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Rules Past Winners FAQ #GivingTuesday 2017 Finalists
Every act of giving has a story. What is yours?
You could win up to $10,000 for your favorite non-profit organization.
POST YOUR STORY ON TWITTER OR INSTAGRAM USING
#MYGIVINGSTORY
The contest is now closed and voting has ended. The finalists (the stories with the most votes) are now with the panel of judges who will determine the winners and award the prizes.
OR
TWO
1st place
winners:
$10,000
for your chosen non-profit organization
Two
2nd place
winners:
$5,000
for your chosen non-profit organization
Two
3rd place
winners:
$2,500
for your chosen non-profit organization
EXPLORE THE #MYGIVINGSTORY GALLERY AND VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITES
(you can vote for as many stories as you'd like each day, but only once per day for any given entry)
MyGivingStory is open to legal residents of the U.S., who are age 13 and older. Written entries must be at least 150 words. Video entries must be at least 30 seconds. Entries must be original, unpublished works. Only one entry per entrant.
The chosen nonprofit organization named by the entrant as the recipient of the prize grant must be qualified as a 501(C)(3) organization in good standing both at the time of entry and at the awarding of prizes. Eligibility and satisfaction of criteria will be verified for each of the contest finalists. Void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law. Winners will be solely responsible for all taxes and expenses related to the contest.
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Rules X

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER THE PROMOTION

1. Promotion Period: The #MyGivingStory 2017 Contest & Sweepstakes (the "Promotion") starts at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET") on November 1, 2017 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on November 30, 2017 ("Promotion Period").

2. Eligibility: Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, who are 13 years of age and older as of date of Entry. Employees of 92Y, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (the "Sponsor"), Votigo, Inc. (the “Administrator”), their respective affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, divisions, suppliers, distributors and advertising, promotional and judging agencies (collectively "Promotion Parties") and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible to participate or win. Void where prohibited and subject to all federal, state and local laws. For the Contest, Entry is made on behalf of a qualified, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (the "Nonprofit") named on the entry form. Entrants are providing a Contest Entry on behalf of the Nonprofit. The Contest Prizes and the Sweepstakes Grand Prizes (as defined below) will only be awarded to a Nonprofit in good standing both at the time of entry and at the awarding of prizes.

3. How to Enter: During the Promotion Period, visit http://mygivingstory.givingtuesday.org/ (the "Website") and follow the instructions to complete all required fields of the on-screen registration form to receive one (1) entry into the Sweepstakes and one (1) entry into the Contest (the "Entry"). Limit one (1) Entry per person/email address throughout the Promotion Period.

Bonus Sweepstakes Entries: Upon completion of your Entry, entrants may, using a unique referral URL invite friends to the Website to enter the Promotion and receive one additional Sweepstakes Entry for each friend invited that subsequently enters the Promotion ("Bonus Entries"). Limit of twenty (20) Bonus Entries per entrant.

Entrants must pay normal Internet access and data usage charges that may be imposed by their online or mobile service providers. Automated Entries are prohibited, and any use of such automated devices will cause disqualification. Multiple online Entries from the same person/email address or the same person using different email addresses are not permitted and will be automatically eliminated. Incomplete, incorrect, corrupted, or untimely Entries are void and will be disqualified. All Entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned, and Sponsor will not verify receipt of Entries.

By submitting your Entry, you agree that your Entry conforms to the Entry Guidelines and Content Restrictions listed below (collectively, the “Guidelines and Restrictions”) and that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may remove your Entry and disqualify you from the Contest if it believes, in its sole discretion, your Entry fails to conform to the Guidelines and Restrictions. By submitting your Entry, in addition to rights granted below, you: (a) hereby waive any so-called moral (e.g., creative rights) in your Entry; (b) represent and warrant that you have the right to grant the rights granted in these Official Rules; and (c) represent and warrant that your Entry and its use as contemplated in these Official Rules does not and will not violate, misappropriate, or infringe upon any law or regulation or the rights of any third party, including any copyright, trademark, or any rights of publicity or privacy, or any other intellectual property or proprietary rights.

