RILEY’S WAY CALL FOR KINDNESS CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES 

The Riley’s Way Call for Kindness Contest is a contest sponsored by Riley’s Way Foundation. Teens living in the United States, ages 13-19, may enter by essay or video describing a new project, or an improvement to an existing project, of a school or nonprofit organization that will drive change and build connections in your community. Entrants for 15 winning entries will be named a “Kindness Fellow” and up to a $3,000 prize will be awarded to the school or nonprofit organization for the project described in each winning entry. An individual teen’s entry, or a single entry by a group of teens working together, will be treated as one entry.

The entry period for the Contest is from January 20, 2020 to March 31, 2020. Entries will be judged by qualified teen judges, kindness experts and other leaders, and the Riley’s Way Foundation Board. The final winning entries, names of the entrants, and information about the projects will be announced and posted online on May 6, 2019. 

1) NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  Any purchase or payment will not improve your likelihood of winning the Contest. Void where prohibited by law.

2) Sponsor:  Riley’s Way Foundation, 30 Third Avenue, Room 203, Brooklyn, NY 11217, rileysway.org (“Sponsor”).

3) Entrant Eligibility:  The Contest is open to teens between the ages of 13 and 19 as of the date of their entry, who are either legal residents of the US or DACA recipients.  Employees of Sponsor and their immediate family members (including mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, son or spouse), regardless of where they live; or persons who reside in the same household, whether related or not, are not eligible.

4) Entry Period:  The entry period opens January 20, 2020, at 12:01 am Eastern Time, and closes March 31, 2020, at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

5) How to Enter:  Teens who meet the eligibility requirements and have read, agreed to and accepted these Official Rules may enter by email at the Google Form link provided by Sponsor.  The entry must include the name, age, birthday, grade, school, email address and state of residence for each entrant (identifying the lead entrant if entry by a group); name and email address of adult mentor, name, email address, phone number, and preferred language of parent/guardian, and agreement of school or nonprofit organization, as described in Adult Participation Entry Requirements below; and the project proposal in an essay or video, as described in Requirements of Essay or Video below. For a group of teens working together, please submit only one entry.  Incomplete entries will not be accepted. Each teen may make or participate in only one entry, whether as an individual or part of a group. Should more than one entry per person or group be received, Sponsor reserves the right to void all such entries.  

6) Requirements of Essay or Video:  The essay or video must describe a new project, or an improvement to an existing project, of a school or nonprofit organization that will drive change and build connections in your community. The essay or video must give a name for the project, identify the school or nonprofit organization, and state whether the project is new or an improvement. The essay or video must explain how the project or improvement will be led by teens, with support from an adult mentor (who is not a parent or guardian of the entrants). Essays must be no longer than 4,000 words. Videos must be no longer than 8 minutes. All entries become property of Sponsor and will not be returned.  By entering, each entrant grants Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable license to use, reproduce, publish, display and modify their essay or video in any manner in any medium as solely determined by Sponsor. Without limitation, Sponsor may publicly post winners’ essays and videos (or portions or edited versions) online, but has no obligation to do so.

Entries should explain for each project:
1.  Describe your project.
2.  How will your project drive change and have an impact in your community?
3.  How does your project exemplify each of Riley’s Way’s values (empathy, kindness, leadership, and connection making)?
4.  A detailed budget for up to $3,000.
5.  What is your project timeline, with specific goals, between May 6, 2020 – May 6, 2021?

7)  Adult Participation Entry Requirements:

–  Consent of Adult Mentor:  Each entry, whether by an individual or a group, must have an adult mentor who to support the project.  The adult mentor may be a teacher, coach, youth group leader, or an adult in another mentorship role with the entrant/entrants.  The adult mentor may NOT be the parent or guardian of any entrant. Written confirmation of support in 200 words or less outlining their relationship to the teen(s), plan for support, and recommendation of the project (which includes consent to supervise the teen(s) as necessary and maintaining contact with Sponsor), must be submitted by the mentor via the Google Form or by email sent directly to Sponsor within the entry period, and will be included with the entry.
–  Consent of Parent or Guardian:  For each winning project, teen(s) who enters individually or as a group member, and who is under the legal age of majority in your state of residence (typically 18 years old), the teen’s parent or guardian must sign the form of Consent of Parent or Guardian, including publicity consent, which must be submitted by the parent or guardian by email sent directly to Sponsor within one month of receiving notice of winning, otherwise the prize will not be awarded.
–  Consent of School or Nonprofit Organization:  An authorized representative of the school or nonprofit organization must provide a written Consent of School or Nonprofit Organization, in the form provided on the Website. The Consent must state the name, address and contact person (with contact information) of the school or nonprofit organization and its support for the project, including fund distribution and personnel, and consent to publicity. The school or nonprofit organization, and the project, must pursue goals consistent with Sponsor’s mission described at www.rileysway.org, as determined by Sponsor in its reasonable discretion and subject to change from time to time.  The school or nonprofit organization also must represent that it is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization under either Section 170(c)(1) or Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that it will use the prize solely in connection with the Project. The Consent must be submitted by the school or nonprofit organization by email directly to Sponsor within the entry period, and will be included with the entry. 

