Tom's of Maine 2013 ~ 50 States for Good ~ Terms & Conditions

Individuals and non profit organizations that meet the specified terms and conditions may nominate nonprofit organizations for sponsorship funding from Tom's of Maine. Following a selection process 51 finalists will be named and a public vote will determine which 15 of the 51 finalists will each receive $10,000.

Eligibility

(a) Nominations
Any individual 18 years of age or older or representative of a nonprofit organization is eligible to nominate a nonprofit for consideration. Prior approval or consent from the nominated nonprofit is not required or necessary for a nomination. However, nominated nonprofit organizations must be registered for operation as a 501(c)(3), in good standing, in one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia for further consideration as a finalist.

(b) Voting
A Facebook account log-in is required to vote for the finalists and can be obtained for free.

Participation Period

• The project nomination period starts on or about 9:00 AM Eastern Time ("ET")/6:00 AM Pacific Time ("PT") on June 10, 2013 and ends at 5:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT on July 8, 2013.
• The voting phase will start on or about 12:00 PM ET/9:00 AM PT on September 16, 2013 and ends at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on October 15, 2013.
• Finalists selected to receive funding will be notified on or before November 30, 2013.
• Funds will be distributed to the selected organizations detailed in the applications on or before December 31st, 2013.

Nomination Process

To nominate an organization for consideration, go to www.50statesforgood.com and complete a nomination form. Nominations must be received by 5:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT on July 8, 2013 to be considered for selection.

Finalist Eligibility: Requirements and Exclusions

• Nominated organizations must be nonprofits operating in one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, in good standing and must submit proof of 501(c)(3) status.
• Tom's of Maine does not provide sponsorship support to individuals.
• Nonprofit nominees must have an operating budget of less than $2MM.
• Funding must be applied directly to current or future community events or projects and cannot go toward staff salaries or administrative costs and project must be completed within a year of project initiation.
• Nominators need to provide a photo of themselves in order for the organization to become a finalist. Photos should not include others in them and will require nominator to sign a photo release form.
• Tom's of Maine does not provide any funding to organizations that conduct animal testing.
• Videos, published or hard copy information and/or other marketing materials sent electronically or via postal mail will not be reviewed, responded to, opened or considered during any phase of the program.

Limit

There is no limit to the number of nominations that can be made.

Disqualification

Nominations must not contain any obscene or sexually suggestive material, propaganda, potentially misleading information, or defamatory or disparaging material about other people or organizations, endorse any form of hate or hate group, or discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, creed, national origin, disability, handicap, age, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Tom's of Maine reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any nomination it deems objectionable, inappropriate, or unfit.

Selection and Voting

Selection of the fifteen (15) final projects to receive funding will take place in three phases:

Selection Period

An internal panel will narrow applications down to top one hundred (100) nominees. Selection will be solely based on the content of the written nomination essay, which includes brief responses to the following three questions:

1. An example of how the nonprofit has made a difference in people's lives or the community? (50%)
2. How the organization could utilize $10,000 in funding? (25%)
3. Why you find the nonprofit inspiring (25%)

In the event of a tie, Tom's of Maine will make the final determination based on the results from the first selection phase. In addition to including nominator's name and contact information, the web site URL of the nonprofit to be considered for funding must be included in the online nomination.

An external panel of judges will narrow down the 100 nominees to fifty one (51) finalists to be featured in the final voting phase, provided organizations meet and agree to all requirements and exclusions criteria listed above. One finalist will be chosen from each of the fifty (50) states and the District of Columbia for a total of fifty one (51) finalists.

Voting Period

Top fifty one (51) nominations will be posted on www.50statesforgood.com and www.facebook.com/TomsofMaine and the public will be encouraged to vote from Monday, September 16, 2013 – Tuesday, October 15, 2013 starting at 12:00 PM (noon) ET/9:00 AM PT and ends at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on October 15, 2013. The public can vote for one (1) finalist organization once (1) per day, per Facebook account, not using more than one (1) browser. For purposes of voting, a "day" shall be defined as the 24-hour period beginning at 12:00:01 AM Eastern Time and ending at 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time with the exception of the first day of voting, which constitutes a 12-hour period and the final day of voting which constitutes a 20-hour period. A Facebook account log-in is required to vote and can be obtained for free. If more than one (1) browser is used to vote multiple times per day, or if any nonprofit encourages or employs this practice to it's employees or supporters, votes and/or the nonprofit will be disqualified. Tom's of Maine reserves the right to disqualify votes and/or the non-profit for activities deemed not in the spirit of the program rules, terms and conditions. At the completion of the final voting phase, the fifteen (15) projects with the highest vote totals will be declared as the selected projects to receive funding, as determined by the public vote.