4. Entry Guidelines and Content Restrictions:

Entry Guidelines:

Content Restrictions: Entries may not contain or reflect any of the following:

5. Prize and Approximate Retail Value ("ARV"):

Contest Prizes: Contest Grand Prize (2): US$10,000 The ARV of the Grand Prize is US$10,000. Contest First Prize (2): US$5,000. The ARV of the First Prize is US$5,000. Contest Second Prize (2): US$2,000 The ARV of the Second Prize is US$5,000. Contest Excellence in Spanish Prize (2): US$1,500. The ARV of the Excellence in Spanish Prize is US$1,500. Contest Most Nominated Nonprofit Prize (4): US$2,000. The ARV of the Most Nominated Nonprofit Prize is US$2,000.

Sweepstakes Prizes: Sweepstakes Grand Prize (8): US$500. The ARV of the Sweepstakes Grand Prize is US$500. Sweepstakes First Prize (30): T-shirt. The ARV of the Sweepstakes First Prize is $20

All monetary prizes will be awarded in the form of a check.

6. Winner Determination:

Contest Winner Determination:
Public Voting to Select the Contest Finalists: Beginning November 1, 2017 at 12:01 a.m. ET and ending December 7, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. ET (the "Voting Period") all legal US residents residing in the 50 United States and District of Columbia who are at least 13 years of age or older at the time of voting will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite Contest Entry by visiting the Website and following the on-screen instructions to register and vote for an Entry. Limit, one (1) vote per person, per entry per day. Sponsor reserves the right to nullify any votes made through use of robotic, macro, automatic, programmed, proxy votes or like voting methods and to disqualify from voting the responsible individual, in Sponsor's sole discretion. Any attempt by any voter to vote more than the number of times authorized herein using multiple/different names, email addresses, identities, and/or any other fraudulent mechanism or method, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, shall give Sponsor the right to void those votes and disqualify that voter. Entrants / Nonprofits and their family/friends and officials are prohibited from obtaining votes by any inappropriate means, including, but not limited to, offering prizes or other inducements to members of public, paying a third-party service to vote for or obtain votes for a particular Entry, collaborating with other individuals or groups to trade votes, or otherwise acting in contravention of these Official Rules, as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion, and Sponsor reserves the right to nullify any such votes, and to disqualify the responsible Entrant and his/her Entry from the Contest. Votes sent from foreign IP addresses may be disqualified, in Sponsor's sole discretion. At the end of the Voting Period, the fifteen (15) Video Entries with the most votes and the fifteen (15) Essay Entries with the most votes will be deemed the potential Contest Finalists, subject to verification (the "Potential Contest Finalist"). In the event of a tie, the tied Entry that received the most votes between December 1, 2017 at 12:01 a.m. ET and December 7, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. ET will be determined the Potential Contest Finalist.

Judging to Select the Contest Winners: At the end of the Voting Period, all eligible Entries will be judged by a panel of judges selected by Sponsor based on the following judging criteria: Originality / Creativity (50%), Relevance to the Contest Theme (25%) and Quality (25%) (the "Judging Criteria"). The two (2) Entries with the highest total score based on the Judging Criteria will be deemed the Contest First Prize winners pending verification. The two (2) Entries with the third and fourth highest total score based on the Judging Criteria will be deemed the Contest Second Prize winners pending verification. The two (2) Entries with the fifth and sixth highest total score based on the Judging Criteria will be deemed the Contest Third Prize winners pending verification. The two (2) Spanish language Entries with the highest total score based on the Judging Criteria will be deemed a Contest Excellence in Spanish Prize winner. The four (4) Nonprofits who were nominated the most times throughout the Promotion period will be deemed a Contest Most Nominated Nonprofit Prize winner. In the event of a tie, a tiebreaker will be based on the highest score for Originality / Creativity. If still tied, the Entries with the tied score will be reviewed head-to-head by the judges until a finalist is selected. Limit one Contest Prize per Entry/Nonprofit.

Sweepstakes Winner Determination: Eight (8) Sweepstakes Grand Prize Winners will be selected in random drawings on the following dates throughout the Promotion Period: 11/6/17, 11/9/17, 11/13/17, 11/16/17, 11/20/17, 11/23/17, 11/27/17 and 11/30/17. Random drawings will be conducted from among all eligible Sweepstakes Entries received by 11:59 p.m. ET the day prior to the selection date. Thirty (30) Sweepstakes First Prize Winners will be selected in thirty (30), random, daily drawings from among all eligible Entries received by 11:59 p.m. ET the day prior to the drawing. Drawing will be conducted by the Administrator, an independent judging organization whose decisions are final on all matters relating to this Sweepstakes.

