Tom's of Maine 2012 50 States for Good Terms & Conditions

Participation

Organizations that meet the specified terms and conditions may submit project ideas to be considered for sponsorship funding from Tom's of Maine; individuals may vote for their favorite project to help determine the six (6) winners selected to receive funding.

Eligibility

Any person with a valid e-mail address can register as a member of the Tom's of Maine online community and vote for submitted registered projects. To register a project for consideration, an individual must be an official representative of a nonprofit organization registered for operation as a 501(c)(3), in good standing, in one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia.

Participation Period

• The project application period starts on or about 9:00 AM Eastern Time ("ET")/6:00 AM Pacific Time ("PT") on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 and ends at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on Tuesday, June 12, 2012.
• Voting and Selection
  • Phase I: The first phase selection period will start on or about Wednesday, June 13, 2012 and end on or about Wednesday, June 20, 2012.
  • Phase II: The second phase selection period will start on or about Thursday, June 21, 2012 and end on or about Thursday June 28, 2012.
  • Phase III: The final voting phase will start on or about 9:00 AM ET/6:00 AM PT on Monday, September 10, 2012 and end at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on Tuesday, October 9, 2012.
• Organizations whose projects are selected to receive funding will be notified on or about Tuesday, November 13, 2012.
• Funds will be distributed to the selected organizations for the projects detailed in the applications on or before Tuesday, December 18, 2012.

Application Process

To submit a project for consideration, go to www.50statesforgood.com, download an official application form, complete. Applications must be received by 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 to be considered for selection and voting.

Eligible Projects

Tom's of Maine will accept project applications from nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, in good standing, for funding requests related to community events, projects or program support.

Requirements and Exclusions

• Tom's of Maine does not provide sponsorship support to individuals.
• Applicants must be nonprofits operating in one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, and must submit proof of 501(c)(3) status, in good standing. Individuals who wish to seek funding for their community projects are encouraged to find and work directly with a local nonprofit.
• Nonprofit must have an operating budget of less than $2MM.
• Tom's of Maine does not provide any funding to organizations that conduct animal testing.

Limit

Organizations may make unlimited submissions for consideration provided that each (as determined by Tom's of Maine, in its sole discretion) represents a unique project materially different from other submissions submitted by the participant.

Disqualification

Project submissions 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 submission it deems objectionable, inappropriate, or unfit.

Voting and Selection

Selection of the six (6) final projects to receive funding will take place in three phases.

Phase I

Tom's of Maine and external partners will use objective criteria to narrow applications down to top one hundred and twenty five (125). Selection will be based on the following judging criteria:

    a) Number of Volunteers Mobilized (See Application: Section 2, Question C, Numbers 1 & 2.)
    b) Number of People Positively Impacted (See Application: Section 2, Questions D, Numbers 1 & 2.)

Phase II

An external committee chosen by Tom's of Maine will review and vote on all eligible submitted project applications to select up to fifty one (51) semi-finalists to be featured in the final voting phase. Selection will be based on the following judging criteria:

    a) Use of Community Volunteers (50%): How does the project engage and involve members of the general community in which the organization operates on a long term basis?
    b) Positive impact (50%): How will the program make a positive impact in the community? What enduring change will come from the project?

Phase III

One finalist will be chosen from all fifty (50) states and the District of Columbia for a total of fifty one (51) finalists. Top fifty one (51) applications will be posted on www.50statesforgood.com, and the public will be encouraged to vote from Monday, September 10, 2012 - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 starting at 12:00 PM (noon) ET/9:00 AM PT. Visitors can vote for one (1) finalist organization once (1) per day, 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. If more than one (1) browser is used to vote multiple times per day, or if any nonprofit encourages or employs this practice, 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 six (6) projects with the highest vote totals will be declared as the selected projects 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. In the event of a tie, Tom's of Maine will make the final determination based on the results from the first selection phase.

Selected Projects

A total of one (1) project will be selected to receive sponsorship funding of up to $50,000 as determined by the online public vote. A total of five (5) projects will be selected to receive sponsorship funding of up to $20,000 per project as determined by the online public vote. Applicants selected to receive funding will be notified on or about Tuesday, November 13, 2012. Funds will be distributed to the selected organizations detailed in the applications on or before Tuesday, December 18, 2012.

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 and to keep all information confidential until the press release announcement is made. 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 ("you" or the "participant") submitting an official submission form, 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 part 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.