| LeaderStories

RULES & TERMS OF PARTICIPATION

CONVERGE ACADEMY CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

GENERAL

The American Express Leadership Academy’s 2021 Converge Academy Open Call (“Open Call”) is looking to award a scholarship to up to twenty-four (24) eligible social justice leaders in the United States (“Scholarship Recipients”) which consists of a four (4)-day state-of-the-art leadership development training Academy in New York, NY (“Scholarship”). Travel to/from the Academy is not included as part of the Scholarship. The Scholarship Recipients will be chosen by a panel of judges comprising alumni of the American Express Leadership Academy (“Panel of Judges”). By participating, you agree that these Terms of Participation form a binding legal agreement between you and SparkAction (“SparkAction”), which manages LeaderStories.org (“Website”) with respect to the Open Call. You must abide by these Terms of Participation as well as agree to certain stipulations in order to be considered in the Open Call.

SECTION 1: OBJECTIVES

The Open Call is an online submission program for emerging social purpose leaders to submit nominations for themselves or others to receive the Scholarship (“Nomination”). SparkAction does not guarantee that any Scholarship Recipients will be selected through this Open Call.

SECTION 2: ELIGIBILITY

Nominations will be accepted from natural persons, at least age eighteen at the time of entry, who are registered members of LeaderStories (each, a “Member”). Nominees must also be at least 18 years of age, residents of the United States and affiliated with a certified nonprofit organization or social justice movement, either as employees or contractors. Nominees must have at least two years of experience in the social purpose sector.

The following individuals are not eligible to participate in the Open Call: employees, contractors, agents, directors and officers of the Forum for Youth Investment and American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (“American Express”) and each of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries and affiliated companies, distributors, web design, advertising, fulfillment and other firms and agencies involved in the administration, development, fulfillment and execution of the Open Call (collectively, “Parties”), and any spouse, parent, sibling or child of any of the Parties.

By submitting a Nomination, each Member (i) affirms his or her eligibility, (ii) represents and warrants that he or she has reviewed the LeaderStories User Agreement set forth on the Terms page of the Website (the “Terms of Use”) and SparkAction, Inc. Privacy Policy set forth on the Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”) of the SparkAction Website (the “SA Website”), and (iii) agrees to be bound by these Terms of Participation, the Terms of Use, and all decisions of SparkAction/LeaderStories, which are final, binding and conclusive with respect to all matters relating to the Open Call.

SparkAction reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual deemed to be (i) tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Open Call; (ii) violating these Terms of Participation; or (iii) acting in an unfitting or disruptive manner or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person.

To receive a scholarship, the Member but commit to full participation and attendance in the November 7-11 Academy and in the four virtual sessions leading up to it, held on Wednesday, July 14, August 18, September 22, and October 13, 2021.

SECTION 3: ENTRY PERIOD

All Nominations must be received by SparkAction during the Nomination Period.

SparkAction reserves the right to shorten or extend the Nomination Period. SparkAction also reserves the right to suspend or cancel any of the Open Call due to a lack of a significant number of participants, as determined in SparkAction’s sole discretion.

SECTION 4: NOMINATIONS

During the Nomination Period, to submit a nomination, visit the Website and follow the directions provided. Any Nomination made in person, by mail, by fax, or by any means other than via the Website shall not be accepted.

If you are nominating someone other than yourself, you should have his/her permission to do so.

There is no limit on the number of Nominations a Member may submit; however, a Member may only submit one (1) Nomination for any single individual. Nominations must be the original work of the Member. Nominations cannot include more than one (1) individual.

All Nominations and completed Entry Forms must satisfy all requirements contained or referred to in these Terms of Participation. Any character or word limits set forth on the Entry Form for the Open Calls will be strictly enforced.

In order to be eligible to participate in the Open Call, a Member must represent and warrant to SparkAction that his or her Nomination:

Does not include any content that is in violation of rights of publicity and publicity of any person or entity;
Does not libel or slander any person or entity; and
Does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party, including but not limited to copyrights and trademarks.

Nominations CANNOT to any degree:

discriminate against, disparage, denigrate or advocate violence against any race, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, political orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, veteran status or mental or physical disability;
involve religious advocacy or proselytizing;
feature or reference any third party commercial products and/or company trademarks, logos, brands or endorsements without permission in any manner which SparkAction deems may violate the rights of a third party;
contain materials embodying the names, likenesses, photographs, or other identifying elements of any person, living or dead without permission in any manner which SparkAction deems may violate the rights of a third party;
contain any copyrighted works in any manner which SparkAction deems may violate the rights of a third party (other than those owned by the Member making the Nomination or those used with permission);
suggest legalization of or otherwise promote any illegal drugs/activity, prostitution or pornography or other illegal activities or goods;
contain any profanities, be overtly sexual, suggest an intent to abuse or suggestions of violence or contain photos or videos which have images of violence, drugs, pornography, or other illegal activities or goods;
be inconsistent with any corporate policy of SparkAction which can be found on the SparkAction Website or disparage or denigrate a product, service, person, company or organization including, but not limited to, SparkAction or its partners.

