Ideas Matter Essay Scholarship Contest Rules
Please review the below rules in order to participate in the Ideas Matter Essay Scholarship Contest.
Ideas Matter Essay Contest Official Rules
NO CONTRIBUTION IS NECESSARY TO ENTER AND MAKING A CONTRIBUTION WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
SPONSOR. The sponsor of the Ideas Matter Essay Contest (the “Contest”) is the Clinton Foundation (the “Foundation”), with offices at 1200 President Clinton Ave. Little Rock, AR 72201.
CONTEST PERIOD. The Contest will begin on March 12, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.. Central Standard Time (“CST”) and end on May 19, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. CST (the “Contest Period”). Entries received before or after the Contest Period will not be considered.
PRIZES. There will be three prizes awarded as set forth below. The prizes cannot be transferred, substituted, or redeemed for cash. The winners will be solely responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes on their prizes.
• Scholarship awards: The first prize winner will receive a $5,000 college scholarship. The second prize winner will receive a $2,500 college scholarship. The third prize winner will receive a $1,000 college scholarship. The award will be administered directly to the financial aid office of the college or university at which the contest winner is (or will be) enrolled.
ELIGIBILITY. The Contest is open only to students who (a) are Arkansas residents, (b) are currently in the 11th or 12th grade, and (c) will enroll in an institution of higher education that accepts financial aid within eighteen (18) months of their graduation from high school.
Employees, officers, and directors of the Foundation and any of its affiliated entities, programs, and initiatives as well as the immediate family members and household members of such employees, officers, and directors are not eligible to participate. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.
HOW TO ENTER. To compete, write a 1,500-word (minimum) essay about youth impact through civic participation. Essays should explore and provide solutions to questions like: How can youth voices, skills, and time be mechanisms for positive change in their neighborhoods, schools, and cities? What are some of the challenges to civic participation for young people? What are some ways that youth can scale those hurdles to achieve collective impact and better their communities?
Next, complete the Ideas Matter Essay Contest online form. If you cannot complete the form online, please call Karen Strachan at (501) 748-0423. Submit your essay by either (a) uploading it through the online form, (b) emailing it to [email protected], or (c) mailing it to Clinton Presidential Center, ATTN: Karen Strachan, 1200 President Clinton Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201. Submissions by mail must be postmarked by May 19, 2025. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the Contest, please contact Karen Strachan at [email protected] or by phone at 501-748-0423. There is a limit of one essay entry per person.
WINNER SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION. The Foundation will contact potential Contest winners, selected by a panel of judges assembled by the Foundation, on or about June 13, 2025. The odds of being selected as a potential winner will depend upon the number of eligible entries the Foundation receives during the Contest Period. The potential winners, or their parents or guardians if the winners are under 18 years old, will be required to complete, sign and return a Consent and Release form within ten (10) business days of being notified of their winning status, which will among other things, grant the Foundation a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to copy, transmit, publish, edit, adapt, modify, store, distribute, prepare derivative works from, perform and display publicly, and otherwise use some, part, or all of the potential winner’s essay in any format, for any and all purposes of the Foundation, at any time, with or without advance notification. The potential winners may be required to sign additional documents, as required by the Foundation in its sole discretion. If the potential winners fail to meet the eligibility requirements or otherwise comply with these Official Rules, fail a confidential background check, or fail to complete the required documentation in a timely manner, or if awarding the Prize(s) to the potential winners may reflect negatively on the Foundation or President Clinton (as determined by the Foundation, in its sole discretion), the Foundation reserves the right to disqualify the potential winner and select another student as the winner. The names of the final winners will be published on the Contest page of the Foundation’s website on or about **new date**.
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY. By entering your essay(s) to the Contest, you or your parent or guardian (if you are under 18 years old) agree to be bound by these Official Rules, and agree to release and hold harmless the Foundation, its directors, officers, employees and agents from any liability for any and all claims, damages, liabilities, costs, injuries, losses, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and costs) directly or indirectly arising out of or in connection with your participation in the Contest. By entering the Contest, you represent and warrant that your submitted essay(s) are (a) original, (b) written solely by you, (c) do not infringe on the intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights or any other legal or moral rights of any third party; (d) have not been entered in or won previous contests or awards; and (e) have not been previously published or distributed in any media, including social media. The Foundation is not responsible for computer, software, network, or transmission problems or late, lost, intercepted, or misdirected entries or other submission errors. The Foundation has the right to terminate, cancel or modify the Contest at any time.
DISPUTES AND GOVERNING LAW. The Contest is governed by, and will be construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Arkansas. By entering the Contest, you or your parent or guardian (if you are under 18 years old) agree that you will, in the first instance, seek to resolve any controversy or claim directly or indirectly arising out of your participation in the Contest through direct discussions with the Foundation or through mediation. If direct discussions and mediation are not successful, you agree to resolve the claim through final and binding arbitration. The remedy for any such controversy or claim shall be limited to actual damages, and in no event shall any party be entitled to recover punitive, exemplary, consequential, or incidental damages, including attorneys’ fees or other such related costs of bringing a claim, or to rescind the terms agreed to through these Official Rules or seek injunctive or any other equitable relief.