Terms and Conditions

America's Giving Challenge Terms and Conditions

Disclaimer: The Challenge ended on January 31, 2008 at 3 pm EST.

The following terms and conditions ("Terms") apply to the America's Giving Challenge (the "Challenge"), which ended on January 31, 2008 at 3 pm EST, offered via the web site (the "Parade Website") owned and operated by Parade Publications ("Parade").   The Challenge is an initiative that aims to inspire and reward individuals who are passionate about contributing to charitable causes through the use of technology.  You can participate by registering as a cause advocate ("Fundraiser") so you can solicit and generate donations for the cause of your choice. All donations shall be made utilizing the technology and online tools provided by Network for Good ("NFG") and Global Giving ("GG") via the websites owned and operated by Network for Good ("NFG Website") and Global Giving ("GG Website") respectively (NFG, together with GG, Parade, and The Case Foundation shall collectively be referred to as the "Presenter Entities").

1. Eligibility: NO PURCHASE OR DONATION NECESSARY TO Participate as a FUNDRIASER.  Participation as a Fundraiser in the CHALLENGE OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 years of age or older as of the date of entry. Employees of THE Presenter Entities and their immediate families ARE INELIGIBLE FOR THE CHALLENGE. VOID OUTSIDE THE 50 UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND WHERE PROHIBITTED.

By participating in the Challenge, Fundraisers agree: (a) to be bound by (i) these Terms, (ii) any other rules specified for the Challenge on the Parade Website, NFG Website or the GG Website (together, the "Presenter Entities Websites") and (iii) by the interpretations of the Terms by the Presenter Entities and by the decisions of the Presenter Entities, which are final in all matters relating to the Challenge; (b) not to hold themselves out as an agent or representative of the Presenter Entities; (c) to release and hold harmless the Presenter Entities, their respective agents, employees, officers, directors, successors and assigns, and any suppliers, licensors, marketing partners or other affiliated parties in connection with the Challenge against any and all claims, injury or damage arising out of or relating to such participation in the Challenge, and from any claims based on publicity rights, defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement or any other personal or property rights of any party or any other intellectual property related cause of action; and (d) acknowledge compliance with these Terms.

2. Entry: The Challenge begins at 3:00 PM EST on December 13, 2007, and ends 3:00 PM EST on January 31, 2008, during which all donations must be received ("Challenge Period"). Attempted donations that are lost, late, misdirected, incorrect, garbled, or incompletely received, for any reason, including by reason of hardware, software, browser, or network failure, malfunction, congestion, or incompatibility at Sponsor's servers or elsewhere, will not be eligible.

3. Registration: In order to participate in the Challenge, you must first register as a Fundraiser through the Parade Website at www.parade.com/givingchallenge utilizing the technology and online tools available from NFG and GG via the NFG Website or GG Website.  Fundraisers will raise money for the cause of their choice by generating donations (minimum of $10.00 per donation) through use of their Charity Badge (as defined herein).

A. Fundraiser Registration: To become a Fundraiser, you must register on the NFG Website or GG Website as directed through the Parade Website at any time during the Challenge Period and follow the online instructions to (i) create your own customizable charity "widget" for collecting donations online ("Charity Badge"); and (ii) submit all the requested information required with respect to your cause. Only U.S.-based charities listed in the NFG database (supplied by GuideStar.org) or global charities listed in the GG database are eligible as potential Challenge Award winners.

4. Challenge Activities:  In order to promote and publicize the Challenge, Fundraisers will be asked to participate in and lend their name and likeness to various marketing and promotional activities.  Such activities may include, without limitation, posting a Participant's name on "leader boards," Participant lists and other uses which may incorporate the Presenter Entities' or other affiliated parties' property and branding (including, without limitation, promotional materials such as banners, logos, videos, video clips and widgets) (collectively, the "Sponsor Materials") on Charity Badges, message boards, forums, blogs and online social community network profiles and groups on any of the Presenter Entities Websites (all such information posted and all materials and postings made by Fundraisers will be considered a "Posting" or "Postings"). All contents of Postings, with the exception of any incorporated Sponsor Materials, must be completely original to the Participant and must not have been taken or composed in whole or in part from any other source, including, without limitation, all graphical, video and musical elements, imagery and artwork appearing in the Postings, and must be free and clear of any liens or claims with respect to the use of the Postings, including, but not limited to, claims in connection with music synchronization rights, and that such use will not give rise to any claims or infringement, invasion of privacy or publicity, or claims for any payment whatsoever including, but not limited to, claims for re-use fees or residuals.

