Official Rules.

Updated 02-15-2025

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS COMPETITION. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW AND OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES. SUBJECT TO ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAWS, REGULATIONS, AND ORDINANCES.

PARTICIPATION CONSTITUTES YOUR UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

1. Overview

The Next Challenge for Media & Journalism (“Next Challenge” or “Competition”) is a competition managed by American Public Media Group (“APMG”) that is intended to incentivize media innovation, increase media startup activity, and invest in a diverse group of visionary media founders.

There are three 2025 Next Challenge Divisions: Future of Local Journalism , NewsTech , and Open-Source Intelligence. There will be one or more awards given in each of these Divisions and these awards are referred to collectively as the “Division Awards” or “Prize(s)”. These Division Awards are accompanied by a cash grant. There will also be one, or more in the event of a tie, Grand Prize winners selected from among the Division Award winners and additional cash awards given to Division Finalists.

As further described below, eligible entrants must submit their initial entries between Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. PT and Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. PT (the “Entry Period”).

Approximately ten Division Finalists per division will be announced on or about mid-April (Total of approximately thirty (30) Division Finalists). These Division Finalists will be offered optional training sessions, mentorship and will be required to submit Finalist Materials, due on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. PT, in order to continue in the Competition. Participation in the optional activities will not increase the odds of winning a Prize. Finalist Materials will be reviewed by Judges who will determine the winners. All winners will be announced on or about Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

2. Binding Agreement

To enter the Competition, each Entrant (referenced herein as “you,” “your,” “applicant” or “Entrant”) must enter on behalf of a Venture and agree to these Next Challenge Awards Terms and Conditions and the APMG Privacy Policy located at https://www.americanpublicmedia.org/privacy/ (together, the “Official Rules”). Submitting an Entry (as defined in Section 4, below) signifies your full understanding and agreement to these Official Rules. You may not participate, including submitting an Entry or receiving any prize described in these Official Rules, unless you accept and agree to comply with these Official Rules. Unless otherwise noted, for all times provided in these Official Rules or in relation to the Competition, the applicable time zone will be Pacific Time. APMG’s computer network is the official time-keeping device for this Competition.

3. Eligibility

3.1. Base of Operations

The Next Challenge Competition is open to Ventures that are legally incorporated for-profit and nonprofit media-focused entities based in the United States of America and U.S. Territories. An entity is considered U.S.-based if it is incorporated in the U.S. and if the majority of employees and/or contractors live in the United States.

3.2. Eligible Applicants

To be eligible, all applicants must be above the legal age of majority in their jurisdiction of legal residence as of the date of entry. Employees, officers, and directors of APMG or APMG’s agents and members of their immediate families (spouses, parents, siblings, and children, regardless of where they live) and those living in the same household as any of the foregoing are not eligible to enter or win. Employees, students, officers, and directors at partner organizations (non-APMG companies that provided financial support to the Next Challenge), and members of their immediate families are eligible to apply.

3.2.1. Application

Entrants may apply to one and only one Next Challenge Division in a given cycle. If there are two (2) or more Entries by a single Entrant, then APMG will keep the first Entry only, as determined by the timestamps on each Entry as shown by the YouNoodle platform on which the Entry was accepted.

3.3. Eligible Industry Focus/Divisions

Entrants must be focused in one of the following Divisions, defined below:

Future of Local Journalism Division: This award will be presented to an innovative startup serving a specific local or regional geography, filling a gap in existing local news services.
NewsTech Division: This award will be presented to a startup building digital tools to address the critical tech needs of journalists and local news organizations.
Open-Source Intelligence Division: This award will be presented to a startup leveraging publicly available data to strengthen the fact-finding, verification, and accountability capabilities of local journalists.

3.4. Additional Eligibility Criteria

Only applicants that have (i) made progress against their concept (e.g., a working prototype, minimum viable product), as of the date of Entry; (ii) generated less than one million US dollars ($1,000,000 USD) in gross revenue, including philanthropic support, in the twelve months prior to December 31, 2024, and (iii) were founded no more than five years prior to the initial application deadline will be accepted. For the sake of clarity, there is no limit to the amount of dilutive (equity or equity-like) and/or debt financing the venture has raised (collectively the “Venture”).

Companies that have previously won a cash award from the Next Challenge are ineligible to apply. Companies where APMG has a current ownership stake are ineligible to apply.

