Lincoln University is in the running to receive a campus improvement grant from The Home Depot.
Since 2009, The Home Depot's Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program has offered historically Black colleges and universities a chance to win between $40,000-$120,000 in Home Depot gift cards to make campus improvements.
Schools receive the grants based on the number of votes they receive at retoolyourschool.com/vote and the number of times people on social media use the school's specific hashtag. Lincoln's hashtag is #RYSLUM.
Voting is open through March 26. There are no limits on the number of votes an individual can submit.
Schools are divided into three groups based on the size of their enrollment. The top 10 schools in each grouping are given a grant, with funding decreasing every couple spots in the ranking.
Lincoln is currently ranked 15th in Cluster 2 with 14,776 votes. Coahoma Community College is the top school in the cluster with 139,229 votes and West Virginia State University rounds out the top 10 with 26,339 votes.
Blue Tigers affiliated with Greek Life are competing to see who can get the most shares and the university recently received a Twitter shout-out from state Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson. She shared an image of her vote confirmation and urged her fellow lawmakers in the General Assembly to vote for Lincoln.
"NOTE: this lil program and those of the like are cute, but by NO means diminishes the obligation state legislatures throughout the country have in ensuring our public HBCUs are consistently and appropriately fully funded," she tweeted.
Social media votes are counted on Twitter and Instagram as long as the voter's profile is public.
If a winner, Lincoln will be awarded the grant between April 12-28 and have to submit a campus improvement project proposal by May 1. The grant funds have to be spent by the end of the year.
"LU is hoping to secure a portion of the grant money to help fund campus projects it has identified that could benefit from renovations," the university said in a news release. "The competition is expected to be fierce, with many HBCUs vying for a share of the grant money. However, with the support of the alumni, students, staff, faculty and community, LU is confident they can win and bring much-needed improvements to the campus."
Julie Smith/News Tribune Page Library at Lincoln University is shown Monday, March 6, 2023, from the entry side looking toward Dunklin Street. The university is once again competing in Home Depot's Retool Your School campaign. The public can vote in this campaign, which provides an opportunity to garner grant money to be utilized for campus improvements.