Rules and Regulations

Section I – General Rules

From September 11, 2024 through May 18, 2025 (the “Contest Period”), the Bill of Rights Institute will conduct a contest in the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia; the U.S. Territories; and American Armed Forces Schools Abroad, for projects focused on civic engagement (the “Contest”). To enter, eligible students (see Section II for eligibility requirements) must log on to the Contest website and submit an entry that follows the Submission Guidelines as detailed in Section III. As further detailed in Section VII, entrants agree to accept and be bound by all terms of these Official Rules and Regulations and to accept and be bound by the decisions of the Bill of Rights Institute, whose decisions are final with respect to all matters of the Contest. Entries may be submitted by individual students or by groups of up to five students. Only one entry per student or group is permitted. Students must submit the name and contact information of a supporting teacher if the teacher wishes to be considered for a teacher prize. For the purposes of this contest, the term “teacher” can include schoolteachers, as well as adult mentors such as leaders in youth organizations or homeschool parents. Only one teacher may be associated with each entry. Only submissions entered through MyImpact Challenge’s online portal will be accepted for the contest. Entries that are mailed or e-mailed will not be accepted. Entries that are incomplete, are submitted late, do not answer all required questions, contain information other than as requested, or otherwise do not comply with these Official Rules and Regulations will not be accepted. By entering the Contest, entrants agree that the Bill of Rights Institute will own and administer 100% of the copyright in all entries submitted, with the perpetual right to use such entries and that said entries are solely the work of the entrant(s) submitting an entry. The Bill of Rights Institute may edit for grammar, modify for style only, and distribute the submitted entries, without any requirement of additional notification to or permission from the entrant. Entries will only be used to further the educational mission and goals of the Bill of Rights Institute (please see Section VI for a Privacy Statement).

Section II – Eligibility

The Contest is open to all United States citizens or legal residents who are students who are no older than 19 and no younger than 13 as of January 1, 2025 who attend school in the United States, one of its territories or districts, or an American Armed Forces School Abroad, and (1) who are in grades 7 -12 attending public, private, religious, or charter schools, or (2) are enrolled in a GED or correspondence school program, or (3) are attending a home school program. Students may enter as individuals or in groups of up to five people.

The contest is not open to students who have graduated high school or received a GED before January 1, 2025, regardless of age.

Past winners of the MyImpact Challenge Grand Prize, First Prize, Second Prize, or Third Prize are not eligible to enter.

Eligibility for teacher prizes is open to all United States citizens or legal residents who are older than 18 beginning of the Contest Period and are professional schoolteachers, teach youth classes as volunteers, lead groups in youth organizations, are parents of homeschooled students, or similarly mentor one or more students entering the contest and are designated as the “teacher” on the student(s)’ entry. Determination of whether an adult meets the criteria to receive a teacher prize is at the sole discretion of the Bill of Rights Institute.

Section III – Submission Guidelines

Each submission must include the following:

1. An essay of up to 1,200 words expressing how the student or group’s project furthers:
   1. At least one Civic Virtue as defined in the Bill of Rights Institute’s “Principles and Virtues.”
   2. At least one of Founding Principle as defined in the Bill of Rights Institute’s “Principles and Virtues.”
2. A report of up to 2,000 words detailing a student or group’s completed or in-progress civic engagement project. Per the Contest’s judging rubric, this report must include the following components.
   1. The inspiration for the project.
   2. Details of the project’s planning and execution.
   3. At least two examples of the project’s actual impact on the community.
   4. How the student(s) grew in understanding of the role of Civic Virtue, knowledge of their communities, and their ability to support or impact them.
3. Visual documentation of the student or group’s project and its results in one of the following formats:
   1. Photographic Only: No fewer than seven and no more than ten high-resolution still photographs, submitted in either JPEG or PNG format.
   2. Video Only: One video of no more than five minutes, submitted in MP4 format
   3. Mixed Photographic and Video: No fewer than five and no more than seven high-resolution still photographs as well as one video of no more than two minutes. Photographs must be in either JPEG or PNG format, and video must be in MP4 format.

Qualifying service projects must have taken place between May 20, 2024 and May 18, 2025. Multi-year projects started before May 20, 2024 are eligible for entry if their activity continued after May 20, 2024. Projects that are ongoing as of May 18, 2025 are eligible for entry. Projects completed before May 20, 2024 are not eligible for entry.

