Adams, Hill Announce Home Depot, Loop Capital Join HBCU Partnership Challenge 

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC-12),and Rep. French Hill (R-AR-02),co-chairsof the bipartisan Congressional HBCU Caucus, announced The Home Depot and Loop Capital are joining the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Partnership Challenge, bringing the total number of HBCU Partnership Challenge participants to 80. The HBCU Partnership Challenge is an effort to promote greater engagement and support between private companies and HBCUs.

"The Home Depot has had a long-standing partnership with HBCUs, but we are continuously looking to increase our partnership in impactful ways," said Derek Bottoms, Chief Diversity Officer & VP – Associate Relations for Home Depot. "As such, we are proud to sign this pledge as part of our commitment to advancing education for all and providing educational resources needed to succeed.

"Since 2009, our Retool Your School program has provided campus improvement grants that allow HBCUs to make sustainable improvements to their campuses. In 2021, we increased our support by investing $1 million in campus improvement grants, and we are looking to deepen our HBCU commitment even further as we look ahead to the future."

"One of my main initiatives when starting Loop was to invoke change and promote diversity within the financial services industry and my community," said Jim Reynolds, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Loop Capital. "As I remain committed to diversity and inclusion for underrepresented communities, this partnership is a natural opportunity to support such a dynamic initiative and impactful institutions. I am excited for Loop Capital to join the HBCU Partnership Challenge."

"Thank you to Home Depot and Loop Capital for helping Historically Black Colleges and Universities unleash the power of partnerships," said Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC-12), founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus. "Right now, our HBCUs are facing a major capital infrastructure and funding challenges. It's an important moment for private and public partners to come together to support our HBCUs. I applaud all of our private partners for taking the pledge at such a critical time.

"I applaud Home Depot and Loop Capital's commitment to the HBCU community by joining the HBCU Partnership Challenge," said Rep. French Hill (R-AR-02), Co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus. "The HBCU partnership challenge demonstrates the strength of public-private partnerships and philanthropic support for America's HBCU community. I have seen first-hand how private partnerships with HBCUs can be impactful. This support is a vital part of further bolstering our HBCUs and bringing their needs to the forefront of Congressional priorities."

The Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus' Partnership Challenge is a bipartisan effort to promote greater engagement and support between private companies and HBCUs. Congresswoman Adams created the Challenge in 2017 to strengthen public-private relationships with HBCUs to ensure the schools' future sustainability, increase career prospects for their students, and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within all sectors. The Challenge encourages participating organizations to make greater investments in HBCUs as well.

The Caucus hosts numerous events every year including HBCU STEAM Day of Action, HBCU Day, the HBCU Braintrust, the Virtual Partnership Luncheon, and the Diversity in Tech Summit. For more information, please contact Sam Spencer (Sam.Spencer@mail.house.gov).

About Alma Adams 
Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. represents North Carolina's 12th Congressional District (Charlotte) and serves as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture. Additionally, she serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Education & Labor Committee, where she serves as Chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. In 2015, she founded the first bipartisan Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus in Congress.

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