APMG is classified for federal tax purposes as a publicly supported charity that is subject to restrictions on certain activities. In addition, APMG operates and maintains the Next Challenge in part with grant funding that is subject to certain restrictions on the use of grant funds. Consequently, except as specifically provided in these Rules, Entrants may not use awards to conduct any activities defined for federal tax purposes to constitute lobbying, candidate campaign intervention, or a voter registration drive.

3.5. Eligibility Determination; Compliance

All applicants and all members thereof must maintain compliance with the eligibility requirements stated in the Official Rules at all times during the Competition, up to and including the receipt of the Prize. APMG reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to assess Entrant’s eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules at any point during the Competition. If APMG requires any assistance in order to assess the Entrant’s compliance, or the compliance of any member thereof, you must promptly provide that assistance. If you do not provide the requested assistance, or if APMG has reason to believe or determines that you are not complying with these Official Rules, you may be disqualified and forfeit any benefits or prizes received, in APMG’s sole discretion.

4. Entry/Application and Contents of Project

4.1. Application Procedure

The Competition will be made available to interested parties via an application, which will be open during the Entry Period. Among other things, communication about the opening of a call for applications will be conducted by means of a press release, a notice published on www.thenextchallenge.com, and other social media platforms.

4.2. Application

Applications may only be entered through the YouNoodle application which can be accessed on the Next Challenge website at www.thenextchallenge.com or on YouNoodle’s website (individually and collectively, the “Website”). The YouNoodle application will be open during the Entry Period, absent technical difficulties.

4.3. Application Contents

To be eligible for any prize from APMG, Entrant must go to the YouNoodle application and provide responses to all questions required per the instructions provided by no later than the end of the Entry Period. Information requested includes, but is not limited to, (a) applicant name(s) and contact information (b) a description of the Venture, including the industry/focus area and the legal status of the Venture as well as its progress-to-date, the problem it seeks to solve, the solution provided by the Venture, and how the solution compares to alternatives, and (c) the business model, and the team’s capabilities (the “Entry”). Incomplete applications, or applications that do not otherwise meet the requirements set forth herein, will not be eligible. All information must be provided in English.

4.4. Entry Requirements

To be eligible for any prize, your Entry must describe an original and innovative Venture in one of the Divisions described above in Section 3.2 (Eligible Industry Focus/Divisions), and meet the following requirements (“Entry Requirements”):

Must not violate, misappropriate, or infringe the rights of others including, without limitation, patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, publicity, privacy or other proprietary rights, and must be your original work (or you must have secured all rights necessary from third parties for materials that are not original to you in order to submit and allow APMG to utilize the Entry) (see “Warranty” Section below for more details);
Must not contain any malware or be otherwise harmful to our computer system or the computer systems of others;
Must not impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
Must not be unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another's privacy, tortious, or contain explicit or graphic descriptions or accounts of, sexual acts, or otherwise contain any other content that is objectionable;
Must not victimize, harass, degrade, or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability;
Must be within the general spirit and guidance of the Competition, including meeting the terms of these Official Rules and the Entry Requirements;
Must not contain any advertisement or solicitation not affiliated with APMG;
Must be in English.

APMG will retain physical possession of all materials submitted with Entries and will not acknowledge or return any Entry materials. If a dispute arises regarding the identity of the Entrant, the proper Entrant will be the Authorized Account Holder of the e-mail address associated with the account used to enter the Competition. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.

5. Judging/Evaluation Process and Criteria

APMG will initially screen all Entries received to determine their eligibility for the Competition.

There will be three (4) rounds of selection for Entrants:

Division Finalist Selection
Division Winner Selection(s)
Grand Prize Winner Selection(s)
Additional prizes for outstanding Division Finalists

5.1. Evaluation Criteria

APMG, with support from independent evaluators with business, investing, and/or subject matter expertise, will review all Entries and score them according to the following evaluation criteria (“Judging Criteria”):

Division Fit: How well is the startup addressing the needs that the division exists to address? (30%)
Innovation: Is this an innovative idea? Does the startup propose a novel, disruptive or unique business concept? (20%)
Audience Impact: Does the startup have a well-defined target market? Will this venture have a significant positive impact on its intended audience? (20%)
Business Model: Does the plan indicate how the product/service will be distributed, have a realistic revenue and pricing model, and demonstrate potential to grow sustainably? Is there evidence that the business concept works? (20%)
Team: Does the team have relevant experience and understand their target audience(s)? (10%)

5.2. Division Finalist Selection

APMG, with support from a panel of independent evaluators with business, investing, and/or subject matter expertise (“Judges”), will review all Entries and score them according to the Judging Criteria stated above.

