2024 Kesem Photo and Calendar Contest Official Rules and Regulations
1. Purpose. The purpose of the Kesem Photo & Calendar Contest (the “Contest”) is to demonstrate visually the magic of Kesem and raise funds for our mission. Selected photos will be used for Kesem’s national marketing purposes, primarily used towards creating a Kesem calendar for the following year. No awards or prizes to individuals will be made. See the contest Overview here.
2. Who May Submit Entries. Legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age and physically present in the US at the time of submission may submit an Entry, following the steps described below. Entrants can work individually, in families, or teams. While only one Kesem chapter will be listed on the Photo contest Submission Form (“Submission Form”) as the photo “Creator” and will serve as the sole point of contact for the Entry, each person who participates in any way in creating an Entry must be listed as an “Entrant” and agrees to and is bound by these Official Rules and Regulations. An Entrant can be any official Kesem chapter and include images of participants from their Kesem programs and services.
3. Who May Appear In Photos. So long as the Permissions and Releases are received as described below, anyone can appear in photos including children under the age of 13, campers, parents, counselors, volunteers, alumni, donors, members, and so on.
4. Permissions and Releases. Each Creator and each person listed on an Entry as an Entrant agrees to these Rules and Regulations. In addition, each Entrant consents, without compensation, to the use of his or her intellectual property, photographs, drawings, renderings, ideas, designs, video, sounds, images, voice, audio clips or other contributions in an Entry, and grants to the Sponsor in perpetuity the world-wide right to use, copy, modify, or make publicly available in any way the Entry, in any medium existing now or in the future, for any purpose, including to promote and advertise this contest, future contests, or any of Sponsor’s activities. Each Entrant also expressly consents and grants Sponsor, and any other of their partners, affiliates, vendors and subcontractors the right to use, without compensation, of his/her name, likeness, or biographical data in promoting this contest or future contests. Each Entrant waives any rights to inspect or approve Sponsor’s use.
By submitting an Entry, the Creator and each Entrant certifies that the Entry is original, and Creator and named Entrants are the sole and exclusive owners and rights holders in the contents of the Entry and have the right to submit the Entry. Each Creator and Entrant acknowledges that the Kesem Chapter identified in the Entry may receive a financial credit from Sponsor if the Entry is selected as the winning photo herein, and each Creator and Entrant waives any right to be compensated. Each Participant consents to the use of his or her personal information for purposes related to this contest.
Prior to the time of submission of the Entry, each Creator and each person listed as an Entrant on the Entry or appearing in the video must sign and return the provided permission and release forms covering their appearance in the photo and release of rights in and to the Entry. If a Creator or anyone appearing in a photo has not reached the age of majority in the jurisdiction in which they reside, the required permission and release forms must also be signed by their parent or legal guardian. All permission and release forms must be submitted with the Entry.
5. How to Enter. Kesem chapters will enter via Google Forms, please check with your Regional Program Coordinator for more information. Kesem supporters can enter through the Gogo Photo contest site (https://www.gogophotocontest.com/kesem2024) by selecting “Enter Contest”, creating an account, and then add your Kesem photo and description.
6. Entry Period. The Entry Period begins at 12:00:01 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) on August 08, 2024 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. ET on Friday, September 13, 2024. Eastern Time means the local time in New York on the specified date. The Sponsor’s computer system is the official timekeeping device with respect to all matters relating to the contest.
7. Photo Requirements.
All photos must be original work, taken by the entrants. No third party may own or control any materials the photo contains, and the photo must not infringe upon the trademark, copyright, moral rights, intellectual rights, or rights of privacy of any entity or person.
The photo must be in its original state and cannot be altered in any way, including but not limited to removing, adding, reversing, or distorting subjects within the frame.
Violators will be removed from the contest, stripped of any prize(s), and banned from entering future contests.
Entries will not be accepted unless submitted via the official contest channel. Entries not submitted through the proper channel will be deleted.