SPARKACTION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT ANY NOMINATION THAT IT DETERMINES, IN ITS SOLE AND ABSOLUTE DISCRETION, VIOLATES ANY OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THESE TERMS OF PARTICIPATION.

All Nominations will be reviewed for compliance with these Terms of Participation before the presentation to the Panel of Judges for review; however, such review does not relieve Member from responsibility for compliance with these Terms of Participation. Members and Nominations that do not comply with these Terms of Participation or that otherwise contain prohibited or inappropriate content as determined by SparkAction, in its sole and absolute discretion, may be disqualified at any time. SparkAction, in its sole and absolute discretion, makes the final determination as to which Members and Nominations are accepted and are eligible to take part in this Open Call.

If a Nomination is rejected for any reason, the Member may revise such Nomination, and then resubmit the Nomination during the Nomination Period. All re-submissions of any Nomination are subject to the timing limitations set forth in these Terms of Participation and may not be resubmitted after the expiration of the Nomination Period.

NOMINATIONS POSTED TO THE WEBSITE ARE NOT EDITED BY SPARKACTION AND ARE THE VIEWS/OPINIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE MEMBER AND DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF SPARKACTION OR ITS PARTNERS IN ANY MANNER.

Each Member further agrees that a Nomination is not being submitted in confidence or in trust, and that no confidential or fiduciary relationship is intended or created.

If SparkAction, at any time prior to final decisions by the Panel of Judges receives a complaint (including but not limited to a cease and desist letter, general letter of complaint, etc.) alleging intellectual property infringement in a Member’s Nomination, SparkAction, in its sole and absolute discretion, reserves the right to remove such Nomination from consideration by the Panel of Judges and disqualify the Nomination without prior notice to such Member.

SECTION 6: Selection Process

Eligible Nominations will be reviewed by the Panel of Judges. Up to twenty-four (24) Nominations will be awarded a Scholarship in the New Power Academy. SparkAction does not guarantee that any or all of the Scholarship Recipients will be selected through this Open Call.

The identity of each of the Scholarship Recipients will be published on the Website, and on partner websites.

As a condition of acceptance to the Academy, Scholarship Recipients must appear in a video interview conducted by SparkAction or its designee. SparkAction shall own the copyright to such interview, and the winner must sign a release granting all rights in such interview to SparkAction.

SECTION 7: SCHOLARSHIP

A four (4)-day state-of-the-art leadership development training Academy in New York, NY on November 7-11, 2021. Scholarship includes four (4) nights’ standard accommodations (one (1) room, single occupancy) and select meals. TRAVEL TO AND FROM THE ACADEMY IS NOT INCLUDED AS PART OF THE SCHOLARSHIP AND IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT OR THEIR ORGANIZATION. WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE ORGANIZATIONS TO COVER THIS FOR THEIR INDIVIDUAL LEADERS. Any costs and expenses associated with acceptance of Scholarship not set forth herein as being provided are the sole responsibility of the Scholarship Recipient, including, but not limited to, travel and meals. Scholarship Recipient must attend the Academy on the dates determined by SparkAction or Scholarship will be forfeited.

SECTION 8: IDENTITY AND INFORMATION

The Member is the individual who registered to participate in the Open Call in accordance with these Terms of Participation. In the event of dispute regarding the identity of a Member, the dispute will be resolved in favor of the individual who is both the authorized Open Call registrant and, if available, the Authorized Email Account Holder of the Member who registered to participate in the Open Call and he/she must comply with these Terms of Participation. “Authorized Email Account Holder” is defined as the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (i.e., business, educational institution) responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.

Except as otherwise stated herein, any personal information about a Member collected in connection with the Open Call shall be used and disclosed pursuant to the Privacy Policy of SparkAction. By submitting a Nominati9n, a Member expressly agrees to receive email notifications from SparkAction regarding the status of the Open Call. Unless such Member indicates that he or she does not wish to receive email from SparkAction, such Member may also receive ongoing e-mail communications from SparkAction regarding SparkAction’s products, services and activities as well as other information that SparkAction believes may be of interest to the Member.

SECTION 9: LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY AND RELEASE

By participating, a Member agrees to be bound by these Terms of Participation, and such Member waives any right to claim ambiguity in the Open Call or these Terms of Participation. Neither SparkAction nor any other Open Call Party shall be responsible for lost, late, incomplete, delayed, garbled, inaccurate, stolen or misdirected Nominations.

