Rules

OFFICIAL RULES

By entering this contest, you are not only competing for a possible prize for your creative efforts, you are raising important funds to help Ann's Place continue to provide free services to cancer patients and their loved ones. Your entry fee helps Ann's Place defray the costs associated with offering this contest. This contest is a one-year substitute for our beloved traditional Festival of Trees since it is not safe to gather in crowds in 2020. Thank you for participating, helping fund our critical patient services, and keeping the holiday spirit alive in this universally stressful year.

The Contest offers participants three (3) categories in which to compete:

1. Decorated Holiday Tree/Holiday Item
2. Think Outside the Box: Upcycle Sculpture Challenge
3. Awkward Holiday Photo

Entry Fees for the Contest:
There is a $25 Fee per Entry to register in each contest, which will be credited to your contest votes, once official voting begins.

VOTES: Each dollar made in support of your entry creates one vote. The winners in each category will be determined by the highest number of votes (dollars) received by the official close of the contest at 7:00:00 PM EST on Saturday, December 5, 2020. Voters may register to donate and vote on the contest site: (www.gogophotocontest.com/AnnsPlaceFestivalOfTrees). Donors can "bank" votes and distribute them among more than one contestant during the contest period. You may also donate/vote as often as you like.

1. Eligibility: The Contest is open only to legal residents of the United states who sign up at the Festival of Trees Contest page located at (www.gogophotocontest.com/AnnsPlaceFestivalOfTrees) and who are 18 years of age as of the date of entry. The Contest is void where prohibited by law. Paid employees of Ann's Place, and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible to win prizes but can participate in the Contest. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.
   
   
   
2. Agreement to Rules: By participating, you agree to be fully and unconditionally bound by these Rules, and you represent and warrant that you meet the eligibility requirements set forth herein. In addition, you agree to accept the decisions of Ann's Place as final and binding as it relates to the contest outcome. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and winnings that exceed $600 are a taxable responsibility of the winner. An IRS 1099-MISC form will be provided to winners who fit that criteria.
   
   
   
3. Contest Entry Period: Entries will be accepted online starting on September 8, 2020, 1:00 PM EDT, and must be registered no later than November 29, 2020, 11:59:59 PM EST.                                 Note: Edit on November 4, 2020. Closing entry deadline was extended to December 1, 2020, 10:00 PM EDT to allow for Thanksgiving weekend trees to be completed. 
   
   
   
4. Contest Voting Period: Online Donations/Votes to support the entries and determine the outcome of the contest open on November 7, 2020 EST at 10AM and end at 7:00:00 PM EST on December 5, 2020. The leaders (contestants who attract the largest volume of dollar donations/votes) in each Contest category will be declared the winners. Donors who prefer to mail off-line contributions by check to support a specific contestant(s), can mail checks to Festival Contest, Ann's Place, 80 Saw Mill Road, Danbury, CT, 06810. Your check, along with contestant's name(s), must be received by Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 3:00 PM EST, to be manually added into the contest rankings. Checks received after December 1, 2020 will be recognized as donations to Ann's Place but not counted in the totals for a contestant's prize eligibility.
   
   
   
5. How to Enter: The Contest must be entered by submitting an entry using the online form provided on the Contest site, located at www.gogophotocontest.com/AnnsPlaceFestivalOfTrees).
   
   The entry must fulfill all Contest requirements, as specified, to be eligible to win a prize. Entries that are not complete or do not adhere to the rules or specifications may be disqualified at the sole discretion of Ann's Place. You may submit an entry in each Contest category separately by filling in the information requested and uploading 1 photo of your submission.
   
   Copyright:
   All images submitted must be the work of the individual, family, or team participants. While we encourage entrants to pose with their creations to help attract funding, it is not required. By agreeing to the Contest Rules, entrants accept the responsibility to ensure that the images submitted have been taken with permission of the subject, and do not infringe on the copyright of any third party or any laws.
   
   If you submit photos that are copied from the internet, use fraudulent methods, or otherwise attempt to circumvent the rules, your submission will be removed from eligibility. Please do not submit any images or copy that is of a political nature.
   