7. Winner Notification: Potential winners will be notified by email/phone on or about December 8, 2017 by the Sponsor. All Contest Winners will be required to sign and return via email, an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity release within seven (7) days of notification attempt or status of potential winner will be forfeited. Return of prize notification will result in disqualification and prize will be forfeited. Acceptance of prize constitutes permission for Promotion Parties to use winner’s name, Entry, picture, and likeness for promotional purposes in any and all media throughout the Universe in perpetuity without further compensation except where prohibited by law. Odds of winning the prize are dependent upon the number of eligible Entries received throughout the Promotion Period.

8. General Rules: By participating in this Promotion, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and instructions and by all decisions of the Promotion Parties, which are final and legally binding in all matters relating to this Promotion. By participating, entrants and winner agree to release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless the Promotion Parties from and against any claims, damages, or liability due to any damages, or losses or injuries to any person (including death) or property of any kind resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of prize (if applicable) or participation in any Promotion-related activity or participation in this Promotion. Entrants further agree not to pursue any right, claim or action against the Promotion Parties in connection with their participation in this Promotion. No responsibility is assumed for lost, misdirected or late Entries. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of an entrant, the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter will be deemed to be the entrant. An “authorized account holder” of an email address is the natural person in whose name the email address has been issued by the Internet Access provider for that email. Sponsor 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 Promotion or Website; violates the Official Rules; or acts in a disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROMOTION IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. Promotion Parties are not responsible for technical, hardware or software malfunctions, telephone failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incorrect, inaccurate, incomplete, garbled or delayed electronic communications whether caused by the sender or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Promotion which may limit the ability of an individual to participate in or accept a prize in the Promotion, or by any human error which may occur in the processing of the Entries in this Promotion. Promotion Parties are not responsible for any typographical error in the printing of these Official Rules, administration of the Promotion or in the announcement of the Promotion Grand Prize. Promotion Parties are not responsible for damages to user’s system occasioned by participating in the Promotion or downloading any information to participate in the Promotion. If, for any reason, the Promotion is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Promotion, then the Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel the Promotion and select the winners from among all eligible Entries received prior to cancellation.

9. Dispute Resolution: By entering this Promotion, entrants agree that 1) Any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Promotion or the prize shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; 2) Any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, and shall not include any punitive, consequential or other damages, including costs associated with entering the Promotion but in no event include attorneys' fees; and 3) Under no circumstances will any entrant be permitted to obtain any award for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental or consequential damages and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All dispute resolution shall be made by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. These Official Rules shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the state of New York without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the state of New York. Any legal proceedings arising out of this Promotion or relating to these Official Rules shall be instituted only in the federal or state courts located in the state of New York, and the parties consent to jurisdiction therein with respect to any legal proceedings or disputes of whatever nature arising under or relating to these Official Rules.

10. Privacy Policy: Entrants' personal details may be used by Sponsor in accordance with their privacy policy located at https://www.92y.org/privacy-security-statement.aspx

11. Winner List: For a list of winners, email support@votigo.com with the subject "MyGivingStory Winners" after January 15, 2018.

12. Sponsor/Administrator: The Sponsor of the Promotion is 92Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10128. The Administrator of the Promotion is Votigo, Inc., 1630 30th St., STE A #593, Boulder, CO 80301.

FAQ X
Who should enter this contest?
Men and women. Anyone 13 years and older, youth, adults, seniors, and young-at-heart. English-speakers. Spanish-speakers. You!
How do I participate? What is the timeline for the #MyGivingStory Contest?
NOVEMBER 1, 2017 at 12:01am EST: CONTEST OPENS

Between November 1 and November 30, 2017: SUBMIT your story
1. Submit your written story with an optional image
OR
2. Submit your story as a video

After submitting your story, SHARE your story on social media and invite your network to vote between November 1 and November 30, 2017. Be sure to hashtag your posts with #MyGivingStory. The more you share, the more votes you will get, and the more likely you'll win.

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 at 11:59pm EST END OF STORY SUBMISSION PERIOD.

Voting will remain open for one additional week:
DECEMBER 7, 2017 at 11:59pm EST END OF VOTING PERIOD.

