Contest Details

As part of Adobe’s commitment to the community, Adobe donates its products to non-profit organizations as tools to support their missions and address critical issues. We hope that your organization, as a recipient of Adobe product(s) through TechSoup, has been inspired to creatively and pro-actively respond to needs in your community. Now, we want to see and hear about the impact you have made through words, images and design.

Following the guidelines below, we encourage you to submit an exceptional piece of work created with Adobe products that demonstrates or showcases how your organization is generating innovative and creative ideas to address  issues that impact the communities you serve.  Whether it be reaching out to new audiences, forging unconventional partnerships or trying something that has never been done before.  We want to hear about the unique and inspirational ways your organization is revolutionizing how people engage with ideas and information to improve lives, communities, or the globe. 

Who Can Enter the Contest

Creative Piece Submission Guidelines

Submission Categories

Awards

How To Enter

Explaining EIN / FSCS / Tax ID numbers

How Entries Will Be Judged

Announcement of Winners

Help and Questions

Full Contest Terms and Conditions

Who Can Enter the Contest

Eligible organizations must meet the following criteria:

  • Submitting organizations must qualify for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the (U.S.) Internal Revenue Code; or be a charity registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (which is located and operating outside of Quebec Province); or be a public library in the United States or Canada.
  • The contact person (i.e., authorized representative) for the submitting organization must be 21 years of age or older and a legal resident of the United States (excluding Maryland, North Dakota and Vermont) or Canada (excluding Quebec Province) as of May 1, 2010..
  • Must have requested an Adobe product donation through TechSoup's donation website (www.techsoup.org) and have qualified for that donation request by May 21, 2010.
  • Creative submissions must be the original work and property of the submitting organization..
  • Creative submissions must have been made using Adobe software.
  • Only one submission (single piece or single campaign) per organization is allowed.

The following organizations are ineligible:

  • Organizations that advocate, support, or practice discrimination based on age, ethnicity, gender, national origin, disability, race, size, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.
  • Organizations registered outside of the US or Canada.
  • Organizations registered in the states of Maryland, North Dakota and Vermont, and in the province of Quebec. Find out why
  • Organizations that are donation recipients through any of the following Adobe-administered product donation programs and have not received Adobe product donations through TechSoup: Adobe Youth Voices, Adobe Direct Donation Program, Adobe Employee Product Donation Program.
  • Organizations whose designated representative is an employee, independent contractor, officer, or director of Techsoup Global and/or Adobe, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising promotion and fulfillment agencies, legal advisors, and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household of such persons.

The following submissions are ineligible:

  • Submissions not meeting contest entry criteria as outlined below.
  • Submissions that are not original work, meaning that they are copies or near copies of previous work not created by or for the submitting organization. Images submitted must not contain previously copyrighted artwork. Do not copy-and-paste elements from other sources. Submissions with such elements will be disqualified.

Creative Piece Submission Guidelines

Your submission must have been created using Adobe products requested through the TechSoup donation program by May 21, 2010.  You may either upload your piece through our online submission form, or you may provide a URL where your submission is located online. A notes field is provided for you in case there are any special directions we need to follow to access your piece.

  • Option 1:Upload via submission page. There is a 20 MB limit for uploads through this site, so if your piece is larger than that, or it is already available for viewing elsewhere online then see Option 2. Uploaded files must be one of the following file types: .pdf, .jpg, .png,.gif .tif, .eps, .psd, 300 dpi, .swf, .mov, .wmv, .avi, .mpeg4, or .MP3. If your final product is in another file format (e.g. .doc, .ppt), please submit it in a .pdf format./li>
  • Option 2: Provide a URL link to where your piece already resides on the web.  All pieces must be accessible and viewable online through June 30, 2010.

Impact Statement Guidelines

Please submit your impact statement by providing detailed responses (maximum limit 1000 characters) to each of the following questions on the submission form:&nbs

  • Describe your creative piece – what is it and what has it been used for, and why is it innovative?
  • What issue or problem were you working to address with this piece?
  • How has your submission successfully impacted your organization’s ability to solve this issue/problem

Submission Categories

Submission of creative pieces and essays may be in only one of the following categories:

1. Print/Photo:  includes photographs, newsletters, flyers, brochures, reports, banners, billboards, print advertising, etc.

