You can vote every day to help your favorite shelter win in the Shelter Challenge. Each time you vote for the Animal Care and Adoption Center, you give our shelter the opportunity to win one of many prizes available in this contest from money to dog beds and more! There are prizes awarded weekly too. The Shelter Challenge ends Nov. 23. It is a simple mouse click--no need to sign up.

Here are Guidelines and Rules for the contest:

GreaterGood.org (GGO) and The Animal Rescue Site are proud to announce that THE SHELTER CHALLENGE will grant more than $50,000 USD, through monetary grants and product grants, in support and assistance to select domestic and international animal rescue and welfare organizations.

Animal rescue and welfare organizations caring for domestic pets (mammal, avian, or reptile) are welcome to join the Shelter Challenge at any time, before, during, or after current contests. GreaterGood.org, GreaterGood, The Animal Rescue Site, and Shelter Challenge take no responsibility for organization's failing to provide all registration material necessary for approval or technical difficulties in registration.

The eligibility of participating animal rescue and welfare organizations will be determined either during or after the voting period has been completed.  To be eligible, organizations must have a valid and current 501(c)3 or international equivalent, or be a Municipal Shelter.  Determination of eligibility is at the sole discretion of GreaterGood.org.

How The Shelter Challenge Works
Visitors to THE SHELTER CHALLENGE will have an opportunity to choose from a list of select animal rescue and welfare organizations.  Visitors can cast one vote daily during each voting period to help pick the organizations which will receive support from GreaterGood.org. Voters are limited to one (1) vote per person per day for each voting contest.  Votes will be accepted from Monday, October 13, 2014, until Midnight (PT) on Sunday, November 23, 2014.

Grant Prizes are anticipated to be distributed in the following manner: Grand Prize of $5,000 for the eligible organization with the most votes (one prize); Runner Up prizes of $2,000 grants for each of 3 winners (three prizes), Photo Contest Prizes of one $1,000 grant each for the two eligible organizations represented by the finalist photos with the most votes for each of three story contests (six prizes of $1,000 each); fifty-one (51) U.S. State Regional Prizes including State Prizes of $500 for an eligible organization in each U.S. state, and one in the District of Columbia, with the most votes (fifty-one prizes of $500 each), one Canadian Prize of $750 for the organization in Canada with the highest vote totals for that country (one prize of $750), one U.S. Organized Territories and Presidential Republics Prize of $750 for the organization in U.S. organized territories or presidential republics in free association with the U.S. (one prize of $750), and one International Prize of $750 for the organization with the highest vote totals located outside the United States and Canada (one prize of $750).

Weekly Prizes: One $1,000 grant to help animals will be awarded each week during the voting period for each eligible organization with the most votes during that week (6 prizes of $1,000 each; participants are eligible for only one weekly prize during each Shelter Challenge). Winners of the Weekly prizes will be announced weekly. No organization may win more than one Weekly Prize during each voting period.

Non-Monetary Prizes:  Photo Runner Up Prizes of 50 washable, shelter-friendly pet beds for each of the six eligible organizations represented by the top six photo finalist runners-up with the highest number of votes for each of three photo contests (six prizes of 50 pet beds) will be distributed.  Prizes of five "Ready, Set, Rescue Go Paks"will be distributed to an eligible organization in each U.S. state, and one in the District of Columbia, with the second-highest number of votes (fifty-one prizes of 5 "Ready, Set, Rescue Go Paks" each.

 Acceptance of Prizes:  Winners must accept the monetary prizes in the form of a check drawn upon a U.S. Bank and the non-monetary prizes as described above. If they decline to accept the prizes as stated in these rules, GreaterGood.org will determine an appropriate use of funds or non-monetary prizes to benefit rescued animals.

Eligibility: Organizations receiving the Grand Prize are ineligible for Regional Prizes during the same voting period (For example, if the Grand Prize Winner is located in California, the State Prizes will go to the eligible organizations in that state with the highest vote total after the Grand Prize Winner).

Organizations are only eligible for one Grand Prize per calendar year.  Organizations that have won a Grand Prize during a previous Shelter Challenge are still eligible for other prizes.

Winners of First Place regional prizes are not eligible for the regional prize during the next consecutive contest in the calendar year.  Organizations are still eligible for other contests, including the Weekly Prize and Photo Contest Prizes.

Winners of Weekly Prizes are not eligible for Regional Prizes during the same voting period. They remain eligible for Grand Prize and Second Prize, and for Photo Contest Prizes, subject to the rules governing those prizes.

Any organization which loses or fails to provide proof of its 501c3 status (if operating in the United States) or charity status (if operating outside the United States) prior to, during, or at the end of the Shelter Challenge will be ineligible for any prize won during the Shelter Challenge.

Organizations which sign up for the Shelter Challenge agree to abide by the rules, provide accounting of the use of funds or non-monetary prizes to GreaterGood.org, and provide documentation of their 501( c)3, 990, or charity status upon request. Failure to do so may strip them of current or future eligibility in Shelter Challenges as determined by GreaterGood.org.

Final determination of eligibility for current and future Shelter Challenges remains at the sole discretion of GreaterGood.org and its staff.

Shelter and Rescue Group Staff Participation: Staff and volunteers of organizations are allowed and encouraged to create accounts, recruit, submit stories, and vote for their own organizations, subject to the one vote per person per day per contest limitation. 

Participating organizations are absolutely welcome to communicate about the Shelter Challenge on websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other media.  Participating organizations are expected to encourage participation based on the rules of the Shelter Challenge.  Organizations that appear to officially encourage or sanction fraudulent activity in the Shelter Challenge will be contacted and their votes audited.  Repeated incidents will lead to disqualification without notice. 

Auditing and Disqualification of Votes: GreaterGood and the Shelter Challenge reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to disqualify any votes that appear to be (a) created by an automated system; or (b) fraudulent in any way.  Users who attempt malicious or fraudulent service attacks may be permanently blocked from accessing the Shelter Challenge.

Click here to read more from the Shelter Challenge website.


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