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Beyoncé will give $25,000 to four historically black colleges and universities for the 2018-2019 school year as part of a new scholarship program that was inspired by the singer’s historic Coachella performance this past weekend. One student from each HBCU ― Xavier University of Louisiana, Wilberforce University, Tuskegee University and Bethune-Cookman University ― will receive the money.

To qualify for the Homecoming Scholars Award Program, applicants need to have at least a 3.5 GPA. Each university will select its own finalists and winner, with winners set to be announced sometime this summer.

The news comes on the heels of Beyoncé’s show at Coachella, where she brought out her former Destiny’s Child bandmates for a mini-reunion. She was the first black woman to headline the major music festival.

Beyoncé performs during the 2018 Coachella festival.

The scholarship program is Beyoncé’s second through her philanthropic BeyGOOD initiative. Last year, BeyGood’s Formation Scholars Awards Program gave money to students studying creative arts, music, literature or African-American studies at Berklee College of Music, Parsons School of Design, Howard University and Spelman College. Those scholarships were in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the singer’s visual album, “Lemonade.”

The announcement for the Homecoming Scholars Award Program ties the gifts to the Coachella performance, saying the show “put the spotlight on art and culture, mixing the ancient and the modern,” and was the “impetus to mark her second scholarship program.”

Ivy McGregor, director of philanthropy for BeyGood, announces a safe water initiative during the 2017 Essence Festival.

BeyGood also has a partnership with UNICEF for an effort called BeyGood 4 Burundi. The initiative, announced last year, aims to “improve water, sanitation and basic hygiene practices in the East African nation of Burundi, where nearly half the population had no access to clean, safe water.”



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