multiple voter or email accounts or other fraudulent means, as determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified from the Program or from further voting, and will have all their prior votes disqualified.

No. There is no voting process for the Innovation Lounge Grant. The Innovation Lounge Grants will be judged and scored according to the criteria outlined in the Rules.

No. There is no voting process for the Innovation Lounge Grant. However, you can use your school’s hashtag in any school promotions of the Innovation Lounge Grant.

An innovation lounge is a place on campus where students can come together to ideate, be innovative in their schoolwork, as well as their approach to problem solving. This space can be used to explore early stages of entrepreneurship and conduct hybrid meetings and webinars.

A school must submit a proposal for the opportunity to win an innovation lounge grant. Their proposal will be judged based on certain criteria within a set scorecard by The Home Depot.

10 schools will be selected based on review of an official proposal.

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 their existing space. This includes a project manager, construction, and design team.

• School Administrator Registration: Monday, January 9, 2023 – Friday, February 10, 2023
• Application Review and Scoring: Monday, February 27, 2023 – Sunday, March 26, 2023
• Winner Announcement: April 2023

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 Rules.

No. There is no voting process for the Community Project Grant. However, you can use your school’s hashtag in any school promotions of the Community Project Grant.

As we begin to partner with HBCUs we cannot forget the community in which the school, students, alumni, faculty and staff reside. We plan to uplift the surrounding community by partnering with the school, specifically the students and alumni, to identify an area of need that can be restored, beautified or just shown some TLC. This could include parks, greenspaces, neighborhoods, student gathering areas, housing or more.

A school must submit a proposal in collaboration with a 501c3 non-profit organization for the opportunity to win a community project grant. Their proposal 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 25-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, April 3, 2023 – Monday, May 1, 2023
• Application Review and Scoring: Tuesday, May 2, 2023 – Thursday, June 1, 2023
• Winners’ Announcement: Friday, June 30, 2023

No.

Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors with a minimum GPA of 2.75 currently attending an accredited HBCU.

No.

Starting in 2023, 60 total scholarships of $2,500 each will be awarded. 30 will be awarded in the Spring and an additional 30 will be awarded in the Fall.

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 candidates’ qualifications and experience and provide access to different templates.

The interview workshops will prepare students on how to prepare for the interview, how to be critical thinkers during an interview, the STAR method, and the 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 and/or the interview workshop.

No.

Beginning in the Fall of 2023, The Home Depot will have 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 and attending an HBCU in order to participate in the workshops. Students will be admitted into the workshops on a first come first served basis.

No.

An externship is a 6 – 8 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 retrieve training and complete work that will be presented to Home Depot executives in business areas relevant to the project.

Accredited HBCU Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors 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. 50 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 upon the application process, select students will be invited to participate in an interview. 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:

• Applicant’s 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 executive function and demands of externship
• Evidence of communication & self-awareness
• Evidence of proactivity
• Evidence of coachability