Each Entry will be judged by a panel of two (2) or more Judges.

Up to 10 entrants will be selected as finalists in each Division (“Division-Finalists”) for a total of up to 30 finalists, based on scoring and distribution in the Judges’ sole discretion. In the event of a tie, the tied Entry with the highest score in the Innovation criteria above will be deemed the winner. If there is still a tie, APMG reserves the right to allow all tied Entries to be named Division Finalists (even if it increases the total number of Division Finalists beyond 10) or have new, independent Judges re-judge the tied Entries based on the criteria listed in Section 5.1 (Evaluation Criteria) above, with the Entry receiving the highest total score progressing to the next round, as applicable.

5.2.1. Division Finalist Notification

Entrants will know whether they have been selected as a Division Finalist in April 2025.

5.2.2. Mentorship Assignment

Division Finalists may be assigned one or more mentors with relevant startup, business, and/or industry experience. While not required, it is strongly recommended that startups meet with their assigned mentors at least once for one hour prior to submitting their Finalist Materials.

5.2.3. Division Finalist Training / Seminars

Optional training opportunities, hosted by sponsoring organizations, will be offered to all Division Finalists.

5.2.4. Due Diligence; Additional Vetting Check

Division Finalists may be selected for additional vetting and due diligence as part of the evaluation process. By participating in the Competition, Entrants agree to sign any documentation and provide any information necessary to complete said vetting and diligence. Members that fail to provide the required information or sign the required documentation will forfeit their eligibility and their team may be disqualified from further participation.

5.2.5 Affidavit and Release Requirement

Division Finalists will be required to sign an Affidavit and Release similar to what is set forth below at Section 13 (Nature of Relationship/Waiver of Equitable Relief), and to grant to APMG and its agents the unrestricted rights to publish and use the finalists’ name, hometown, likeness, a 2-3 sentence summary of the Entry, and/or prize information for advertising and publicity purposes worldwide without limitation and without additional compensation, except where prohibited.

5.3. Winner Selection

All Division Finalists will submit a short video and pitch deck which will be evaluated by a panel of four (4) or more independent Judges with expertise in the industries described in Section 3.2 (Eligible Industry Focus/Divisions). Based on that pitch, a Division Winner will be selected. Entrants that fail to submit these materials will forfeit their eligibility and their team may be disqualified from further participation.

In the event of a tie, the tied Entry with the highest score in the Innovation criteria above will be deemed the winner. If there is still a tie, APMG reserves the right to allow all tied Entries to be named Division Finalists (even if it increases the total number of Division Finalists beyond 10) or have new, independent Judges re-judge the tied Entries based on the criteria listed in Section 5.1 (Evaluation Criteria) above, with the Entry receiving the highest total score progressing to the next round, as applicable.

5.4 Grand Prize Selection

Submitted materials from the Division Award Winners will be evaluated by four (4) or more independent Judges with expertise in the industries described in Section 3.2 (Eligible Industry Focus/Divisions). Based on that pitch, one or more Division Finalists will be selected for a Grand Prize award.

5.4.1 Additional Monetary Prizes

Judges in the Division Finals will be invited to nominate one or more Finalists for additional monetary prizes. Those nominations will be evaluated by a panel of four (4) or more APMG staff members and/or their designees, who will determine these cash prizes.

5.4.2 Showcase Event

All Award Winners will be notified if they have won a prize, subject to winner verification, during the National Awards Celebration Event.

5.5. Winner Verification

In order to win a prize, the potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules. The leader of each winning Venture (“Lead”), or each member of an unincorporated team, will be required to sign a winner verification and release agreement (“Prize Documents”) with APMG that will include, without limitation, (i) a release of the Released Parties similar to what is set forth below in Section 13 (Nature of Relationship/Waiver of Equitable Relief), and (ii) a grant to APMG and its agencies of the unrestricted rights, in their collective or individual discretion, to publish and use the winners’ name, hometown, likeness, a 2-3 sentence summary of the Entry, and/or prize information for advertising and publicity purposes worldwide without limitation and without additional compensation, except where prohibited; as well as (iii) APMG Grant Agreement described in Section 6.1 (Funds), below. If a member of a team that has potentially won cannot be contacted or fails to sign and return the Prize Documents within the specified time period or provide the required information in a timely manner or is found to be ineligible under the Official Rules, APMG may disqualify the member and/or the entire team from receiving a prize in APMG’s sole discretion. If a prize is forfeited or if winners are disqualified, or if any prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, at APMG’s sole discretion and time permitting, APMG may award the forfeited prize to the Entry with the next highest score based on the Judges’ scoring. APMG may repeat this process until a winning Entrant is determined in APMG’s sole discretion; otherwise, the prize will remain the property of APMG and will not be awarded. All federal, state, local and other taxes and duties that may become due as a result of winning a prize are the sole responsibility of the prize winner.