As of 11:59pm EST on December 7, the 30 entries with the most votes will be sent to a panel of judges to select the winners.

December
The 30 Finalists will be announced
Finalists will be judged
Winners will be announced
What kind of story should I write?
Respond to the prompt in a way that is meaningful to you:

Every act of giving has a story. What is yours?

Your story can be about why you value giving of time, money, or skills and what difference giving and generosity have in the world. Here are a few ideas, but go ahead and be creative! Tell us what moves you!
  • Tell about why you think giving is important.
  • Tell about the first time you ever made a donation.
  • Tell about someone whose giving you admire.
  • Tell about a time when you saw a gift have a meaningful impact.
  • Tell about what motivates you to give.
  • And whatever creative story ideas you think of as you respond to the prompt.
What tips do you have for creating a winning entry?
We have some interesting learning from the past years:
  • Stories between 500-600 words (we ask for a minimum of 150 words) received the most votes.
  • Stories that were a polished, thoughtful, and complete narrative resulted in higher engagement and overall story success.
  • The stories that were most popular were those that generally followed Greek and Shakespearean drama – which contains five key components: the exposition (setting the stage), rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
  • Adding an image and/or video substantially improved votes.
  • Entries that include photos or video were found to have higher engagement than those without. However, images featuring an organizational logo as the primary visual did not work as well as those with photos.
  • Have fun with it and make it creative and joyful!!
Get inspired by past winners' stories on the "Past Winners" tab above.

You can also visit www.givingtuesday.org/mygivingstory for regular updates and more tips about the contest.

Follow #GivingTuesday on social media to get updates and hear about the contest. Hashtag your posts with #MyGivingStory
What other tips make it more likely for my entry to win?
Enter as early in November as you can.

Get Votes! Promote your story through social media and motivate your networks to vote for your entry at www.givingtuesday.org/mygivingstory for ideas about how to do that. Remember, the 30 entries with the most votes (15 written entries and 15 video entries) become the finalists and go to the judges. The judges will select the Winners.

Tell your Chosen Non-Profit organization about your story and that you named them as the recipient. Ask them to help motivate their followers to vote for your story.
What are the prizes?
There are several streams of prizes:

The Winners are those that receive the most votes and then are selected by judges as Winners. The winners are able to direct financial grants to their chosen non-profit organization. (See below for information about choosing a non-profit charity to be the recipient.)
2 First Place Winners: $10,000 each
2 Second Place Winners: $5,000 each
2 Third Place Winners: $2,500 each
2 Excellence in Spanish Prizes: $1,500 each

The Award for the "Most Chosen" Charities
4 "Most Chosen" Prizes for the non-profit organizations named by Entrants as the recipient of the grant should their entry win (Entrants chose their intended recipient at the time of submission): $2,000 each.
NOTE: This will not impact their eligibility to be a Finalist or Winner of one of the large prizes.

Sweepstakes Awards
8 times throughout the month (2 times per week), a random entry will be selected and their chosen charity will receive a $500 grant.
NOTE: This will not impact their eligibility to be a Finalist or Winner of one of the large prizes.

Every day during the contest, Nov 1 - Nov 30, one random entry (30 total) will be selected to receive a free T-shirt.
What non-profit organization should I choose on my submission?
For a chosen charity to receive the grant, it must be officially recognized as a 501c3 not-for-profit organization or working with a fiscal sponsor with that 501c3 status. Other than that, we encourage you to choose one whose work and impact is meaningful to you. It can be related to your story or can be unrelated.

We recommend you tell your chosen organization that you named them as the potential recipient of a grant. Share your Story with them, too. They can help you spread the word and generate votes for your story.
How will I know if I win?
Finalists will be announced through the website and social media on December 8, and then highlighted throughout the following weeks.

The Prize Winners will be announced on social media in mid-December.

We will also email you directly at the email you use for registration.

Sweepstakes winners will be notified via email.
Does my story have to relate to the nonprofit I choose to support?
Not at all! Your story can be about giving in any form at any time. What inspires you to give? The writer may choose any nonprofit to receive the grant should their story win a prize in the contest.
Can I submit my own nonprofit and share why I began it?
Absolutely! We look forward to hearing it!
I am going to enter a story about someone else who has given many years of his life giving back. Do I need to put my information in the contact information or his?
What a beautiful idea! You should go ahead and put yours since you are the writer of the story.
Do the "Mi Cuento de Dar" Spanish-language entries have to benefit Spanish-speaking organizations?
Not at all! In English or Spanish entries, the writer may choose any nonprofit to receive the grant should their story win a prize in the contest. We simply welcome stories in both languages.
SUBMITTING YOUR STORY
I’m having trouble uploading my video or photo. What should I do?
Oh dear! Thank you for trying!