The top ten finalists from the pool of 51 will be included in a leader board until the last week of voting, on or about October 7. At the completion of the final voting phase, the fifteen (15) nonprofits with the highest vote totals will be declared as the selected nonprofits to receive funding, as determined by the consumer vote.

Tom's of Maine reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to void any votes generated by script, macro, or other automated means and to prevent further participation from any participant using such means. Tom's of Maine, is not responsible for (i) lost, late, misdirected, damaged, illegible or postage due mail/Entries; (ii) error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of Entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, or inaccurate transmission of or failure to receive Entry information by Tom's of Maine on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site or any combination thereof; (iii) any injury or damage to Entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating in the Campaign, or (iv) the failure of any third party to comply with the instructions and proper administration of this Campaign. By participating in the Campaign, Nominator (x) agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions, including all eligibility requirements, and (y) agrees to be bound by the decisions of Tom's of Maine, which are final and binding in all matters relating to the Campaign. Failure to comply with these Terms and Conditions may result in disqualification from the Campaign. Tom's of Maine reserves the right to: permanently disqualify from any Campaign it sponsors any person it believes has intentionally violated these Terms and Conditions; and terminate the Campaign or the online portion of the Campaign if it becomes technically corrupted (including if a computer virus or system malfunction inalterably impairs its ability to conduct the Campaign), or to select winners from among all eligible nominations received prior to termination.

Winner Selection, Notification and Prize Receipt

Winner disqualification is at the sole discretion of TOMs should voting impropriety be suspected or confirmed. Organizations selected to receive funding will be notified on or before November 30, 2013. Funds will be distributed to the selected organizations detailed in the applications on or before December 31, 2013.

Obligations of Organizations Selected to Receive Funding

Organizations selected to receive funding agree to coordinate with Tom's of Maine in the creation and distribution of a press release announcing the project to the public. Tom's may request additional assistance from the organization in promoting this collaboration. Examples of this assistance might include, but are not limited to, site visits conducted by Tom's of Maine employees and the joint coordination of public or media events. Tom's of Maine respects that the organization's ability to respond to these requests is dependent upon available resources of time and staff. None of these efforts will be undertaken without the mutual agreement of both parties.

Organizations selected to receive funding agree to provide a midway report detailing the project's achievements within three (3) months of the project's initiation. Organizations selected to receive funding agree to provide a final report detailing the project's achievements no later than one (1) month following the project's scheduled completion. Details of the report's format will be provided to selected organizations.

General Terms and Conditions

The following terms and conditions apply to any individual or organization ("you" or the "participant") submitting an official nomination, and the organization on behalf of which the participant submits the submission form.

1. You and the organization agree that the decisions of Tom's of Maine and the selection panel described above with respect to any and all aspects of this project shall be final.
2. You and the organization agree that your and the organization's participation is voluntary, and understand that Tom's of Maine may, in its sole discretion, terminate your and/or the organization's involvement should you or the organization fail to adhere to these Terms and Conditions.
3. You and the organization confirm your authority to serve as an official representative of the organization detailed in the project application.
4. You and the organization agree to release and hold harmless Tom's of Maine, Inc., its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries, agency partners and the selection panel, from any and all liability arising from participation, and/or acceptance, possession or use/misuse of sponsorship funding.
5. You and the organization grant to Tom's of Maine the right to use all submitted content (including organization name, project details, organization logo, and support documentation and images) for marketing and other purposes, in any media whatsoever, without compensation (monetary or otherwise). To the extent that you provide any support materials, you and the organization grant Tom's of Maine the right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, create derivative works from, distribute, and display the support material for any purpose, including advertising, publication, and promotion.
6. You and the organization represent that to the extent any submitted material contains names, pictures, images or voices of persons other than yourself, or third party elements not owned by you, that you have obtained express written consent to use this material in your application and that the usage rights outlined above apply to these materials.
7. You and the organization understand that Tom's of Maine is not responsible for lost, stolen, garbled, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected submissions, which are void; telephone, computer, server, or other technical failure or error; or any disruptions to the voting process or communication, technical, or otherwise.

Administration

All decisions of Tom's of Maine and the judges shall regarding the selection of organizations to receive funding and all other aspects of the 50 States for Good Campaign shall be final and binding in all respects. Tom's of Maine will not be responsible for typographical or printing or other errors, administration of the Campaign, the announcement of selected organizations or other inadvertent errors in these Terms and Conditions or in other materials relating to the Campaign.