POTENTIAL FINALISTS/WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY APMG, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTEST. AN ENTRANT IS NOT A WINNER OF ANY PRIZE UNLESS AND UNTIL ENTRANT’S ELIGIBILITY HAS BEEN VERIFIED AND APMG HAS NOTIFIED ENTRANT THAT VERIFICATION IS COMPLETE. PRIZE DETERMINATIONS ARE IN APMG’S SOLE DISCRETION, AND CANNOT BE APPEALED OR CHALLENGED.

6. Prizes

6.1. Funds

APMG will award a minimum of four (4) prizes, but it may award additional prizes, in its sole discretion. The minimum aggregate value of all prizes to be awarded shall be one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000 USD) and up to two hundred thousand dollars ($200,00), intended as follows.

Grand Prize (1): Up to $25,000 per winner. APMG reserves the right to split the Grand Prize between multiple winners, if warranted.
Future of Local Journalism Division Prize (1): Up to $50,000 per winner
NewsTech Division Prize (1): Up to $50,000 per winner
Open Source-Intelligence Division Prize (1): Up to $50,000 per winner

In addition to these prizes, APMG may or may not award monetary prizes to outstanding Division Finalists as determined by the Judges in their sole discretion, including:

Vision Award (1): Up to $12,500 awarded to an innovative finalist with a bold vision to reinvent media and journalism.
Trust Award (1): Up to $12,500 awarded to a finalist investing in transparency and engagement efforts to strengthen trust with audiences.

6.2. Prize Structure/Delivery

6.2.1. Delivery of Prize

Prize winners will receive a transfer of funds to the Venture’s commercial bank account or, if the Venture does not yet have a commercial bank account, to the Lead’s commercial bank account, or if there is no Lead, to the bank account designated and agreed upon by the winners. If the winners cannot agree on a specific bank account, APMG reserves the right to withhold the transfer of funds. All transfers of funds will take place within 60 days of notification to the prize recipients, subject to the recipient entering into a contractual agreement with APMG setting forth the terms and conditions governing the receipt and use of the prize funds., which terms and conditions are in APMG’s sole discretion (“APMG Grant Agreement”).

6.2.2. Conditions for Delivery of the Grant

The conditions for APMG to deliver the prize shall be as follows:

Sign the APMG Grant Agreement.
Delivery of documentation declaring the Venture’s legal status.
APMG reserves the right to verify that the technical and legal information declared is valid and, in the event that any serious nonconformity is found, will suspend and potentially withold the delivery of the prize.

6.2.3. Financial award payment timing

Prize Awards will be disbursed in full within sixty (60) days of the Grand Prize Showcase Event, unless otherwise stated herein.

6.3. Additional Conditions/Restrictions on Prize

Any and all applicable federal, state, and local taxes and all fees and expenses related to acceptance and use of any prize amount not specifically stated herein, are the sole responsibility of the winner. Prize cannot be substituted, assigned, or transferred; however, APMG reserves the right to make prize substitutions at its sole discretion. APMG will not replace any lost or stolen prizes or components of a prize(s). Prize cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion or offer.

6.4. Monitoring and Reporting

All eligible applicants will be asked to participate in follow-up surveys to share their experience with the Next Challenge competition to help improve the competition in future years. Additionally, all prize winners will be asked to participate in follow-up surveys in subsequent years to share the progress of their Ventures, so that Next Challenge can stay informed and provide guidance as helpful to winners.