No liability or responsibility is assumed by any Open Call Party or any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, successors, assigns, advertising and promotions agencies, and their respective employees, agents and contractors (“Released Parties”) resulting from any Member’s participation in or attempt to participate in the Open Call or ability or inability to upload or download any information in connection with participating in the Open Call. No responsibility or liability is assumed by the Released Parties for technical problems or technical malfunction arising in connection with any of the following occurrences which may affect the operation of the Open Call: hardware or software errors; faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any email transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted email transmissions; inaccessibility of the Website in whole or in part for any reason; traffic congestion on the Internet or the Website; unauthorized human or non-human intervention in the operation of the Open Call, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms; or destruction of any aspect of the Open Call, or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the Open Call. None of the Released Parties are responsible for any typographical errors in the announcement of the Scholarship or these Terms of Participation, or any inaccurate or incorrect data contained on the Website. Use of the Website is at the user’s own risk.

None of the Released Parties is responsible for any death, personal injury or property damage or loss of any kind which may be sustained by any Member or third party from participation in the Open Call, use of the Website, or the downloading of any information from the Website. By making a Nomination in the Open Call, each Member releases and agrees to hold harmless each of the Released Parties from and against any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or relating to such Member’s participation in the Open Call, including, without limitation, death, personal injury or property damage. By accepting a Scholarship, each Scholarship Recipient agrees that the Released Parties shall not be liable for any death, loss or injury resulting from participation in such Open Call, or the acceptance or use of the award (including any travel or activity related thereto). None of the Released Parties shall be liable in the event that any portion of the Open Call is cancelled for any reason, including, without limitation, a lack of significant participation, as determined by SparkAction, in its sole discretion.

By entering the Open Call, each Member agrees that any and all other disputes, claims, actions and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Open Call or the prizes awarded, and all issues and questions concerning the validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Terms of Participation shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively in a federal or state court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Los Angeles, California. Any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred and never shall include consequential, incidental or punitive damages, and in no event attorneys’ fees or costs. Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above may not apply to all the Members.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR TO UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE OPEN CALL MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPARKACTION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

SECTION 10: INDEMNIFICATION

Each Member agrees to indemnify, defend and hold the Released Parties harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, expenses, costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) and liabilities (including settlements), brought or asserted by any third party against any of the Released Parties due to or arising out of the Member’s participation in the Open Call, including, but not limited to, bodily injury, death, property damage, violation or infringement of trademark, copyright, or other intellectual property rights, right of publicity, right of privacy and defamation. Each Member agrees to release and indemnify and hold harmless each of the Released Parties from and against any and all claims that any Nomination, advertising, promotion, presentation, website content or any other material subsequently produced, presented, and/or prepared by or on behalf of any of the Released Parties (individually or collectively) infringes on the rights of such Member as contained in any Nomination or otherwise.

SECTION 11: TERMINATION, CANCELATION OR MODIFICATION OF OPEN CALL

If for any reason the Open Call is not capable of running as planned, including without limitation, lack of significant participation, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Open Call, SparkAction reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or terminate the Open Call.

SECTION 12: THIRD PARTY SITES

Links to non-SparkAction sites may be provided or referenced through materials on the Website and are provided solely as pointers to information on topics that may be useful and SparkAction has no control over the content on such non-SparkAction sites. If any Member chooses to link to or visit a site not controlled by SparkAction, SparkAction makes no warranties, either express or implied, concerning the content of such site, including the accuracy, completeness, reliability or suitability thereof for any particular purpose, nor does SparkAction warrant that such site or content is free from any claims of copyright, trademark or other infringement of the rights of third parties or that such site or content is devoid of viruses or other contamination. SparkAction does not guarantee the authenticity of documents on the Internet. Links to non-SparkAction sites do not imply any endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, products, information or services offered at such sites, or any representation regarding the content at such sites.

SECTION 13: SPARKACTION TRADEMARKS

"SparkAction” and the SparkAction logo are trademarks of SparkAction. Other featured words or symbols, used to identify the source of goods and services, may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

SECTION 14: WAIVERS

Any waiver of any obligation hereunder by SparkAction does not constitute a general waiver of any obligation in favor of the Members.

SECTION 15: SEVERABILITY

If any provision of these Terms of Participation shall be deemed to violate any federal, state or local law, it shall be amended to conform to such law and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 16: GOVERNING LAW AND VENUE

The interpretation and enforcement of these Terms of Participation shall be governed by the laws of the District of Columbia, USA, except to the extent required to be governed by the local law in the place of residence of a Member. Any action brought in connection with the Open Call shall be heard and determined only in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and by making a Nomination in the Open Call, each Member agrees to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts. The Open Call is subject to all applicable national, federal, state and local laws.

SECTION 17: HEADINGS

The section headings contained in these Terms of Participation are solely for the purpose of convenience and shall be deemed a part of these Terms of Participation.

SECTION 18: SPARKACTION ADDRESS

SparkAction, managed by the Forum for Youth Investment, 7064 Eastern Ave NW, Washington, DC 20012

Converge Academy Call for Nominations: Rules & Terms of Participation