Each submission must adhere to all the submission requirements above and answer each question and all sub-parts. Each submission must adhere to the word limits for each question and must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PT on May 18, 2025. Only online submissions will be accepted for the contest. Only one submission per student or group of students will be accepted.

Section IV – Judging and Timing

After the Contest Period, the judges selected by the Bill of Rights Institute will review eligible entries according to the Contest grading criteria and adherence to the Submission Guidelines (as stated in Section III). Based upon the scores assigned by the judges, top entries will be advanced to successive rounds of evaluation using the same criteria.

Entrants advancing to the final round will then be video-interviewed by a panel selected by the Bill of Rights Institute, who will select final prize winners based on a combination of the interview and the submission packet.

Winners will be announced on the contest site on or before July 7, 2025. The Bill of Rights Institute reserves the right in their sole administration of the Contest to disqualify any individual they find or believe to: (i) be tampering with the entry process or the administration of the Contest, (ii) be acting in violation of these Official Rules and Regulations, or (iii) plagiarizing content in any form. The selection of the judges is within the sole and absolute discretion of the Bill of Rights Institute. Judges who are selected by the Bill of Rights Institute will not be allowed to judge any entry which they are directly connected as a parent, teacher, or official of a school or district.

Section V – Awards

Prize winners will be announced on the contest site on or before July 7, 2025. Prize winners must provide publicity photos and information as well as completed W9 forms and direct deposit information in order to receive prize money. Information such as Social Security and bank account numbers are requested from winners only for tax purposes or to enable the deposit of winnings. The Bill of Rights Institute does not sell, nor use student Social Security numbers or other personal information for any reason other than the required reporting for Federal tax purposes and the purpose of depositing payments. Student winners will receive the following prizes based upon the judges’ evaluations as outlined in Section IV. Teacher prizes shall be awarded based upon the criteria below. Prizes awarded to groups of students will be split evenly between entrants.

Cash prizes for Students in the Contest:

Student Grand Prize – one at $10,000 Student First Prize – one at $7,500 Student Second Prize – one at $5,000 Student Third Prize – one at $2,500 Honorable Mention – six at $1,500 each

Teacher Grand Prize – one at $500, awarded to the teacher sponsoring the student winner of the Student Grand Prize Teacher Support Prize – one at $500, awarded to the teacher sponsoring the greatest number of valid Contest entries Teacher Submission Prize – Up to twenty at $250 each (only one prize per teacher) awarded to teachers who support the highest number of valid entries, with a minimum of three valid entries required to win a prize.

Prizes will be awarded within three (3) months of the close of the Contest. Prizes not claimed within 180 days of the check date, or the end of the Contest will be void. The Bill of Rights Institute will make commercially reasonable efforts to deposit prizes in winners’ bank accounts and is not responsible for incorrect information provided by the contestant. All entrants are solely responsible for understanding and complying with any and all federal, state, and local laws, codes, regulations, and ordinances that may apply to the entrants and the activities or business in which such entrants may engage. There may be tax consequences associated with the prizes and income received by a Contest winner, which may include, without limitation, an obligation to report as income and to pay taxes on such income to federal, state, or local authorities. Each Contest winner is responsible to determine the tax consequences of the income received and to comply with all applicable laws in all respects. All prize-winning teachers are solely responsible for understanding and complying with any and all federal, state, and local laws, codes, regulations, and ordinances, as well as school policies that may apply.

Section VI – Privacy Statement

Upon submission of an entry, the submission (including any and all intellectual property rights therein) becomes the property of the Bill of Rights Institute. By entering the Contest, entrants (including those submitting as part of a group) each grant the Bill of Rights Institute an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide and royalty-free right, unless prohibited by law, to use their respective names, cities and states of residence, pictures, and likenesses without compensation and without any requirement of notification or permission, for the express purpose of advertising and publicity of the Bill of Rights Institute and the Contest in any and all media, now or after. Entrants also grant the Bill of Rights Institute permission to use their name(s) and entry(ies) to further its educational mission as stated here. The Privacy Policy of the Bill of Rights Institute also applies to this Contest. The Privacy Policy can be found here.