Guidelines, Criteria and Prizes

The Changing Lives Through Football competition is open to all types of individuals and organizations (charitable organizations, private companies, or public entities) from all countries. We consider all entries that:

• Reflect the theme of the challenge: Changing Lives Through Football. The scope of the competition is to identify innovative solutions that use football to strengthen community, accelerate development and drive social change. Entries are invited from organizations and individuals in all countries.
• Indicate growth beyond the conceptual stage and have demonstrated impact and sustainability. While we support new ideas at every stage and encourage their entry, the judges are better able to evaluate programs that are beyond the conceptual stage and have demonstrated a proof of impact.
• Are submitted in English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese.

Please complete the entire entry form and submit by June 11, 2010, 5PM US EST. All decisions of the judges will be final.

Assessment Criteria

The winners of this Changemakers Collaborative Competition will be those entries that best meet the following criteria:

• Innovation: This is the knock-out test; if the work is not innovative the judges will not give it high rankings. The application must describe the systemic innovation that it is focused on. The innovation should be a unique model of change demonstrating a substantial difference from other initiatives in the field with the possibility for large-scale expansion.
• Social Impact: It is important that the innovative idea provides a system-changing solution for the field it addresses. Some innovations will have proven success at a small level, while others will have potential to grow, engaging millions of people. Still others will achieve their impact quickly, while some will seed change for the long term. Regardless of the level of demonstrated impact, it is important to see that the innovation has the ability to be applied in the U.S. and other countries. This will be judged by considering the scale strategy, ability to be replicated, clear how-tos, and the entrant’s ability to formulate a clear “road map” to reaching larger goals.
• Sustainability: For an innovation to be truly effective it must have a plan for how it will acquire financial and other bases of support for the long-term. Entries should describe not only how they are currently financing their work, but also how they plan to finance their work in the future. The most successful entrants go beyond discussing whether or not they will charge for services and describe a business plan. They should also demonstrate that they have strong partnerships and support networks to address an ongoing need, and to aid in scalability and the maintenance of a clear financial strategy.

Competition Deadlines, Procedures, and Rules

Online competition submissions are accepted until June 11, 2010 at 5PM US EST. At any time before this deadline, competition participants are encouraged to revise their entries based on questions and insights that they receive in the Changemakers discussion. Participation in the discussion enhances an entrant’s prospects in the competition and provides the community and the judges an opportunity to understand the entrant’s project more completely.

Winners will be expected to spend any prize money awarded in furtherance of the purposes of the project and/or organization for which the applicant has submitted an entry form.

There are four main phases in the competition:

• Entry Stage, March 24 - June 11, 2010: Entries can be submitted until 5PM US EST on April 21, 2010, and throughout this stage anyone can participate in an online review discussion with the entrants.
• Online Review and Judging, June 11 – July 26, 2010: Online review and discussion continues. Simultaneously, a panel of expert judges and a team of Ashoka staff select the competition finalists.
• Voting, July 27 – August 18, 2010: The Changemakers community votes online to select the award-winners from the field of finalists. Voting will close August 18 at 6p EST.
• Global and Regional Winners Announced– August 25, 2010

Prizes

3 Global Winners:

ONLINE WINNERS - A panel of independent judges selected by Ashoka or Nike and Ashoka staff will select between 10 and 15 finalists from all of the entries submitted in the competition. All entries will be evaluated pursuant to the criteria as stated above. From among these 10-15 finalists, the Changemakers' online community will vote for 3 winners. In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken by a vote of the independent judges. Any person may sign into and register with Changemakers at: http://www.changemakers.com/en-us to vote.

• The finalist individual or organization that receives the most votes - will be our Grand Prize Winner and receive $30,000 USD.
• The finalist individual or organization that receives the second most votes will be our 2nd Place Winner and receive $20,000 USD
• The finalist individual or organization that receives the third most votes will be our 3rd Place Winner and receive $10,000 USD

Winners will be announced August 25, 2010.

3 Regional Winners:

None of the three global winners from the ONLINE COMPETITION will be eligible. The Regional Prizes will be selected by our expert panel of judges at the conclusion of the voting period according to the criteria as stated above. All decisions by the judges are final. To be eligible, the individual’s or organization’s work must be focused on the particular region.

• The Brazil Prize: The best entrant individual or organization based and serving one or more communities in Brazil will be selected by our panel of expert judges and will receive $10,000 USD.
• The UK Prize: The best entrant individual or organization based and serving one or more communities in the UK will be selected by our panel of expert judges and will receive $10,000 USD
• The Africa Prize: The best entrant individual or organization based and serving one or more communities in Africa will be selected by our panel of expert judges and will receive $10,000 USD

Winners will be announced August 25, 2010.

2 Early Entry Prizes: The best two entries submitted by 5pm EST, April 28, 2010 will be eligible to win a digital camera (with a value equivalent of up to USD $400) and will be highlighted in Ashoka’s Changemakers marketing materials. Being an Early Entry Prize winner does not preclude you from winning the competition in any way, or guarantee finalist status. All entries will be equally evaluated per the Changemakers criteria at the completion of the entry period.

**Early Entry Prize Winners Announced**Congratulations to our two early entry prize winners, Team Iraq (Iraq) and Futbol con Corazon (Colombia).

3rd HALF and NCDO Early Entry Prize: (Nationale Commissie voor Internationale Samenwerking en Duurzame Ontwikkeling - National Committee for International Cooperation and Sustainable Development). NCDO helps people and organizations in the Netherlands who dedicate themselves to improving the position of people in developing countries. It supports these local development projects with advice and subsidies.

Entry Deadline: May 12, 2010, 5:00p EST

Criteria:

• Must be an innovative small to medium project that uses sport as a tool for social change
• The entry must be submitted in English
• The project must be based in the Netherlands but focus its work on South Africa
• Aims to be a self-sustaining venture in the next 3 years. The entrepreneur/entrant is the legal owner of the initiative and therefore has the authority to decide with whom to cooperate and/or negotiate the terms of a potential deal.

Selection:

• A Dutch jury selected by NCDO will choose 5 finalists
• The finalists will pitch their ideas to the Dutch jury in the Dragon’s Den Final on June 3, 2010 - This final takes place during a big business event of SANEC (the South African chamber of commerce) and the Dutch Royal Football Association.
• Winner and 2 runners up will be announced on June 3, 2010

Grand Prize Winner:

A seven day all expenses paid trip for 2 (max) to South Africa during the World Cup (June 17 – 24, 2010) for the winning entrant. During this trip the implementation process of the business idea will start.

Second and Third Place Winners:

Win business training by a top consultancy firm.

Click here to find out more about NCDO's 3rdHALF.

Participation in the challenge provides the opportunity to receive feedback from fellow entrants, Changemakers staff, judges, and the Changemakers community. Showcasing initiatives and demonstrating social impact advise potential investors about how best to maximize the strategic impact of their investments.

Disclaimer - Compliance with Legal Restrictions

Ashoka complies fully with all U.S. laws and regulations, including Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations, export control, and anti-money laundering laws. All grants will be awarded subject to compliance with such laws. Ashoka will not make any grant if it finds that to do so would be unlawful. This may prohibit awards in certain countries and/or to certain individuals or entities. All recipients will comply with these laws to the extent they are applicable to such recipients. No recipient will take any action that would cause Ashoka to violate any laws. Additionally, Ashoka will not make any grant to a company involved in the promotion of tobacco use.