Terms & Conditions

Microsoft 2011 Technology for Good

If you want to play the game, you’ve got to know the rules. Read over the below, and then – Game On!  

Sponsored by TechSoup Global, (A CompuMentor Project), 435 Brannan St., Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94107 and Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052 (jointly, "Sponsors").

1. Contest Schedule.
Contest submission opens December 20, 2010 at 12:00:01 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) and ends January 18, 2011 at 11:59:59 p.m. PT.  All submissions must be received by the Contest submission end date and time
2. Submission Procedure.
Visit the Contest home page at www.showyourimpact.org/microsoft to enter your submission.
(a) Submission Form.
Complete the contest submission form with all required information. NOTE: Your organization's contact person must be an authorized representative of your organization who has all right, power and authority to bind the organization to these Official Rules for purposes of this Contest.
(b) Impact Questions.
In the indicated fields, please input detailed answers to the following questions:
  1. "The Before": What was the challenge, issue or problem your organization was facing? Or, what was the opportunity you were not able to take advantage of before you put a technology solution in place? (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
  2. What Microsoft software have you used/are you using in your organization to more effectively engage your beneficiaries, donors and/or volunteers and/or to make a difference in your community? (Check all that apply)
    • Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 (Includes any of the following: Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher and Word)
    • Microsoft SharePoint
    • Windows Live (online tools like SkyDrive, Office Web Apps, Messenger, MovieMaker, etc.)
    • Dynamics CRM or CRM Online for Nonprofits
    • Bing Maps
    • Other (Please specify – Windows 7, Project, Visio, InfoPath etc.)
  3. "The After": How have these Microsoft products allowed you to engage your stakeholders more efficiently or effectively to make a difference in your community? (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
  4. What about these products (the features or the way you used them) made them particularly helpful in enabling your organization to expand and improve upon its community impact? (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
  5. Please provide any examples, stories or data that illustrate the difference the use of Microsoft software has enabled you to make (i.e., # of new clients reached, new program added, increased dollars raised, increased volunteers, etc.) (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
(c) Supporting Work.
 
You may upload files or provide links to works that help explain or illustrate the impact you have described in your answers to the impact questions. See section 3 below for specific guidelines for supporting works.
(d) Consent to Official Rules.
 
Check the box indicating that you (on behalf of yourself and the organization) have read, fully understand and agree to the Official Rules. If this box is not checked, submission will NOT be accepted.
3. Eligibility.
Submissions must be made by organizations that are eligible for Microsoft software donations and have been determined by Microsoft, in its sole discretion, to be eligible for such a donation on or before January 18, 2011. Find specific eligibility criteria here.Submitting organizations must be based or located in the state of Washington, qualify for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the (U.S.) Internal Revenue Code; OR be a public library in the state of Washington. Charities and libraries outside the state of Washington are NOT eligible.

All other persons/entities are NOT eligible to participate in the Contest or win a prize. Organizations that advocate, support or practice (or, in the sole discretion of Sponsors, are believed to advocate/support/practice) discrimination based on age, ethnicity, gender, national origin, disability, race, size, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status are NOT eligible.

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 as of January 18, 2011. All other persons/entities are NOT eligible to participate in the Contest or win a prize.

4. Submission Restrictions.
(a) In General.
Limit three unique submissions (online submission form, impact answers and supporting work(s)) per organization. Impact answers and supporting work(s) must be solely the original work of the submitting organization. Do not copy the work of any other person or entity. This includes both impact answer content and any creative work included in the supporting work(s). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Microsoft Office templates/forms may be used in developing submission materials. Impact answers and/or supporting works deemed by Sponsors in their sole discretion as inappropriate, objectionable or unfit for publication or that Sponsors determine in their sole discretion are not in compliance with these Official Rules will be disqualified. Impact answers may only be included in the indicated fields on submission form; attachments or other forms of submission of the impact stories are not permitted.

Supporting works may be submitted via upload through the online submission form or a link may be provided to works that are already available and viewable online through February 28, 2011. Supporting works to be uploaded through the submission page cannot exceed the maximum allowable file size of 20 megabytes per file. Uploaded files must be one of the following file types: .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .pdf, .pub, .xls, .xlsx, .mdb, .accdb, .one, .onepkg, .jpg, .gif, .swf, .mov, .wmv, .avi, mp4, or MP3.

The online submission form, impact answers and supporting work must all be submitted by January 18, 2011 at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time, the contest submission deadline. Organizations entering this contest may edit their submissions during the submission period through the Contest website, however once the submission period has ended no further editing will be permitted. Partial submissions will not be accepted. If duplicate submissions (determined at the sole discretion of the Sponsors) are submitted by the same organization, only the first submission received will be considered and all others will be disqualified.

(b) Third Party Rights.
Do not reference or identify any person, entity or property in your impact answers or supporting work unless your organization has received that person's/entity's permission in writing.  Sponsors may require proof of written permission as a prerequisite to award of prize, and the inability to produce the proof of written permission within 2 months of the Sponsors' request may result in disqualification.
(c) Grant of Rights to Sponsors.
In entering a submission, your organization grants the contest Sponsors a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable license and right to use, perform, exhibit, reproduce, distribute, and/otherwise exploit the impact answers and/or supporting work(s) in any manner and in any media now known or hereafter devised. Sponsors may, but are under no obligation to, post the winning impact stories and/or supporting works on the Contest web site. Your organization grants complete creative control to the Sponsors to represent your organization, the impact answers, and supporting work(s) on the contest website or any other web sites, blogs, or tweets of the Sponsors. As set forth above, the organization’s contact person (on behalf of and the submitting organization) understands that the organization will not receive any compensation (other than prize) and releases and agrees to hold harmless Sponsors from any liability in conjunction therewith.
5. Winner Determination.
The judging of submissions will be conducted by a panel of judges comprised of representatives from Microsoft and TechSoup. The final winners will be selected by this panel.