First, check that your video or photo size is within the limits of what we are able to accept:

  • Photos must be no larger than 20MB and in one of the following formats: .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png.
  • Videos must be in one of the following formats: AVI, MOV, WMV, MP4, MPEG, FLV, 3GP, and 3G2; must be under 100 MB and under 5 minutes.

Next, check your internet connection. Are you able to access and update web pages and other online content?

Finally, try from a different computer. Many workplaces have size limits on transferring files, even if they are within the limits of the contest. Several people have solved this problem by submitting from their non-work computers.

If you are still having trouble, email us at mygivingstory@givingtuesday.org.
I submitted a story a few days ago and I can't find it in the Gallery of Stories. Are you able to confirm that you received it? Or shall I re-submit it?
If you did not receive an automatic email confirmation, it probably did not come through. If you cannot find your submission in the online gallery, it probably did not come through. The stories appear almost instantly. We would love to have you participate, so if you are willing to submit again, please do. If you still have trouble, email us.
EDITING YOUR STORY
Can I edit my story after I submitted it?
Once you submit your story, unfortunately, there is no way for you to make edits. If you send us the edits at mygivingstory@givingtuesday.org, we will do our best to get it updated from the back end.
My story was submitted for me before I was finished. Can I edit/update my unfinished story?
There are two options:

  • Take down the one that was submitted and you can resubmit.
  • You email us the new text and we’ll update it from the back end. (Although we can't change pictures, only text).

Email us at mygivingstory@givingtuesday.org and we will respond as quickly as possible.
How can I add a picture / photo or video to my story after I have submitted it?
As for adding a photo or video, we are not able to do that after you hit submit. The only option is to take down your original submission and have you re-submit it with the photo (or video). If we do that, your entry would lose any votes that have already been received. Email us at mygivingstory@givingtuesday.org if you would like to do this.
Can I delete my entry?
We will delete it for you. Email at mygivingstory@givingtuesday.org and tell us which story it is -- the email you used to submit it or the title of your submission. And we are always curious to understand why you decided to delete it.
How can I have a different screenshot from my video?
Unfortunately, you can’t. The moment, or screenshot, from your video that will be displayed in the Gallery of Stories is taken from a few seconds into the video. It is the same for all entries.
VOTING AND THE GALLERY OF STORIES
How will the stories be ordered in the gallery?
The order of display is random and rotates regularly and for each visitor. If you want people to be able to go directly to your story, you can share the link that that goes directly to your story, or you could ask them to use the search bar just above the gallery to find the title of your story.
How does someone vote for my story? How does someone vote for their favorite story?
To vote, people can go to the online Gallery of Stories (http://mygivingstory.givingtuesday.org), click on the story they like, and simply click the green "Vote" box on any particular story. If you have shared the link to your particular story (see below for how to find that link), it will take them directly to the pop up window with your story and they click on the “Vote” box.
I want to vote for an organization I know. How do I find it in the gallery of stories?
You can find a particular story, or organization, or even an issue you care about, if you enter what you are looking for in the search bar. You should be able to find it. This isn’t a perfect system, because it depends on what the entrant put into their story. If you still can’t find what you are looking for, email us at mygivingstory@givingtuesday.org.

Once there, please do read through and vote for all the stories you like. You can vote for as many as you like and come back every day and vote again. To Vote, look in the upper right corner of any story and click on VOTE!
How often can someone vote?
Each voter can vote for as many stories as they would like, and can come back each day and vote for more or vote again for the same ones. The only limit is that each voter can vote for any particular story only once per day.
The system is telling me that I already voted, but I didn’t today. What should I do?
Are you sharing a computer? If so, you will need to select the logout button on the top right of the homepage each time.
Why do people have to give their emails to vote?
The email registration to vote is a way for us to validate votes and be sure it is not a robot somewhere voting a million times for one story. We do value everyone's privacy. We will not sell these emails or use them for any unrelated purposes. It is possible that we would send an email at some point to all the voters to say thank you and to encourage them to share their favorite stories on social media.
How do I find a link to my story so my friends can vote?
To get voters, you can share the link to your particular story and if they go there, your story will pop up. The link to your particular story should have been given in your confirmation email. Also, you can always find this link this way:
Going to the contest page online http://mygivingstory.givingtuesday.org/
Scroll down to the Gallery of Stories
Search in the search field or scroll and click on a story to open up its pop up window to read the story
Click on the "Share" button in the upper right corner
Click on the arrow icon
The unique link for your story will appear.

