Please read the following terms and conditions carefully before entering. 

If you have any questions please email [email protected]

Catalyst 4 Change (CFC) Awards terms and conditions.

These terms are legally binding. This service is provided by Women Empowering Change INC (WEC) & Mixed Talk Media (MTM).

General

The initiator and organizer of CFC Awards will be WEC & MTM . By completing and submitting the online entry form available at www.wecinc.org/cfc-entry paying the entry fees, the applicant will fully and unreservedly agree to all of the terms and conditions of CFC Awards. If you do not agree with any of the terms or conditions, then you should not take part in CFC Awards.

Once you have submitted your entry, we reserve the right to send you further correspondence regarding our awards program and add you to the WEC/MTM eBlast. You can unsubscribe by clicking on "unsubscribe" at the bottom of any of our emails.

We are planning to spotlight 30 entrepreneurs. This number may increase. (See 7.4)

Eligibility

1.1 Non-profit and For Profit organization founders and business owners with a registered business can apply. 

1.2 The following business must meet the following below eligibility requirements:

-Registered Business (EIN Number Required)

-Registered CEO/Founder/Owner is 21 years or older

-Must have sold one product/service

-Annual Revenue less than 200,000

-Less than 11 Employees

-DOES NOT Sell Adult/Sex products, Tobacco, Firearms, CBD

-WILL NOT Use the funds to pay off personal loans

1.3 All entries must be submitted by and on behalf of the award applicant only.

1.4 WEC & MTM reserves the right to disqualify an entry for any reason. Such reasons are not limited to if it becomes apparent that a submission is inaccurate or if the judges have any uncertainty about the integrity of the entry. A refund will be made if disqualified.

1.5 Entries must be submitted via the online awards entry form that can be found on our website at www.wecinc.org/pitch-it-entry 

1.6 Award applicant must only be submitted into one award category.

1.7 WEC board members and WEC & MTM Paid staff are not eligible to apply.

Requirements

2.1 Entries must be submitted before April 1st. A late entry fee will apply to any entry submitted between April 2nd and May 1st. Entries will not be accepted after May 1st.

2.2 All entries must be submitted digitally via the entry form on the WEC website. No other method of submitting entries will be accepted. Our entry form requires the entrant to provide an address, email address and phone number. These items will not be made public.

2.3 Applicants are encouraged to be very detailed in their response to the award interview questions. MTM Magazine will select questions and images from this interview to publish. Applicants cannot access and modify their entry once submitted.

2.4 Radio Interview dates are selected by each applicant. Reschedule interviews will require a $25 rescheduling fee if canceled the day of or marked as a no-show..

2.5 Entrants must attend the Pitch IT! Masterclass in order to pitch their brand. The Masterclass will be held on September 23, 2022 at 4pm at the location advertised. 

2.6 All entrants who attend the Masterclass will advance to pitch their brand on September 24, 2022 at the location advertised during the Summit's Pitch IT! Contest. 

2.7 Entrants who do not attend the Masterclass will not advance to pitch in the contest. Entry fee nor summit admission will be refunded.

Entry fees

3.1 All proceeds will be donated to our WEC Fundraising for Hope Programs. The entry fees are dependent on date of entry as set out on the WEC website. Any entrant deemed to have acted dishonestly when registering their entry will be contacted and may result in disqualification. Upon registration, entrants should ensure they enter the correct information.

3.2 Payment must be made through the online payment system on the WEC website. Entrants will receive confirmation that their entry or entries have been successfully received via email once payment has been made. No other payment method will be accepted except at the discretion of WEC & MTM.

3.3 Entry & Admission Ticket Payments are not tax-deductible.

3.4 Entrants must secure a Summit ticket during checkout to enter contest. A $50 Late entry fee will be added for all applications submitted on/after April 1st.

Refunds

4.1 Participants are allowed to withdraw their submission from CFC Awards or Pitch IT! Contest at any time, however, entry fees and summit admission will not be refunded if the submitted entry is withdrawn.

4.2 In the event of disqualification, the entrant’s entry fees will be refunded within 30 days. 

4.3 Summit tickets are non refundable.

Categories

5.1 There are two types of CFC Awards categories: Leaders in Motion Award is presented entrants whose ability to impact the community span over 3+ years. The Emerging Leaders Award is presented to entrants whose ability to impact the community span less than 3 years.

Entrants can enter into one of the above mentioned categories. Both categories are dependent on the year the company was founded. Any entrant deemed to have acted dishonestly when registering their entry will be contacted and may result in disqualification. Upon registration, entrants should ensure they enter the correct information.