   Entries in all three categories must be submitted by an adult of 18 years or older, but children may participate as part of the team, provided the submission is made by a parent/guardian or group leader. By submitting your entry, you are agreeing that photos including your children as part of the family team may be used in the contest. However, for their privacy, personally identifying information about the children should not be offered or included in the entry. Photos of entries without contestants in them may be submitted if you do not wish your likeness and/or children to appear on your fundraising page.
   
   
   
6. Prizes: Winners are those whose entries attract the largest number of donations/votes in their category, which translate into an equivalent number of votes per dollars raised for Ann's Place. Contest winners will receive the following prizes by category:
   
   Decorated Holiday Tree/Holiday Item: Winner receives $2,000 cash
   1^st Runner-up: $1,000 cash
   2^nd Runner-up: $ 500 cash
   3^rd Runner-up: $ 250 cash
   
   Think Outside the Box: Upcycle Sculpture Challenge:
   Mini Holiday Sculpture:             $250 Gift Card (Choose Barnes & Noble, Target, or Best Buy)
   Medium Holiday Sculpture:    $250 Gift Card (Choose Barnes & Noble, Target, or Best Buy)
   Unlimited Holiday Sculpture: $250 Gift Card (Choose Barnes & Noble, Target, or Best Buy)
   
   Awkward Holiday Photo: Winner receives $250 Cash. Runner-up: $50
   
   Gift card availability may differ at the time of the award, given the pandemic impact on retailers; therefore, cash may be substituted if retail cards are unavailable. The final decision shall be solely determined by Ann's Place or the donating sponsor. No other prize substitution permitted except at Sponsor's discretion. The prize is non-transferable. Any and all prize related expenses, including without limitation any and all applicable federal, state, and/or local taxes shall be the sole responsibility of the winner. No substitution of prize or transfer/assignment of prize to others by winners is permitted. Acceptance of prize constitutes permission for Ann's Place to use winner's name, likeness, and entry for purposes of advertising without further compensation, unless prohibited by law. When a family or a group enters the contest, it is the responsibility of the leader or registrant to divide the winnings. Ann's Place will not be involved in that distribution or sharing of funds decision.
   
   Ties: In the case of a tie vote in any category, the tied winners will split the total value of the tied places. For instance, if the 2^nd Runner-up position in Trees is tied, we will total 2^nd place ($500) and 3^rd place ($250) prize monies (= $750) and split it between those two winners as $325 each. If 3^rd place in Trees is tied, we will split the $250 with the multiple qualified winners, up to 5 at $50 each. Likewise, if the sculpture and/or photo winners of $250 are tied, we will divide the prize money among them, up to 5 winners each of $50 each. To select the top 5 from a larger number of ties, we will select the top five based on which entries had the largest number of individual gifts.
   
   Special Award: 2020 Judges' Choice Holiday Tree/Holiday Item
   Apart from the fundraising competition, a custom 2020 Best in Show ornament and a cash prize of $150 will be awarded to the Tree/Holiday Item entry that is selected as Best of Show based on design, theme, and decorating skill. Three of our top Festival sponsors will comprise the judges' panel. Selection of this tree will not eliminate it from the voting competition. The Winner of this Judges' Choice Award will be announced during the Grand Finale broadcast.
   
   
   
7. Odds: The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received, the design, decorating and photography skill of the contestants, and the ability of each individual, family, or group entry to network and attract the most "votes" in the form of monetary donations to Ann's Place in their prize category.
   
   
   
8. Winner selection and notification: Winners of each Contest category will be determined by the category vote leader at the final moment of the closing contest on December 5, 2020, at 7:00:00 PM EST. Winners will be notified via phone and/or text. If that attempted contact fails after multiple attempts, we will send an email, based on the contact information on the Contest entry, within 24 hours following the winner selection. Ann's Place will also announce the winners in a Grand Finale online broadcast following the close of the contest on December 5, 2020, once winners have been confirmed. Prizes will be mailed as soon as the winners sign a declaration and releases provided by Ann's Place.
   