7. Publicity and Intellectual Property Release

EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW, BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS COMPETITION, ENTRANT CONSENTS TO THE USE BY APMG AND ITS AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, CONTRACTORS, OR THOSE ACTING AT ITS DIRECTION, OF THE ENTRANT’S LIKENESS, PHOTOGRAPH, AUDIO-VISUAL FOOTAGE, NAME, BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION, A 2-3 SENTENCE SUMMARY OF THE ENTRY, VOICE, OR ANY OTHER RECORD OF PARTICIPATION IN ANY COMPETITION-RELATED EVENT FOR ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY PURPOSES IN ANY AND ALL MEDIA, NOW KNOWN OR HEREAFTER DEVELOPED, WORLDWIDE (INCLUDING WINNERS LIST) WITHOUT ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION OR NOTIFICATION. IN ADDITION, ENTRANT HEREBY AUTHORIZES APMG AND ITS AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, CONTRACTORS, OR THOSE ACTING AT ITS DIRECTION, TO FILM, PHOTOGRAPH AND INTERVIEW ENTRANT AND OTHERWISE DOCUMENT ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION IN ANY COMPETITION-RELATED EVENT, AND WITH RESPECT THERETO, ENTRANT HEREBY TRANSFERS AND ASSIGNS TO APMG, AS APPLICABLE, ALL RIGHT, TITLE AND INTEREST IN AND TO ANY AND ALL INTERVIEWS, PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES, VIDEO AND AUDIO RECORDINGS, AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENTS THAT INCORPORATE ENTRANT’S DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION. ENTRANT HEREBY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO INSPECT OR APPROVE THE FOREGOING, ANY MATERIALS THAT MAY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE FOREGOING, OR THE USE TO WHICH THEY MAY BE APPLIED.

ENTRANT HEREBY GRANTS TO APMG AND ITS AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, CONTRACTORS, OR THOSE ACTING AT ITS DIRECTION, A LIMITED, NONEXCLUSIVE, IRREVOCABLE, WORLDWIDE LICENSE TO THE ENTRY AND ANY OTHER COMMUNICATIONS, CREATIVE SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS, NOTES, CONCEPTS OR OTHER MATERIALS THAT ENTRANT MAY SUBMIT TO APMG OR POST TO WWW.THENEXTCHALLENGE.COM IN CONNECTION WITH THIS CONTEST (COLLECTIVELY WITH THE ENTRY, “SUBMISSIONS”) TO EDIT, MODIFY, PUBLISH, REPRODUCE, USE, DISCLOSE, DISSEMINATE AND DISTRIBUTE THE SUBMISSIONS FOR PURPOSES OF EXECUTING THE CONTEST, INCLUDING AS FOLLOWS:

TO CONDUCT THE SELECTION PROCESS DESCRIBED ABOVE, BY SHARING THE ENTRY OR SECTIONS OF THE ENTRY WITH INDEPENDENT EVALUATORS AND JUDGES TO REVIEW;
TO PROVIDE MENTORSHIP AND FINANCIAL CONSULTING, BY SHARING SECTIONS OF THE ENTRY WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT WILL ASSIGN MENTORS AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS TO ENTRANTS AND ASSIGN ENTRANTS TO PEER GROUPS;
TO PUBLICIZE AND MARKET NEXT CHALLENGE, BY SHARING A 2-3 SENTENCE SUMMARY OF THE ENTRY; AND
TO EVALUATE AND IMPROVE THE DESIGN OF FUTURE COMPETITIONS, BY SHARING A 2-3 SENTENCE SUMMARY OF THE ENTRY IN PROGRAM MATERIALS AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR PURPOSES OF STATISTICAL MEASUREMENTS.

IF ANY USE BY APMG OF THE SUBMISSIONS CAUSES IT TO BE LIABLE TO ANY THIRD-PARTY, E.G., DUE TO ENTRANT’S PLAGIARISM OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANOTHER’S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, ENTRANT AGREES TO INDEMNIFY AND DEFEND APMG AND ITS AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, REPRESENTATIVES AND ALL RELATED PARTIES FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL DAMAGES, COSTS, JUDGMENTS AND EXPENSES (INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES) WHICH IT INCURS AS A RESULT OF APMG’S USE OF THE SUBMISSIONS.

8. Warranties

Each Entrant warrants and represents as follows:

The Entrant and Submissions will not violate any intellectual property rights, confidentiality obligation, right of privacy or other right of any person or entity.
The information provided by Entrant throughout the Competition is accurate and complete. Each Entrant understands that in the event he/she/they have/has failed to disclose any relevant information which may have impacted APMG’s decision to select and support their Venture, or have/has provided false information, APMG will be entitled to rescind any APMG Grant Agreement with immediate effect, in addition to any other remedies available by contract or by law.

