Pledge 2021 Holiday Fundraiser Contest

Official Rules

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Sponsor: The 2021 Holiday Fundraiser Contest (the "Contest") is sponsored by Pledge, a brand of Pledgeling Technologies, Inc., 2100 Abbot Kinney Blvd Unit E, Venice, CA 90291 (“Sponsor”). Sponsor and its affiliates, and any other companies or agencies associated with the Contest (such as advertising, promotion, fulfillment or judging agencies, or prize providers), together will be referred to as the "Contest Entities."

Your Agreement. Participation in the Contest constitutes the entrant's ("you" or "your") full and unconditional agreement and acceptance of these Official Rules including the decisions and interpretations of the Sponsor and/or judging agencies, which are final on all matters relating to the Contest. You also agree to Pledge’s Acceptable Use Policy at https://www.pledge.to/acceptable-use-policy

Contest Dates: The Contest begins on November 30, 2021 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time (the "Contest Start Date") and ends on December 31, 2021 at 11:59pm Pacific Time (the "Contest End Date"). The period from the Contest Start Date through Contest End Date is known as the "Contest Period."

Who Can Enter: The Contest is open to U.S. residents who are 13 years old, or older, as of the Contest Start Date, and who have met the conditions described in “How to Enter” below. If you are over 13, but under the legal age of majority, you should seek parental approval before you enter and you will need to have a parent or legal guardian sign any required documents for winner validation. Void elsewhere and where prohibited. Employees of Contest Entities and their immediate family members (defined as parents, parents-in-law, children, siblings, spouses, domestic partners, or any other persons with whom such employees are domiciled) are not eligible to enter the Contest or win Contest prizes.

How to Enter: During the Contest Period and subject to the Limitations on Entries below, you may enter by

  • a) creating a new Pledge “Detailed Donation” donation page, or creating a fundraiser via the Donations by Pledge Zoom App, and b) checking the on-screen box to enter the Contest and agree to these Official Rules; or
  • a) requesting that Pledge add an existing Pledge “Detailed Donation” donation page, or existing fundraiser created via the Donations by Pledge Zoom App, via a link provided by Pledge (provided that such existing page must have been created during the Contest Period), and b) checking the on-screen box on the linked page to enter the Contest and agree to these Official Rules.

All other forms of entry are invalid.

Limitations on Entries: Up to ten entries per Pledge user account may be entered into the Contest. If a Pledge user account submits more than ten entries, all will be ruled ineligible. Use of any automated method of creating Pledge accounts or submitting entries, as determined at Contest Entities’ sole discretion, will result in all such accounts and / or entries being declared ineligible.

Prize Details: There will be thirty total prizes, each a donation (a “Prize”) to the eligible charitable organization designated in each of the winning Pledge Fundraisers (each a “Prize Recipient”). There will be five grand Prizes of $5,000 and 25 Prizes of $1,000 each. If a winning Pledge Fundraiser was configured at any time during the Contest period to split its donations among more than one charitable organization, the Prize for that Entry will be split equally among those charitable organizations, each a Prize Recipient.

Prize Recipient eligibility: A Prize Recipient must be a US 501c3 nonprofit or equivalent tax-exempt public charity listed in Pledge’s database, and be in good standing with the IRS according to its publicly available database. Other types of US tax-exempt organizations, such as 501c4 political advocacy groups, are not eligible.

Selection of Winners: After the Contest Period, eligible entries will be reviewed by a qualified panel of judges selected by Pledge at its sole discretion. Those eligible entries will be evaluated by the judges on the basis of two factors, each weighted 50% to determine the entry’s score: 1) creativity and 2) utilization of the Pledge fundraising tool’s features. Depending on the number of entries, there may be one or more initial judging rounds conducted by subsets of the judging panel in order to determine fifty finalists with the highest scores. These fifty finalists will then be rescored by the full judging panel, with the five highest scores being the potential $5,000 Prize winners and the next 25 highest scores being the potential $1,000 Prize winners. If necessary, tied entries will be re-judged until there are five potential $5,000 Prize winners and 25 potential $1,000 Prize winners. The judging will be conducted no later than January 21, 2022 and the winner will be notified on or before January 24th, 2022. Entrants do not need to be present to win.

