MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. —The Home Depot has announced its 2016 Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program. Now in its seventh year, the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer utilizes the program to offer Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) the opportunity to apply for grants that provide sustainable renovations to their campuses. Miami Gardens-based Florida Memorial University is one of the HBCUs vying for $300,000 in grants.

To be considered, the HBCUs must submit a complete application by February 22, 2016. Online voting will take place from February 26 to April 24, 2016 at www.retoolyourschool.com. The winners will be announced on May 18, 2016 in Atlanta.

The Home Depot’s Retool Your School Program was established in 2010 to provide support for campus improvement projects to the nation’s HBCUs. Since the program’s inception, over one million dollars in grant money has been awarded. Last year, the Retool Your School Program was recognized in Washington, DC by the White House Initiative on HBCUs during the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week. The Home Depot’s Melissa Brown, Senior Marketing, Manager, was featured as a guest panelist during the week

where other attendees included Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Retool Your School is a valuable program,” said Dr. Ivory Toldson, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. “I know of no other program that focuses on sustaining our colleges by maintaining the physical space. This program provides very important funding that beautifies and enhances the physical needs of our HBCUs.”

“Excitement builds each year for The Home Depot Retool Your School program,” says Melissa Brown. “Each year, we continue to find ways to make it exciting for HBCUs to participate.”

During the online voting period HBCU supporters can cast one vote per day for their favorite HBCU project. Following the online vote, a panel of distinguished judges will also evaluate each school’s project proposals within the qualifying brackets. Judges will consider the depth of each proposal and the school’s ability to execute the project within the specified budgets. Proposals for all three grants must highlight how each project will make a lasting, positive impact on the HBCU campus.

For more information on The Home D-epot Retool Your School Grant Program, visit www.retoolyourschool.com. Online voting began February 26 and will continue until April 24. There are two ways to vote; 1.) Vote online at www.retoolyour-school.com, and 2.) Post your school’s unique hashtag on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. The Twitter & Instagram hashtag for FMU is: #FloridaMemorial_RYS16.