   Ann's Place shall have no liability for a winner's failure to receive notices due to winners' call blockages, spam, junk e-mail or other security settings, or for winners' provision of incorrect or otherwise non-functioning contact information. An attempt will be made to reach the winners by mail if phone, text, and email fail. If the selected winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim the prize within 120 hours (5 days) from the time award notification was sent, or fails to timely return a completed and executed declaration and releases as required, prize may be forfeited and the next runner-up winner will be selected.
   
   The receipt by winner of any prize offered in this Contest is conditioned upon compliance with any and all federal and state laws and regulations. ANY VIOLATION OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES BY ANY WINNER (AT SPONSOR'S SOLE DISCRETION) WILL RESULT IN SUCH WINNER'S DISQUALIFICATION AS WINNER OF THE CONTEST AND ALL PRIVILEGES AS WINNER WILL BE IMMEDIATELY TERMINATED.
   
   
   
9. Rights Granted by you: By entering this Contest you understand that Ann's Place, anyone acting on behalf of Ann's Place, or its respective assignees, will have the right, where permitted by law, without any further notice, review or consent to print, publish, broadcast, distribute, and use, in any media now known or hereafter in perpetuity, your entry, including, without limitation, the entry and winner's name, picture, voice, likeness, image or statements about the Contest, and biographical information as news, publicity or information and for advertising, public relations, and promotional purposes without any further compensation.
   
   
   
10. Terms: Ann's Place reserves the right, in its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest should (in its sole discretion) a virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the Contest. In such case, Ann's Place may select the recipients from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Ann's Place and reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers or attempts to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or website or violates these Terms & Conditions.
    
    Ann's Place has the right, in its sole discretion, to maintain the integrity of the Contest, to void entries for any reason, including, but not limited to: the use of bots, macros or scripts or other technical means for entering votes without monetary donations (via credit card, debit card, or a mailed check in advance of stated deadline).
    
    Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage any web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Ann's Place reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.
    
    By entering the Contest, you agree to receive email newsletters periodically from Ann's Place. You can opt-out of receiving this communication at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the newsletter.
    
    
    
11. Limitation of Liability: By entering you agree to release and hold harmless Ann's Place and its staff, affiliates, advertising, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors from any liability, illness, injury, death, loss, litigation, claim or damage that may occur, directly or indirectly, whether caused by negligence or not, from (i) such entrant's participation in the Contest and/or his/her acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize or any portion thereof, (ii) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunctioning of any computer, cable, network, hardware or software; (iii) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any transmissions or telephone or Internet service; (iv) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (v) electronic or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries.
    
    
    
12. Disputes: THIS CONTEST IS GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE USA AND CONNECTICUT WITHOUT RESPECT TO CONFLICT OF LAW DOCTRINES. As a condition of participating in this Contest, participant agrees that any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively before a court located in Connecticut having jurisdiction. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, including reasonable attorneys' fees, other than participant's actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e. costs associated with entering this Contest), and participant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
    
    
    
13. Privacy Policy: Information submitted with an entry is subject to the Privacy Policy stated on the www.AnnsPlaceFestivalOfTrees.org web site. To read the Privacy Policy, click here: https://www.annsplacefestivaloftrees.org/privacy-policy
    
    
    
14. Winners List: To obtain a copy of the winner's names or a copy of these Official Rules, mail your request along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Ann's Place, 80 Saw Mill Road, Danbury, CT 06810, USA. Requests must be received no later than January 31, 2021.
    
    
    
15. Producer & Sponsors: The producer of this Contest is Ann's Place,Inc., 80 Saw Mill Road, Danbury, CT 06810, USA. Ann's Place, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community-based agency supplying free cancer support services to individuals living with a cancer diagnosis, as well as to their families and loved ones. 2020 Contest Sponsors will be posted on the contest site and website, as they pledge their support.
    
    
    
16. This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn or Google. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of this Contest and not to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn or Google.