The panel's judging criteria will be based on the demonstrated impact through answers to the impact questions plus any supporting work(s). Answers will be evaluated based on how well they convey the impact and benefit that Microsoft technologies have had on the organization, its mission and/or its constituency.

(a) Use of key Microsoft technologies/products
(b) Demonstrable impact – Demonstrate a measurable impact that results from the use of the technolgy(ies)
(c) Optimal use or innovation – Does the project provide an optimal or innovative solution to using Microsoft technologies in a nonprofit environment?
(d) Story-telling: How well does the entrant tell the story of how Microsoft technology impacted its ability to serve the community? Are their photos, videos, or quotes/testimonials to enrich the story?

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

The winning organizations will be notified by e-mail and/or phone by January 25, 2011, but are required to keep the information confidential until the formal announcement of the winners at the WA State Nonprofit Connection Day on February 4th. The winning organization may not tweet, blog or otherwise post information publicly about winning the contest until after it has been posted on www.microsoftupblog.com. The contact person (i.e., authorized representative) will only share this information with your organization’s personnel who have a need to know and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions regarding confidentiality.

6. Prizes.
Prizes of $5,000 cash grant plus up to $100,000 worth of donated Microsoft software will be awarded up to three submitting organizations. Prizes will also include
(a) Travel expenses to travel to WA State Nonprofit Connection Day at Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington on February 4, 2011
(b) Public recognition at the conference above
(c) Inclusion in press releases about the contest
(d) Feature post on the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Blog
(e) Free social media assessment & “stable & secure” assessment from NPower Seattle, to be arranged at a mutually agreeable time (must be scheduled by August 4, 2011)

The approximate total retail value of the prizes to be awarded is $107,000. The organization’s contact person individually will have no right to the prize. No prize transfer will be permitted. There will be no prize substitution except at Sponsor’s sole discretion due to prize unavailability for any reason and only then for prize of comparable value. Any taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of winning organizations.

7. Conditions of Participation.
(a) Agreement to Rules/Releases.
The organization’s contact person (on behalf of him/herself and his/her organization) agrees to (i) abide by and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsors and the judges, which are final and binding in all respects; (ii) release, indemnify and hold harmless Sponsors, judges, their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, agencies and the directors, officers, agents, shareholders, representatives and employees of any of the above entities, from any and all liability associated with participation in the Contest and receipt, acceptance, possession or use/misuse of prize; (iii) if organization wins a prize, by accepting prize on behalf of organization, to grant Sponsors and their designees the right to print, publish, broadcast and use, worldwide in any media now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to the world wide web, at any time or times, the name of the winning organization and other identifying information concerning the organization for advertising, trade and promotional purposes without additional compensation, and without review, approval or further notice.

As part of the prize notification, the winning organizations will be asked to sign an affidavit of eligibility, a liability release and a publicity release (where legal). Refusal to sign these documents or failure to sign them within 5 days of notification may result in the forfeiture of the prize and the selection of an alternate winner at the discretion of the Sponsors.

(b) Limitations of Liability.
Sponsors will not be responsible or liable for: (i) lost, late, incomplete, damaged, misdirected or illegible impact stories, supporting works or entries; or for any computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic or Internet hardware or software malfunctions, failures, connections, availability or garbled or jumbled transmissions, service provider/Internet/web site/use net accessibility or availability, traffic congestion or unauthorized human intervention; (ii) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by web site users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest or for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to any web site; (iii) injury or damage to participating organization's or any other person's computer (or information/data stored thereon) related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading/uploading materials from/to any web site. If, for any reason, the Contest (or any part thereof) is not capable of running as planned by reason of infection by computer virus, worms, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsors which, in the sole opinion of Sponsors, could corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest (or any part thereof), Sponsors reserve the right at their sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest and select the winning organizations in a manner which is fair, equitable and in accordance with these Official Rules, as determined by Sponsors in their sole discretion. Notice of such action by Sponsors will be posted on www.showyourimpact.org
(c) Grounds for/Effect of Disqualification.
Sponsors reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to disqualify any organization they find, in their sole discretion, not to be in full compliance with these Official Rules, to be ineligible to participate in the Contest, to be tampering with the submission process, the operation of the Contest or any web site. Disqualification will result in submission entered by the disqualified party being rejected without further review or notice, and Sponsors reserve the right to take any other actions against such disqualified party and/or other persons/entities as Sponsors deem necessary and appropriate in their sole discretion so as to protect their rights.
8. Dispute Resolution/Governing Law/Waiver of Jury Trial.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, by participating in the Contest, contact person (on behalf of him/herself and his/her organization) agrees that: (a) any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these Official Rules or the rights and obligations of any entrant and/or Sponsors shall be filed exclusively in the courts of San Francisco County, State of California and contact person (on behalf of him/herself and his/her organization) hereby consents and submits to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action, and any right to a trial by jury and a trial by jury is hereby waived, (b) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with these Official Rules, and/or the rights and obligations of any contact person, organization and/or Sponsors shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and (c) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating in this Contest but in no event attorneys' fees; and (d) under no circumstances will any contact person/organization be permitted to obtain awards for and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, exemplary, special, incidental, indirect and consequential damages and any other damages (whether due to negligence or otherwise), other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of any contact person/organization and/or Sponsors shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without giving effect or regard to any principles or doctrines of conflicts of law/choice of law of the State of California or of any other jurisdiction.
9. Winners List.
Names of winning organizations will be announced publicly on February 4th at the Washington State Nonprofit Connection Day at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA and on www.showyourimpact.org on or before February 7, 2011.