9. Legal Status

The Entrants and Ventures are independent of APMG, and nothing contained in or relating to any Prize shall be construed as establishing or creating an employer/employee relationship with APMG. APMG shall not be responsible for any loss, accident, damage, or injury suffered by the Entrants, arising during or as a result of participation in the Competition, including travel, whether sustained on APMG’s premises or not.

10. Electronic Communications

You acknowledge and agree to electronic communication and delivery of all documents related to the Competition as designated by APMG. You further acknowledge and agree to:

(i) the transfer of your personal data to the United States of America and for it to be stored on APMG’s servers or the servers of APMG contractors there;

(ii) the act of clicking your consent to these Official Rules as a binding form of your electronic signature, which will bind you to these Rules;

(iii) represent that all information provided by you will be complete, current, and accurate; and

(iv) represent that you have a printer or other device to print or otherwise save communications and documents including, without limitation, these Official Rules and that you have, in fact, printed or otherwise saved a copy of these Official Rules for your records.

Acceptance of these Official Rules and any consent noted herein is effective unless and until you withdraw it. You may withdraw your consent to electronic communication and delivery of documents, update your contact information, or request a free paper copy of these Official Rules at any time by contacting us at team@thenextchallenge.com.

11. Limitation of Liability/Release

By participating in the Competition, Entrants and winners individually and on behalf of their relatives, heirs, assignees, successors, executors, and administrators, and employers (if applicable) hereby permanently, irrevocably and forever waive and release any and all rights, demands, losses, liabilities, claims and causes of action whatsoever which you may now or hereafter be entitled to assert against APMG, as well as all others associated with the development and execution of the Competition, including any relevant social media platforms (collectively, the “Released Parties”), including, but not limited to (i) any death, injury, loss of enjoyment or other harm or loss of any nature whatsoever caused by, contributed to, or arising out of the Competition and/or any prize awarded, (ii) any claim or demand for additional compensation or any other claim or demand related to the Competition or what APMG provides, (iii) any claim related to unauthorized human intervention in the Competition or technical errors that may impair your ability to participate in the Competition, (iv) any claims related to errors in the administration of the Competition, (v) any claims or allegations that your Entry infringes any copyright, trademark, or any other intellectual property right, (vi) disputes between team members, (vi) disputes between team members and their employers, (vii) claims relating to damage to persons or property relating in any way to your participation in the Competition, and forever release and discharge the Released Parties from any and all liability with respect thereto. The Released Parties assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to the Website or any other website involved in the Competition, or any registration, voting, judging or winner selection. YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL APMG BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION OR THE USE OF ANY APMG MATERIALS BY YOU OR ANYONE ELSE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF APMG HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND EVEN IF SUCH DAMAGES ARE FORESEEABLE.

Nothing in these Official Rules shall be interpreted as granting you permission to use or display any of APMG’s trademarks (including any logo or brand) or rights in any APMG technologies or intellectual property. Moreover, nothing shall permit you to promote your participation or involvement in the Competition without APMG’s prior written consent.

12. General Conditions

APMG reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and seek damages from any individual or team who does not comply with any provision of these Official Rules, cheats, tampers with or manipulates the operation of the Competition, or otherwise acts in a disruptive or inappropriate manner.

APMG is not responsible for late, erroneous, misdirected or incomplete entries, or for any computer-related, online, telephonic, or technical malfunctions that may occur. Proof of transmission does not constitute proof of entry. Entries will be considered void if they are in whole or in part illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, forged, mechanically reproduced or obtained through fraud or theft, or if they contain an Entry that does not meet the requirements

APMG’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision; to be enforceable, a waiver must be in writing and signed by an authorized representative of APMG. These Official Rules, together with any release and any APMG Grant Agreement signed by an Entrant and APMG represent the entire agreement between you and APMG with respect to the Competition and supersede all prior and contemporaneous communications in any form between you and APMG with respect to the Competition. No joint venture, partnership, franchise, employment, alliance, or agency relationship exists between you and APMG as a result of these Official Rules or the Competition. If any part of these Official Rules is held by a court to be contrary to law, that part shall be changed and interpreted so as to best accomplish the objectives of the original parties to the fullest extent allowed by law, and the remaining parts of these Official Rules will remain in full force and effect.

The Competition is not affiliated with or endorsed by any applicable social media platforms.