Entries will be scored by a combination of popular vote and judges' review. Ultimately, all entries will be judged by the [Company]. All decisions are final. The Company reserves the right to disqualify any entry that is deemed inappropriate or does not conform to stated contest rules.
By entering the contest, entrants agree that photos submitted can be used by the [Company] for advertising purposes.
Submissions will not be accepted once the deadline lapses.
The prize must be collected by the winner and is nontransferable.
The winner will be contacted via the email address provided during entry. If no response is received after [three] business days, a new winner will be selected and the previous winner will forfeit all rights to the prize.
The contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law.
Photos must be high resolution (at least 300ppi) and oriented landscape.
8. Evaluation of Photos. After the close of the Entry Period, each Entry will be eligible to receive popular votes from the general public via a fundraising campaign where $1 = 1 vote. The popular vote will run from 12:00am ET on September 16 through 11:59pm ET on September 30, 2023, and after its conclusion, the top 8 from 4 groupings (32 finalists) based on Kesem chapter size (or 25th anniversary entries) and popular vote, will be reviewed by a panel of judges and evaluated using the following criteria:
Fitting to the Theme/Category
Overall Photo Quality
Appropriateness to Brand Personality and Values
Leaves a Lasting Impression & Captures “Kesem Magic”
Specifically, the Fitting to the Theme criterion refers to the following categories/themes shared with Chapters:
Community at Kesem: special moments between parent and child, campers, counselors, and others. This could include photos from camp or Friends & Family Day
Adventure at Kesem: camp memories, a sense of fun, and images that take you back to somewhere special. This could include photos from camp or Friends & Family Day.
Leadership at Kesem: talent, dedication, and skills from student leaders and alumni. This could include photos from camp, Friends & Family Day, Make the Magic, volunteer training, National Leadership Summit, fundraising campaigns, or student leader meetings
Kesem Magic: Any photo that best represents the Kesem Magic. These could include photos from Through and Beyond programming, fundraising campaigns (GT, MTM, CATC, etc), volunteer training, Kesem meetings, or Camp Kesem.
The Appropriateness to Brand Personality and Values criterion refers to:
Mission: To support children through and beyond their parent’s cancer with free, fun-filled creative programs and a lasting community.
Brand Tone: Warm and conversational - language is engaging and accessible; Inclusive and culturally-sensitive - language lifts up the voices and experiences of the community and doesn’t position any one identity as dominant; Authentic - language is self-aware and vulnerable; Direct - language is concise
Core Values: Continuous Learning; Accountability; Resilience; Empathy
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Kesem’s mission of supporting children through and beyond a parent’s cancer, and our vision of ensuring that every child impacted by a parent’s cancer is never alone, can only be realized through an ongoing, steadfast commitment to Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion in every part of our organization. To that end, Kesem makes the following commitments: (i) To continually expand the communities we support and work with - our camper families, volunteers, staff, alumni, partners, donors, and boards - with attention to engaging communities we are not currently reaching; (ii) To strive for equity in delivering a transformative, fun, and empowering community that recognizes and embraces our differences; (iii) To aspire to create shared spaces that are safe for every member of the Kesem community to feel valued and respected; (iv) Kesem will engage in continued meaningful learning in order to better support our mission, and our growing Kesem community.
The Ability to Leave a Lasting Impression and Capture Kesem Magic refers to the feeling of Kesem transcending the photo and providing a visual understanding of the support and transformation Kesem provides the children we serve.
The Quality of Photo criterion refers to visual quality appropriate for print and digital display.
Each Entry will be judged on a combination of a popular vote and judges' review. The top 32 Entries (8 from each grouping based on chapter size) with the highest popular vote will be reviewed and scored by judges. The Entry with the highest combined popular vote and judges score will be declared the winning photo. A total of 12 photos will be ranked and win a place in the calendar. If there is a tie, the tying Entries will be re-judged on the same criteria and a winning photo selected. If re-judging does not remove the tie, the Entry with the highest score in the Appropriateness to Brand Personality and Values criterion after re-judging will be declared the winning photo. Each of the Entries receiving the next twlve highest point totals will be announced as Runners Up. All decisions of the judges are final and binding on all Entrants in all respects.