5. Postings Guidelines: All Fundraisers agree that any and all Postings made in the course of their participation in the Challenge shall not contain, include or involve (or be Posted on any websites highlighting or featuring) any of the following:

• obscenity;
• crude, vulgar or offensive pictures, depictions, images, language and/or symbols;
• gang signs or symbols;
• gratuitous violence, guns or other imagery or gestures of weapons. Violence may not be used to stimulate the audience or to invite imitation, nor may it be shown or offered as an acceptable solution to problem or conflict;
• nudity or explicit, graphic or excessive sexual activity;
• commercial products (e.g., clothing, toys, food) and/or their trademarks, brands, logos or endorsements other than Sponsor Materials;
• trade libel;
• hard liquor use or product images;
• license plates, phone numbers, personal addresses - physical or email or otherwise;
• illegal drug or alcohol use or abuse;
• derogatory characterizations of any ethnic, racial, sexual or religious groups, humiliation of other people (publicly or otherwise), or any assault or threatening of others;
• violation of anyone's right of privacy, including any statements that may be true but of private facts;
• trespass or the violation of other people's rights or property;
• illegal (e.g., discriminatory, harassing) or inappropriate activity, behavior or conduct (e.g., inflicting emotional distress);
• defamatory, libelous, threatening or other material that advocates against any individual or group including products/services promoting discriminatory behavior (e.g., racial, religious, gender, nationality, sexual orientation);
• conduct or activities in violation of the Terms; or
• any other content, display, materials and/or images that is or could be considered inappropriate, unsuitable or offensive, as determined by Presenter Entities, in their sole discretion.

In addition, each Participant agrees, confirms and represents to the Presenter Entities that such Participant has not engaged or taken part in (or induced or encouraged anyone else to do so) in any activity or conduct in connection with the Challenge that: (i) is or may constitute a crime, unlawful or non-consensual activities (e.g., conduct that could lead to criminal prosecution), tortious conduct (e.g.., conduct that could lead to civil prosecution) or the violation or infringement of the rights of any other party; or (ii) violates any of the terms or conditions of these Terms.  The Presenter Entities (and any and all of their subsidiaries and affiliates) shall have the right to use any Postings submitted pursuant to the Terms and Conditions in or on any of the Presenter Entities Websites and in or on any other periodical, magazine, programming channel, broadcast or other public display and performance, at any time in the future, without notice and without compensation, royalty, accounting, liability or obligation of any kind to any Participant.

6. Awards; Winner Selection/Notification:  There will be two award categories totaling $500,000 in value: (i) the "Grand Award" totaling $400,000, where $50,000 is awarded to the cause represented by the top four Fundraisers from both NFG and GG (total of eight) who have inspired the most unique donors to make a donation to their cause through their Charity Badge during the Challenge Period; and (ii) the "Participation Award" totaling $100,000, where $1,000 is awarded to the top 50 causes from both NFG and GG that generate the most number of donations during the Challenge Period (the Grand Award, together with the Participation Award, shall collectively be referred to as the "Awards" unless otherwise indicated). For the avoidance of doubt, (i) a donation by a Fundraiser through his/her own Charity Badge shall count as a single, unique donor for calculating the total amount of donating individuals; (ii) each individual donor shall be counted as a unique donor once per Charity Badge donation (i.e., multiple donations to the same Charity Badge by the same donor shall not be counted in the total number of unique donors); (iii) Fundraisers can create more than one Charity Badge as long as each Charity Badge represents a separate cause and multiple Charity Badges for the same cause will be consolidated for a grand total for donations per cause to determine the Participation Award but not for determination of the Grand Award; (iv) multiple donations by the same individual (no less than $10.00 per donation) shall each count towards the total number of donations for a particular cause solely with respect to the Participation Award; (v) a cause cannot receive both the Grand Award and the Participation Award despite having met the criteria for receiving both such Awards; (vi) the Award winners will be announced by the Presenter Entities within 30 days after the end of the Challenge; (vii) Parade shall not be responsible for payment of the Awards; and (viii) in the event of a tie, the Awards winners shall be decided by a tie breaker as follows: (a) the tie breaker for the Grand Award shall be based on the Fundraiser(s) first to reach the applicable amount of unique donors during the Challenge Period; and (b) the tie breaker for the Participation Award shall be based on the cause(s) first to reach the applicable amount of donations during the Challenge Period (ix) all Fundraisers in the Challenge agree that the Awards and division of Awards will be decided by the Presenter Entities and that all decisions are final (see the "FAQs" at www.parade.com/americasgivingchallenge/faq for further explanation). By way of example, in the event that the top Fundraisers from NFG with the highest total of unique donors at the conclusion of the Challenge include three Fundraisers with 100 unique donors and three Fundraisers with 90 unique donors, the "Grand Awards" for NFG (totaling $200,000) shall be distributed to the three Fundraisers with 100 unique donors and the one Fundraiser with 90 unique donors that was first to reach 90 unique donors and the two other Fundraisers with 90 unique donors shall not be entitled to receive any portion of the Grand Awards.