Share that link on social media, emails, and your web site.
Note: people can also vote for your story without this direct link if they go to the online Gallery of Stories and browse or search for your story in the search bar.
Is there a way to see how many votes my story has received?
The number of votes is not available to see. An update was sent in an email to all entrants as of Nov 15, 2017. As of then, to be in the top 30 most voted stories, a story needed at least 328 votes. Three stories had received over 1,000 votes.

As you are thinking about voting, you might want to consider that most votes are generated by people sharing their stories via their own social media networks, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and emails, and asking their network to share it, too.

Also, remember that the same people can come back every day and vote -- and each voter can vote for as many stories as he/she would like.
RECRUITING OTHERS TO TELL THEIR STORIES
What link do I use to recruit others to share their stories? How is it credited as someone I recruited?
To recruit friends and family to share their stories (note: their story can be about whatever they want, it does not have to be similar to yours nor must they choose the same organization), share with them the unique link to your story (see above for how to find that link). If they use that link, then close the pop up box with your story, and then click on "Submit Here" to submit their own story, you will be credited with recruiting them.

If you recruit 3 other storytellers (no matter what the content of their story), we would be happy to share your story across the GivingTuesday social media platforms and blog.
Do the stories I recruit have to be benefitting the same nonprofit organization for them to count towards my 3 recruits? (If you recruit 3 people to also share their story, we will share your story across the GivingTuesday social media channels.)
Thank you for recruiting additional stories. When we set up the incentive, our goal was to hear as many stories as possible and to help friends talk about their stories with each other. We did not mean that they all have to be for the same organization, they could be just friends recruiting friends to tell their own stories. If they are all for the same organization, that still counts.
QUESTIONS FROM ORGANIZATIONS
If someone wants to name our organization as the recipient of a prize, is there anything we need to do as an organization to be eligible for that?
Nope! Before receiving the grant, we will ask for proof of 501c3 status and a W-9, but otherwise, nothing to do now except recruit stories, share them, soak up the love, and vote!
If my organization wins at any point during the contest, how do you know how to contact us?
Such a great question! So far, we have emailed the storyteller (who gives their email when they enter) and then googled the organization and looked for an appropriate contact on their website and emailed them. Between those two contacts, we have found the right person. We also tweet about it and tag the organization when we can find the organization’s twitter handle. If none of that works, we will pick up the phone and call.
How can my organization win the most popular non-profit award?
The key is that the organization is "chosen" as the organization to receive the grant should a particular story win. Storytellers name their chosen organization when they submit their story. Just to be clear, the story itself is not required to be about the organization that would receive the grant. Someone could write about how they saw their parent/neighbor/friend always giving back, and that is why they want to give back. They wouldn't have to mention an organization at all in their story. They simply need to choose the organization as the nonprofit they would choose to receive any prize grants. The number it will take to win those awards will depend on the number of stories that are submitted and the organizations that are named.
Which of the stories submitted about my organization is the one eligible for the grand prizes?
All submissions / all stories are eligible for the grand prizes (two for $10,000, and also two for $5,000, and also two for $2,500). Each story is counted as a separate entry and its votes count for itself. The 30 stories with the most votes as of Dec 7 will be sent to the judges. The voting system allows voters to vote for as many stories as they would like and to come back and vote every day.
ABOUT #MYGIVINGSTORY
Where does the prize money come from?
The prize money is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The actual award checks will be written from 92nd Street Y. The #MyGivingStory campaign was created in a partnership between these two organizations and in conjunction with #GivingTuesday.
What if I have ideas or suggestions about #MyGivingStory?
Don’t hesitate to email us at mygivingstory@givingtuesday.org!
What if this FAQ didn't answer my question?
Email us at mygivingstory@givingtuesday.org
Enter Now: X