2. Web: includes web sites, blogs, internet advertisements, web conferencing and/or communications/collaboration applications, online training, e-learning, web accessibility features, rich Internet applications

3. Other Media: includes photo slideshows, video or flash presentations, websites, blogs, internet advertisements, communication/collaboration applications, online training/e-learning, web accessibility, online games, mobile phone/device applications, enterprise/data management, etc

Awards

The following will be awarded in each of the 3 categories listed above:

  • First Prize (one per category): a $1000 cash grant and the winners' choice of one of the following Adobe products - CS5 Web Premium, CS5 Design Premium, or CS5 Production Premium
  • Runners-Up (two per category): winner’s choice of one of the following Adobe products - CS5 Web Premium, CS5 Design Premium, or CS5 Production Premium

If there are 10 or fewer submissions in any of the three categories, Adobe and TechSoup reserve the right to eliminate such categories and reassign the entries and reallocate awards to the remaining categories as appropriate.

Awards are made to organizations, and not to any individual, and prize transfers to individuals or other organizations are not permitted.

How to Enter

Go to the Submissions Page to register and submit your organization’s impact statement and creative piece (see the statement and creative piece guidelines above).

Explaining EIN / FSCS / Tax ID Numbers

The following are definitions of your organization's ID number that indicates its registered 501(c)(3) or charitable status:

How Entries Will Be Judged

In each category, a judging panel comprised of representatives of Adobe and TechSoup will review each submission and select the winners and runners-up.  All submissions will be judged on the combined demonstrated-impact as explained in the answers to the impact questions and the aesthetic merit of the creative piece

Decision of the judges is final in all matters relating to this Contest.

Announcement of Winners

If your organization's submission is one of the selected winners, you will be notified by phone or email on or by June 14, 2010. In addition, winning submissions will be posted on www.showyourimpact.org on June 14, 2010.

Help & Questions

For any questions or help, please email us at showyourimpact@techsoup.org.

Full Contest Terms & Conditions

The formal Show Your Impact contest Terms & Conditions can be found here.

Why Maryland, North Dakota, Vermont, and the Province of Québec are not eligible for this contest?

Organizations registered in the states of Maryland, North Dakota and Vermont are not eligible for this contest due to the restrictions on contest rules in those states.  The laws regarding contests in these three states dictate that purchase or payment of any kind cannot be required to enter a skill contest.  Because TechSoup charges an administration fee for the donated products distributed for Adobe, this would be considered illegal in these three states thereby leaving TechSoup open to legal actions.  Organizations that have an affiliated office or partner in another state may have their partner submit an entry on their behalf.

Canadian charities based in Québec are not eligible for this contest due to Québec's stringent requirements for publicity contests, including prior approval by the provincial authorities of contest rules and advertising, as well as the payment of fees. These requirements would have demanded more resources and time than TechSoup, a US-based nonprofit, has available to run this contest.  Quebec-based charities with an affiliated office or charity in another province may have the affiliate submit an entry on their behalf.

US 501c3 Organizations, including Public Libraries with 501(c)(3) status:
This is the 9-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN) that the IRS recognizes as exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code.
For US Public Libraries without 501c3 status:
Use your library's FSCS ID. You can locate your library's unique FSCS ID on the Web site for the National Center for Education Statistics at nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/librarysearch/. First, search for your library. Once you locate your library, you will find your FSCS ID listed at the top right of the screen.
Canadian Charities
A registered Canadian charity should enter the Business Number/registration number issued by the Canada Revenue Agency. This number is located on the Notification of Registration letter you received from the CRA. A federal nonprofit corporation should use its corporation number. Refer to the letters patent for the corporation number, also referred to as the file number. A provincial nonprofit corporation should enter the registration number issued by its province or territory.
Canadian Libraries
A Canadian library that has been issued a Business Number/registration number by the Canada Revenue Agency should enter that number. You should be able to locate this number on the Notification of Registration letter you received from the CRA. A library that is not registered with the CRA should enter the registration number issued by its province or territory.