13. Nature of Relationship/Waiver of Equitable Relief:

Each Entrant understands and acknowledges that APMG has wide access to ideas, designs, and other materials, and that new ideas are constantly being submitted to it or being developed by APMG’s own employees. Each Entrant also acknowledges that many ideas may be competitive with, or similar or identical to the Submission and/or each other in theme, idea, format or other respects. Each Entrant acknowledges and agrees that such Entrant will not be entitled to any compensation as a result of APMG’s use of any material that is similar or identical to such Entrant’s own Entry. Each Entrant acknowledges and agrees that APMG does not now and shall not have in the future any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of the copyright in and to the Submission. Finally, each Entrant acknowledges that, with respect to any claim by Entrant relating to or arising out of APMG’s actual or alleged exploitation or use of any Submission or other material submitted in connection with the Competition, the damage, if any, thereby caused to the applicable Entrant will not be irreparable or otherwise sufficient to entitle such Entrant to seek injunctive or other equitable relief or in any way enjoin the production, distribution, exhibition or other exploitation of the Submission or any material based on or allegedly based on the Submission, and the Entrant’s rights and remedies in any such event shall be strictly limited to the right to recover damages, if any, in an action at law

14. Ability to Modify or Terminate

The Competition will be provided by APMG “as is” without a warranty of any kind. In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Competition is in APMG’s judgment impaired in any way, APMG may, in its sole discretion, without limitation: (a) suspend the Competition to address the impairment and then resume the Competition; (b) cancel the Competition and award the prize(s) according to the criteria set forth above from among the eligible Entries received up to the time of the impairment; and/or (c) take any other reasonable action as APMG deems necessary and appropriate to the circumstances in APMG’s sole discretion. APMG reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition. APMG reserves the right at its sole discretion to modify the Official Rules at any time and for any reason. If the Official Rules are modified, APMG will post the updated Official Rules on the Website. In the event APMG modifies the Official Rules, your submitting an Entry, continued participation in the Competition, or receiving a prize shall indicate your acceptance of the modified Official Rules.

15. Force Majeure

Without limiting APMG’s other rights set forth in this these Official Rules, APMG hereby retains the right (in its sole discretion) to suspend, modify and/or terminate the Competition and/or award of any prize in the event that completion of the Competition is prevented or interrupted because of force majeure events, including any strike, fire, war, terrorist, or governmental action, illness, epidemic, pandemic, human interference or any disruptive event beyond its control. In the event of Force Majeure suspension or postponement, the Competition and/or award of the prize shall be deemed extended by a period equivalent to any period(s) of suspension, unless otherwise announced on the Website.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no termination hereunder shall affect APMG’s rights hereunder or any of its rights in and to the Competition and/or Prize, which shall remain in full force and effect.

16. Disputes/Choice of Law

The Competition is governed by the laws of Minnesota, without regard to the conflicts of law provisions. These Official Rules are and will be made in and will be construed and enforced solely in accordance with the laws of Minnesota.

All disputes, claims or demands that relate to these Official Rules will first be brought to the attention of the other party. The receiving party will have sixty (60) days from the date of such notice to remedy the described breach or violation and notify the complaining party in writing of the resolution. If the dispute, claim or demand is not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant within 60 days, the complainant may request an informal resolution conference (mediation), which if agreed to by the other party will be scheduled to occur within twenty-one (21) days of the written response. Each party will have the right to be represented at such a conference by legal counsel and will ensure that a decision-maker with full and complete authority to resolve the dispute on behalf of such party attends the conference. Such conference will be in front of a third party mediator mutually chosen by the parties. If the parties do not agree to conference or are unable to resolve a dispute after such a conference, the parties agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute, claim or demand related in any way to these Official Rules will be decided individually, without resort to any form of class action, by binding arbitration. All disputes between the parties, of whatsoever kind or nature arising out of these Official Rules, will be submitted to JAMS for binding arbitration under its rules then in effect in Minnesota, before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by both parties. The parties agree to share equally in the arbitration costs incurred.

17. Personal Information and Privacy

Any personal information sent to, shared with, or collected by APMG in connection with this Competition is subject to APMG’s Privacy Policy, which can be found at this link.

18. Winners

A list of winners will be available on the Next Challenge Website at www.thenextchallenge.com.

19. APMG’s Right to Assignment and Delegation

APMG reserves the right to assign and delegate any or all of its rights and privileges under these Official Rules to any third-party, agent, successor, or assign, in APMG’s sole discretion.

20. Questions

Questions may be addressed to the following e-mail address: team@thenextchallenge.com