8)  Judging Criteria:  Essays and videos will be judged based on the following criteria  (“Criteria”):

1.  Riley’s Way Values: kindness, empathy, connection making, teen leadership (1-5 points for each value).
2.  Logistics: feasibility and a well-thought out, reasonable budget (1-10 points).
3.  Impact: need, impact, and deliverables (1-10 points).
4.  Overall rating (1-5 points)
Each entry will be scored on the Criteria, each judged on a point scale with 1 being the weakest.

9) Judging:  Sponsor’s staff will review entries for completeness and eligibility. Judging Teams will each be made up of (i)  previous Call for Kindness winners; and (ii) adults selected from Sponsor’s Board members and community partners who have worked with Sponsor and are familiar with Sponsor’s values with experience planning and implementing community projects.

–  The entries will be divided among the Judging Teams, and individual members of each Judging Team will score each of that team’s assigned entries under the Criteria. The scores will then be averaged together for a final score. Scores and applications will be sent to Sponsor’s Co-Founders and Executive Director to review and determine the winning applications.
–  In the event a winning entry cannot be awarded a prize for any reason, the next highest winning entry following the procedures outlined above will be selected. By participating, entrants agree that the decisions of Sponsor will be final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest.

10) Prizes:  Each of fifteen (15) final winning entries will receive:

–  Up to $3,000 to the school or nonprofit organization described in the essay for the project.
–  Guidance from Sponsor’s staff as the winner and the school or nonprofit organization implements or improves the project.
–  Winning entrant(s) will be given the title of “Kindness Fellow”.
–  Participation in the Riley’s Way Kind Leadership Series.
The total prize value of all prizes is $45,000. Prizes will be awarded to the school or nonprofit organization described in the entry, not to the teens who submitted the winning entries.

11) Notification of Winners:  Entrants for the anticipated winning entries will be notified by email on or around May 4, 2020, with winner verification taking place before the final winners are announced May 6, 2020.  Each entrant and school or nonprofit organization for a winning entry may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and, where lawful, a Publicity Release, within 7 days of notification, or the prize may be forfeited and an alternate winning entry selected by the same Criteria. Additional consents/releases will apply to attendance at the Conference.  The names and city/state of residence of the entrants, schools or nonprofit organizations and projects, and project descriptions, for the winning entries will be posted on the Website and in social media on May 6, 2020 and thereafter.

12)  Releases:  By accepting any prize, each entrant for a winning entry and each school or nonprofit organization hereby (i) releases Sponsor and its officers, directors, employees and agents, and the judges, adult mentors, other entrants, other schools and non-profit organizations, and all of their representatives (together, “Sponsor Entities”) from all liability concerning the Contest and the prizes or any related activity;(ii) agrees that the Sponsor Entities will have no liability or responsibility for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind resulting from the Contest and the prizes or any related activity; and (iii) agrees to hold the Sponsor Entities harmless from and against any claims of liability arising directly or indirectly from the Contest and the prizes or any related activity.

By participating in a winning entry, each entrant for a winning entry, and each school or nonprofit identified in an entry, agrees, where lawful, that Sponsor and the Sponsor Entities may use entrant’s, school’s or nonprofit organization’s name, city/state of residence, likeness, voice, statements, biographical or descriptive information and winning entry for communications with entrant, school or nonprofit organization concerning the Contest, publicly announcing the winners and publishing the winning entries or revisions or portions thereof, and other publishing, advertising and promotional purposes without additional consideration. By entering, each entrant agrees to receive periodic email newsletters and updates from Sponsor, and may opt out of receiving further promotional emails by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in each such email.

13) Administration of Contest:  Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, misdirected or scrambled entries, or for any computer or human error or interference which compromises the administration of the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel or modify the Contest or any part thereof. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.  Void where prohibited or restricted by law. All decisions of Sponsor are final.  

14) List of Winners:  For a copy of these Official Rules or list of winners, send a self- addressed, stamped envelope with your request by June 30, 2020, to Riley’s Way Contest, Riley’s Way Foundation, 30 Third Avenue, Room 203, Brooklyn, NY 11217.  The list of winners also will be posted on the Website.