7. Award Winner Verification: Upon request of the Presenter Entities, all Award winners must sign the following documents: (a) an affidavit of eligibility and release of the Presenter Entities and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, members, affiliated companies and subsidiaries, from any and all liability, loss, claims, demands, and causes of action for personal injury and/or damage, theft, loss, or any other harm suffered in connection with the Challenge and for any claim based on publicity rights, defamation, invasion or privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement or any other personal or property rights of any party or any other intellectual property related cause of action and, or the use/misuse or acceptance of any Award or any portion thereof to be eligible for the Awards; and (b) except where prohibited by law, a promotional release granting the Presenter Entities the right to use their name and likeness for advertising and publicity purpose without additional compensation.  Entry into the Challenge constitutes agreement to sign such releases.

8. General Terms: Any violation of these Terms may result in disqualification. The Presenter Entities reserve the right to reject any entries in the Challenge or any Participant's activities associated therewith that may be deemed, in their sole discretion, to violate these Terms, the NFG Website Terms of Use or Privacy Policy, the GG Website Terms of Use or Privacy Policy the Parade Website User Agreement or Privacy Policy and any of policies or guidelines established by the Sponsored Entities that govern Fundraisers' participation in the Challenge.

ANY VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS BY AN AWARD WINNER OR ANY BEHAVIOR BY AN AWARD WINNER THAT WILL BRING SUCH AWARD WINNER OR THE PRESENTER ENTITIES INTO DISREPUTE (IN THE PRESENTER ENTITIES' SOLE DISCRETION) WILL RESULT IN SUCH AWARD WINNER'S DISQUALIFICATION AS AN AWARD WINNER FOR THE CHALLENGE AND ALL PRIVILEGES AS AN AWARD WINNER WILL BE IMMEDIATELY TERMINATED.

The Presenter Entities reserve the right to cancel, terminate or modify any transmission or other activity not capable of completion as planned, including by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, force majeure or technical failures of any sort. The Presenter Entities are not responsible for errors in the administration or fulfillment of the Challenge, including without limitation mechanical, human, printing, distribution or production errors, and may modify or cancel the Challenge based upon such error at its sole discretion without liability.  The Presenter Entities assume no responsibility for the incorrect or inaccurate posting of information whether caused by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Challenge or by any human error which may occur in the processing of the Postings in the Challenge. The Presenter Entities are not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or players on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, or any combination thereof, including, without limitation, any injury or damage to a Participant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials (including, without limitation, the Sponsor Materials) for the Challenge.  The Presenter Entities are not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of any materials, administration of the Challenge, or in the announcement of the Awards or Award winners. If, for any reason, a particular charity is not capable of being offered and/or donated to as planned, including, without limitation, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Presenter Entities which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Challenge, the Presenter Entities reserve the right in their sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Challenge.  All interpretations of these Terms and decisions by the Presenter Entities are final. No software-generated, robotic, programmed, script, macro or other automated online or text message entries are permitted and will result in disqualification of all such entries. The Presenter Entities reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any Participant they find to (i) have tampered with the entry process or the operation of the Charity Badge;  (ii) to be acting in violation of the Terms or the spirit of the Challenge; or (iii) to be acting in a disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person or Participant or to have provided inaccurate information at any time during the Challenge, including, without limitation, on any legal documents submitted in connection with the Challenge or otherwise.

CAUTION:  ANY ATTEMPT BY ANY INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CHALLENGE IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE PRESENTER ENTITIES RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

Fundraisers agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Presenter Entities, their respective agents, employees, officers, directors, successors and assigns, and any suppliers, licensors, marketing partners or other affiliated parties in connection with the Challenge from any and all liability resulting or arising from the Fundraisers acts or omissions in connection the Challenge, to release all rights to bring any claim, action or proceeding against the Presenter Entities, their respective agents, employees, officers, directors, successors and assigns, and any suppliers, licensors, marketing partners or other affiliated parties in connection with the Challenge from any and all liability resulting or arising from the Challenge and hereby acknowledge that the Presenter Entities, their respective agents, employees, officers, directors, successors and assigns, and any suppliers, licensors, marketing partners or other affiliated parties in connection with the Challenge have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to the Awards.

9. Applicable Laws And Jurisdiction. This Challenge is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Issues concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York. All disputes arising out of or connected with the Challenge will be resolved individually, and without resort to class action, exclusively by a state or federal court located in New York, New York. Should there be a conflict between the laws of the State of New York and any other laws, the conflict will be resolved in favor of the laws of the State of New York. All judgments or awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket damages (excluding attorneys' fees) associated with participation in the Challenge and shall not include any indirect, punitive, incidental and/or consequential damages. Each Participant waives any and all objections to jurisdiction and venue in these courts and hereby submits to the jurisdiction of those courts.

10. Presenter Entities Contact Details. If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact the Presenter Entities at the follow addresses: Network for Good, 7920 Norfolk Avenue, #1100, Bethesda, MD 20814; Global Giving, 1816 12th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; Parade Publications, 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017; The Case Foundation, 1717 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036.