Rules

National Small Business Week 2012 Video Contest

Release

By submitting this video to SBA’s National Small Business Week 2012 video contest, I certify that I am the creator of and owner of the video, that the video is wholly original, and that it does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party.

I hereby grant the U.S. Small Business Administration a perpetual royalty-free license to copy, distribute, modify, display and perform publicly and otherwise use, and authorize others to use, my video for any educational purpose throughout the world and in any media.

I understand and agree that the work I submit will become the property of the U.S. Small Business Administration and will not be returned.

I agree to be liable for, and indemnify and hold harmless the Federal government against, all actions or claims, including but not limited to those for loss of or damage to property resulting from my fault, negligence, or wrongful act or omission.

I agree to assume any and all risks and waive any and all claims against the Federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from my participation in this prize contest, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.

I attest that neither I nor any member of my household is a party to litigation involving SBA, including administrative proceedings, or is a party to any protest before SBA regarding status as a women-owned small business, economically disadvantaged women-owned small business, service disabled veteran owned small business, small disadvantaged business, small business, or HUBZone small business.

I attest that all statements made in the video are true to the best of my knowledge.

I am at least eighteen (18) years of age and am competent to contract in my own name. I have read the Official Rules before entering this contest, and I fully understand the contents, meaning and impact of the Official Rules.

Contest Background

In celebration of National Small Business Week 2012, the U.S. Small Business Administration is looking for creative videos from small businesses that show how they have been assisted by an SBA program or service (counseling, training, guaranteed loans, government contracts, disaster recovery, etc.). The video contest will help showcase the amazing small businesses across the country that SBA works with on a regular basis. These businesses are creating jobs, pillars in their communities and developing the next big products that will help keep America competitive.

Contest Rules

Videos must be 2 minutes or less in length and produced in a high-resolution format.

Videos must be educational, not promotional in nature (i.e., a commercial for the small business’ products or services). Videos should tell a story.

Videos must mention how the small business used at least one SBA program or service.

Only one video may be submitted per business.

The video must be your own original creation and must not infringe on any third party rights. No copyrighted music, video, or images may be used in submissions to this contest without appropriate permission. Entrants are responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions. Videos previously developed for other organizations may be submitted. Videos must not have been previously produced for compensation, posted on any SBA page, or submitted to SBA prior to the contest.

Videos must not contain violence, profanity, sex, images of a prurient nature, or direct attacks on individuals or organizations. SBA will disqualify any entries it deems to contain offensive material.

Do not use the SBA seal or logo in your video.

Winners must provide a copy of the original video file to SBA. Winners will be contacted by email to provide the original video.

By submitting a video to this contest, you grant to SBA a perpetual royalty-free license to copy, distribute, modify, display and perform publicly and otherwise use, and authorize others to use, your video for any educational purpose throughout the world and in any media.

SBA reserves the right to make any video entered in the contest available to the general public from its respective web sites and social media pages and to distribute it to groups and any other organizations interested in showing it for educational purposes, including, but not limited to, Internet sites, conferences and events, on television, and other media outlets.

SBA reserves the right to not select a winner or post the video on Internet sites like YouTube, National Small Business Week and SBA.gov if none of the entries received are judged to be high quality based on the contest Rules and Eligibility requirements.

Eligibility

The contest is open to small businesses in the United States and its territories including, but not limited to, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam. Small businesses must meet SBA's size standards to be eligible and must have used at least one SBA program or service, including but not limited to:

SBA Loan Programs (7a, 504, Microloan, etc.)
SBA Contracting Programs or Certifications (8(a), HUBZone)
SBA Disaster Assistance
Participated in counseling or training with an SBA Resource Partner service such as SCORE, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), or U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEACs).
SBIC Portfolio Companies

Federal employees and their immediate families, current SBA contractors and SBA grant recipients may enter the contest but are not eligible to win. “Immediate family members” include spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren, whether as “in-laws”, or by current or past marriage, remarriage, adoption, co-habitation or other familial extension, and any other persons residing at the same household location, whether or not related.

The business owner(s) must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and at least 18 years old to enter and win.

How to Enter the Contest

Review all contest rules and eligibility requirements.

Create an original video, 2 minutes or less in high-resolution format.

Contest participants must answer the following questions within their video:

What is the name of your small business and where is it located (City/State)?
Which SBA program or service did you utilize?
What were you able to accomplish from the SBA program or service you utilized? For example, were you able to hire new employees, start your business, expand your operations, purchase equipment etc.?
What is the most rewarding part about starting or growing your small business?
How has the assistance benefited the local community?

Updated (5/11): The deadline to submit videos through Challenge.gov is extended to 5pm EDT on May 15, 2012.

All videos must be submitted through Challenge.gov by (5pm EDT on May 11, 2012 - deadline extended, see above). Submissions will be accepted starting at 12pm EDT on April 16, 2012. Winners will be notified via e-mail and announced at a later date. Questions can be posted in the Challenge.gov Forums or emailed to OpenGov@sba.gov.

Judging Criteria

All eligible videos will be scored by a panel of senior SBA officials on the following criteria:

Creativity and uniqueness of video concept
Innovative means of delivering the message
Audio and visual quality of the video
Content of the message (for example, inspirational nature of the message for potential small business owners and use of SBA programs and/or services)

Winners will be selected based on an overall score. All judging is in SBA’s sole discretion and all decisions are final.

SBA senior officials intend to select three winning videos.

Winners/Prizes

Winning videos will be shown during a Google+ Hangout hosted by SBA and the White House with SBA Administrator Karen Mills on May 23, 2012. The winners will be invited to participate in the Hangout with Administrator Mills.

Winning videos will also be featured during National Small Business Week and may be used by the agency at other high-profile functions and events.

Privacy Policy

Any personal information collected from video submitters to SBA’s National Small Business Week Video contest will never be sold. The information collected for this contest will only be used for purposes of the contest to contact video submitters in direct relation to the contest. The contest winners’ names will be announced publicly, after consultation with the winners, as a part of SBA’s contest award recognition process.