Next 10’s Budget Quiz Official Rules

1.  HOW TO ENTER.  Online entries only.  Only one submission per natural person.  Go to www.next10.org and answer as many questions as you can in Sponsor’s budget survey questionnaire, including the tie-breaking question (“Tie-Breaking Question”).  Complete the entry form in its entirety, including your full name and a valid e-mail address, and submit your answers according to the directions on the screen (the “Submission”).  Submissions must be received no later than the end of the Contest Period according to Sponsor’s time.  No attempts to deliver Submissions by hand, regular mail, e-mail, or by any other method will be accepted. Sponsor is not responsible for any problems, bugs, or malfunctions Contestants may encounter when submitting their Submissions.  Only complete valid entries will be accepted.  Late, incomplete, garbled, corrupted, or otherwise illegible Submissions are void and will not be accepted.  Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify false Submissions or Submissions suspected of being false.  Sponsor will not verify receipt of entries.  All Submissions become the sole property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.  In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a winner, the winner will be deemed to be the person in whose name the e-mail account governing the e-mail address was opened.  A Contestant may not enter with multiple identities or use any automated system, bot, or other device or artifice to enter or obtain more than the maximum number of qualified entries.

2.  JUDGING AND NOTIFICATION.  Judging will be completed in up to three (3) rounds, in order to select one (1) potential winner (“Selected Contestant”).  In the event of a tie, Sponsor may conduct additional rounds of judging, as provided in this section, in order to determine the Selected Contestant.  All Submissions will be prescreened to ensure they comply with the Official Rules and meet with Sponsor’s general standards and practices prior to any judging (“Qualified Submissions”).

Round One.  All Qualified Submissions will be scored and, in case of a tie, reviewed by one or more qualified judge(s).  The Qualified Submissions that have all correct answers after the First Round will be deemed Semi-Finalists (collectively, the “Semi-Finalists”).  If no Contestant answered all questions correctly, the Qualified Submissions with the next highest number of correct answers will be deemed Semi-Finalists.  If only one (1) Contestant answered all questions correctly or had the highest number of correct answers (meaning there is no tie), s/he will be deemed the Selected Contestant, and there will be no need for tie-breaking rounds. 

Tie-Breaking Round.  All Semi-Finalist Submissions will be judged to determine who answered the Tie-Breaking Question in the Contest correctly or gave an answer that is the  closest to the correct response.  If one (1) Semi-Finalist answered the Tie-Breaking Question correctly or came the closest, s/he will be deemed the Selected Contestant, and there will be no need for further tie-breaking rounds. 

Additional Tie-Breaking Round.  If two or more Semi-Finalists answered the Tie-Breaking Question correctly or gave the same answer that was the closest to the correct response (the “Finalists”), Sponsor may contact each Finalist at the e-mail address provided in the Contest entry form and either:  (i) ask each Finalist one or more tie-breaking questions by e-mail, or (ii) request a phone number at which Sponsor may contact each Finalist to ask one or more tie-breaking questions orally, until one (1) Selected Contestant is determined.  The failure to respond timely to Sponsor’s notification(s) within 72 hours thereof, or to timely submit to additional tie-breaking rounds by e-mail or, as requested, by telephone, may result in disqualification or forfeiture of the Prize, and, in such case, Sponsor may choose the next highest scoring entry from among the remaining eligible Submissions.

Notification of Selected Contestants.  Sponsor will notify the Selected Contestant(s) by e-mail and/or telephone in its discretion.  Each Selected Contestant will be required to respond (as directed) to Sponsor’s notification (“Notification”) within 72 hours of attempted notification.  A failure to respond timely to the Notification may result in forfeiture of the Prize; and, in such case, Sponsor may choose the next highest scoring Submission from among the remaining eligible Submissions.  Each Selected Contestant may also be sent an affidavit of eligibility / liability / publicity release (“Release”).  Unless restricted by law, each Selected Contestant will be required to complete and return the Release within the time period specified therein.  Prize may be forfeited if the Selected Entrant:  (i) cannot be reached; (ii) does not respond to the Notification within the time provided herein; (iii) fails to obtain all signatures on the Release and to return the documents in a timely manner as required pursuant to these Official Rules; or (iv) cannot accept or receive the Prize for any reason.  Non-compliance with these Official Rules may result in disqualification.  Each Selected Contestant’s full name, hometown, and Submission may be announced and posted by Sponsor, at http://www.next10.org or in related website(s) (including, without limitation, on its Facebook and Twitter pages) and in its other publications.