Winner Notification: Each of the potential Contest winner’s event organizers will be contacted at the email address Pledge has on file for them. No liability is assumed for any such notification that is lost, intercepted, or not received by a potential winner or Donation Recipient for any reason. The potential Contest winner may be required to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release and, where legal, Publicity Release. Such documents must be signed and returned within five business days after they are emailed to the potential winner. Potential Contest winners may become disqualified – see “Disqualification” below.

Awarding of Prize: Each Prize will be sent directly to each Prize Recipient via electronic payment or paper check.

Disqualification: The following are prohibited and will result in automatic disqualification from the Contest:

  • non-compliance with these Official Rules
  • using any method that artificially increases the odds of winning
  • any other act that the Contest Entities determine, in their sole discretion, jeopardizes the integrity of the Contest

A potential Contest winner will also be disqualified if:

  • they have not complied with these Official Rules or are otherwise found to be ineligible;
  • the prize notification is returned as unclaimed or undeliverable;
  • they do not respond within three business days after the first notification attempt;
  • they have been asked to sign one or more of an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release or, where legal, a Publicity Release, and has failed to sign and return the document(s) within five business days after the emailed request;
  • they decline a prize for any reason prior to award

In the event a potential Contest winner is disqualified, the finalist with the highest score who has not already been selected as a Winner will be selected to replace them, and will be notified as described above.

A potential Prize Recipient will also be disqualified if:

  • they are not, at the time the Prize is to be sent to them, a 501c3 public charity in good standing with the IRS, according to the publicly available IRS database;
  • they decline a Prize for any reason; or
  • the Prize is returned as undeliverable after reasonable efforts to ensure delivery.

If a Prize Recipient is disqualified, Pledge will attempt to notify the associated Contest winner so that they can determine an alternate recipient. In the event that Pledge is unable to contact the event organizer within five business days, Pledge may, at its sole discretion, select and award the Prize to a replacement Prize Recipient with a similar mission.

Publicity: Acceptance of the Prize constitutes permission for Contest Entities to use the winner's name, likeness, voice and comments for advertising and promotional purposes worldwide in any media without limitation and without additional compensation unless prohibited by law.

Privacy: Contest Entities will be collecting personal data about you, such as your name and email address, for the administration of the Contest. By entering the Contest, you grant Contest Entities permission to send Contest updates and winner notification to you. Your personal data may be transferred to a third party in the following circumstances:

  • when you give permission to do so;
  • when in good faith one of the Contest Entities believes the law requires it;
  • to contractors for data processing purposes, such as providing email service;
  • to professional services providers for the purposes described in Publicity above.

The information you provide will be governed by the privacy policy posted at https://www.pledge.to/privacy.

Winners List / Official Rules: The names of the winners and a copy of these Official Rules will be available upon written request and by sending a self addressed, stamped envelope to the Contest Administrator mailing address below.

General Terms and Conditions: This Contest is void where prohibited by law. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations; provided, however, that the Contest is not subject to the laws of any jurisdiction outside the United States. The Contest Entities reserve the right to terminate or withdraw the Contest at any time. If the Contest is terminated before the Contest End Date, Sponsor will determine the winner in a random drawing from all eligible entries received as of the termination date. All entries become the property of Contest Entities.

Release and Waiver: By participating in the Contest, each participant agrees to release and hold harmless the Contest Entities, and each of their respective employees, officers, directors, shareholders, agents, and legal advisors (collectively the "Released Parties"), from any and all losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with the Contest or resulting from acceptance, possession, or use of any prize, including without limitation, any personal injury, death, or property damage. Under no circumstances shall any of the Released Parties have any liability or responsibility for: (1) incorrect or inaccurate entry information, or faulty, illegible entry forms, (2) any unauthorized access to, or theft, destruction or alteration of entries at any point, or (3) any typographical error or other error in these Official Rules or in any other communication relating to the Contest. IN NO EVENT WILL RELEASED PARTIES BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS CONTEST. Entrants waive any right to claim ambiguity in these Official Rules.

Contest Administrator: all mail correspondence about this Contest should be sent to:

attn: Contest Administrator

Pledgeling Technologies

2100 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Unit E

Venice, CA 90291