9. Verification and Announcement of Winning Photos and Honorable Mentions. On or about October 10, 2024, the Creator of each photo selected as the winning photo or a Runner Up will be notified via the email address contained in the Submission Form for that Entry. If all permissions and releases as described in paragraph 4 have not been received, the Creator must
supply the missing permissions and releases by the date set by Sponsors, or their Entry will be disqualified and a new Entry will be selected in the same manner as the disqualified Entry.
10. Prize. Winning photos will be featured in the special edition Kesem 25th Anniversary calendar. Winners of the 25th anniversary category will also received a special prize for winning in their category. Kesem chapters will receive 100% of the donations received after contest fees have been taken out of the total raised.
11. Disqualification.
Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to permanently disqualify from this contest any person it believes has violated these Official Rules, is not eligible to participate, who has provided false information, has or intends to act in a harassing or unsportsmanlike manner with respect to Sponsor or any Entrant, or tampered with the operation of the contest, including by hacking, attempting to participate via multiple accounts, using any bot or other automatic means to affect participation in or operation of the contest, or to otherwise undermine the legitimate operation of contest. Sponsor’s decisions as to all issues, including eligibility/disqualification, shall be final. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROMOTION MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEY FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.
12. Limitations of Liability. Sponsor is not responsible for any liability arising out of an Entrant’s participation in the contest, including without limitation, for any problems related to technical malfunctions of electronic equipment, computer online systems, servers, providers, computer hardware or software failures, phone lines, traffic, congestion on the internet or any website, unauthorized intervention, or for any other technical problems including telecommunication miscommunication or failure, and failed, lost, delayed, incomplete, garbled, or misdirected communications which may limit a person’s ability to participate in the contest, or any injury or damage to any Entrant’s or any other individual’s computer related to or resulting from participation in this contest. Sponsor is not responsible for any other errors or malfunctions of any kind, whether network, printing, typographical, human, or otherwise relating to or in connection with the contest, including, without limitation, errors or malfunctions which may occur in connection with the administration of the contest, the announcement of the winning photo and Honorable Mentions, or in any contest-related materials. If for any reason this contest is not able to be conducted as planned, including, but not limited to, by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, or based on the technical, legal and policy requirements of the platform(s) by which it is made available, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the contest, then Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the contest, including awarding any prize from among the Entries received up until the time of cancellation/suspension or modification that the Sponsor in its sole discretion determines are eligible and uncorrupted. This contest is void where prohibited by law, and is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.
To the extent permitted by law, in the case of any dispute or claim with regard to this contest, each Entrant relinquishes and waives any rights to litigate, seek injunctive relief or any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure. Each Entrant agrees that these Rules and Regulations are governed by the law of the State of California.
By participating, Entrant agrees to release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsor and each of its officers, directors, employees, representatives, and agents from and against any claims related in any way to or arising out of the operation of this contest or Entrant’s participation in it, as well as any claims, damages or liability due to any injuries, damages or losses to any person, including infringement of any third-party rights, or to property of any kind resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from participation in any contest-related activities.
13. Right to Cancel or Extend. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the contest if for any reason the contest is not capable of running as described herein, including without limitation, due to misconduct of any Entrant.
14. Use of Logos. Sponsor grants to each Entrant, for purposes of this contest only, the right to use the Kesem logo and the Camp Kesem logo provided here. This right is limited to use of the identical logos in accordance with the Photo Requirements and for no other purpose. Any other use shall constitute infringement.
15. Use of Photos. The winning photos will be revealed on Kesem’s national social media platforms and newsletter, as well as be featured in Kesem's 2025 special edition calendar, annual report, and stewardship cards.
16. Questions. Email Shane at shane.smith@kesem.org with any questions or concerns. When e-mailing, please make sure to include the words “photo contest” in the subject line.
Sponsor: CAMP KESEM NATIONAL, 440 N. BARRANCA AVE., #2273 COVINA, CALIFORNIA 91723