3.  PRIZE.  One (1) prepaid Visa gift card with a balance of $100.  Approximate Retail Value of Grand Prize (“ARV”):  $100.00.  Gift card subject to the card issuer’s terms and conditions.  Any difference between actual value and actual retail value will not be awarded.  No transfer or cash or other substitution of Prizes allowed except by Sponsor, who may substitute a prize or prize component of comparable or greater value at Sponsor’s discretion.  All Contest Submissions are subject to verification prior to awarding of any prize.  Prize shall only be mailed in the United States.  Sponsor not responsible for lost or delayed Prize.  Limit one (1) prize per person and household. 

4.  CONTEST CONDITIONS.  The Contest is void outside the State of California and where prohibited or restricted by law, and is subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws.  By submitting a Submission, each Contestant agrees:  (i) to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor, which shall be final and binding; and (ii) to waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Contest or these Official Rules, except where prohibited by law.  Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the Selected Contestant, and Contestants may be issued an IRS Form 1099 for the ARV of any awarded Prize.  By submitting a Submission, each Contestant agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsor and Sponsor’s directors, employees, officers, licensees, licensors, and agents, and respective advertising and promotion entities and any person or entity associated with the production, judging, or administration of the Contest (collectively, the “Releasees”) from and against any and all rights, claims, and causes of action whatsoever that they may have, or which may arise, against any of them for any liability for any matter, cause, or thing whatsoever, including but not limited to any injury, loss, damage, whether direct, compensatory, incidental, or consequential, to person, including death, and property, arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from his or her acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of the Prize, or his or her participation in the Contest.  Each Selected Contestant also further acknowledges that Releasees have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation, or guarantee, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any Prize or the Contest.  Use of Prize may be subject to rules and conditions set by third parties, or agreements between a Selected Contestant and third parties, which may restrict a Selected Contestant’s use of Prize, and Releasees shall not be liable for any such restriction.  All warranties are hereby disclaimed, and the Selected Contestant will accept the Prize “as is.”  Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Contestant it finds to be violating these Official Rules.  Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or suspend the Contest, in its sole discretion, should it receive fewer than 30 entries or due to circumstances beyond its control, including natural disasters.  Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, cancel, modify, or suspend the Contest should a virus, bug, computer problem, unauthorized intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control, corrupt the administration, security, or proper play of the Contest.  Sponsor may prohibit a Contestant from participating in the Contest or winning a Prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines such Contestant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, engaging in any deception or any other unfair playing practices, or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten, undermine, or harass any other players or Sponsor representatives, including use of any automated system, bot, or other device or artifice.  Disputes regarding these Official Rules and/or this Contest will be governed by the internal laws of the State of California.  CAUTION:  ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST.  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.  Releasees shall not be liable to any Selected Contestant for failure to supply any Prize, or any part thereof, by reason of any acts of God, any action(s), regulation(s), order(s), or request(s) by any governmental or quasi-governmental entity (whether or not the action(s), regulations(s), order(s), or request(s) prove(s) to be invalid), equipment failure, threatened terrorist acts, terrorist acts, air raid, blackout, act of public enemy, earthquake, war (declared or undeclared), fire, flood, epidemic, explosion, unusually severe weather, hurricane, embargo, labor dispute or strike (whether legal or illegal), labor or material shortage, transportation interruption of any kind, work slow-down, civil disturbance, insurrection, riot, or any other similar or dissimilar cause beyond any of the Releasees’ control.  None of the Releasees shall be responsible for:  (a) lost, late, misdirected, undeliverable, incomplete, or indecipherable entries due to system errors or failures, or faulty transmissions or other telecommunications malfunctions and/or entries; (b) technical failures of any kind; (c) failures of any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; (d) unauthorized human and/or mechanical intervention in any part of the submission process or the Contest; (e) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; or (f) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from any Contestant’s participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any Prize.

5.  PUBLICITY.  Sponsor reserves the right to use the Submissions and each Selected Contestant’s full name and hometown for publicity purposes in connection with the Contest.  Each Selected Contestant understands and agrees that all or part of the Selected Contestant’s Submission may potentially be posted or published by Sponsor for purposes of promoting Sponsor or Sponsor’s programs, with or without credit to any Selected Contestant’s name.

6.  PRIVACY.  All personal information collected by Sponsor will be used for administration of the Contest and in accordance with Sponsor’s privacy policy.  Any questions regarding privacy matters should be directed to the address set out below.  Please refer to Sponsor’s privacy policy located at http://next10.org/next10/privacy.html for important information regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information by Sponsor.

7.  OFFICIAL RULES AND WINNERS’ LIST.  For a copy of these Official Rules or list of Selected Contestant(s), send your request in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:  Next 10, 300 Brannan Street, Suite 402, San Francisco, California 94107.  Request must be received by April 1, 2011.

© 2011 Next 10.