5.2 Pitch IT! Grant Contest: Entrants must attend the Pitch IT! Masterclass in order to pitch their brand. The Masterclass will be held on September 23, 2022 at 4pm at the location advertised. All entrants who attend the Masterclass will advance to pitch their brand on September 24, 2022 at the location advertised during the Summit's Pitch IT! Contest. Entrants who do not attend the Masterclass will not advance to pitch in the contest. Entry fee nor summit admission will be refunded.

CFC Award Review Process

6.1 WEC will appoint judges to review all award submissions.

6.2 WEC will organize, select and manage the judges, who will be instructed to act without bias or favor.

6.3 Reviewing will take place throughout the Round 1 phase for awards.

6.4 Entries will be reviewed solely on the material submitted. Entries must include all requested material and answers to award questions.

6.5 Applicants represent and warrant that all materials submitted will not infringe or constitute a misappropriation of any right of any third party, including any copyrights, patent rights, trademark rights, trade secret rights or confidentiality rights and agree to indemnify WEC & MTM and its board members, employees against any liabilities, damages, losses, costs or expenses arising as a result thereof.

6.6 WEC will accepted applicants to be entered into Round 2 for voting,

6.7 Applicants are encouraged to invite participants to vote. Voting is open until it ends.
6.8 Applicants can receive donated HOPE votes. These votes will be added at the conclusion of the online voting contest. The updated count will posted. 

6.9 Round 2 Winner- The Applicant with the most online votes will win the Grand Prize Package and all other applicants will receive their prize package.

Pitch IT! Contest Review Process

7.1 WEC will appoint judges to review all Pitch IT! Contest pitches for entrants who attend the Pitch IT! Masterclass.

7.2 WEC will organize, select and manage the judges, who will be instructed to act without bias or favor.

7.3 Reviewing will take place at the summit during the summit's breakout sessions. Some contestants may pitch during the lunch hour.

7.4 Entrants will be given a Pitch Number. Entrants can be disqualified if they are not present when their pitch number is called.

7.5 Entrants will be given 1 minute to pitch their brand.

7.6 Entries will be reviewed solely on the pitch provided and the rubric used to assess the pitch.

7.7 Applicants represent and warrant that all materials submitted will not infringe or constitute a misappropriation of any right of any third party, including any copyrights, patent rights, trademark rights, trade secret rights or confidentiality rights and agree to indemnify WEC & MTM and its board members, employees against any liabilities, damages, losses, costs or expenses arising as a result thereof.

7.8 The entrant with the highest overall score will receive a $5,000 and an upgraded prize package. If this winner also wins the Magazine Cover contest, the upgrades will once be applied once.

7.9 WEC will send the grant electronically, not limited to systems such as Zelle. Payments may be sent monthly in the amount of $1,000 over the span or 5 months. Recipient must sign up for electronic delivery of funds.

7.10 WEC will follow up with the winner at the end of the 5 payment months for results. WEC will request data for proof of efforts to accomplish the goal set in the application process.

Award & Contest Winners

8.1 ALL Winners and contestants must be present at the 2022 WEC Summit to receive award and any prizes.
8.2 WEC will not ship awards unless shipping fees have been received within 30 days of the summit. Awardee will be responsible for shipping costs and /or administrative fees.

8.3 Announcement of Pitch IT! Contest, CFC Award, and Magazine Cover winners announced on https://mixedtalkmedia.digital/  and in the WEC/MTM eBlasts.

8.4 WEC & MTM may attempt to respond, answer and reply to any requests, queries or questions communicated by an applicant at any time. However, WEC & MTM is not required or obligated to provide such a response, answer or reply.

8.5 If an entry receives an award, the manner and details of announcing such nomination and award is strictly at the discretion of WEC & MTM. The applicant understands that all awards may not be given or publicized in the same manner.

8.6 Mixed Talk Magazine Digital is on online website purposed to spotlight leaders throughout the year. Links are sent to article features. https://mixedtalkmedia.digital/ 

8.7 Mixed Talk Magazine PRINT/ONLINE is an annual publication distributed throughout the Houston area and available online as a download or purchase.
8.8 Radio interviews are aired on Mixed Talk Radio and follow the Terms and Agreements of Let's Talk Life XL hosted by Shunte Gamble. 

8.9 Magazine Cover Photoshoot will take place in Houston, Texas. In the event the winner is unable to attend, WEC will select a summited image for the cover and feature.

Privacy policy

9.1 No financial information such as debit or credit card details will be stored by WEC in any format.

9.2 Information provided by entrants will not be shared with any third party. Only WEC board members, employees and appointed judges will have access to this information. Any type of data that identifies a living individual will be treated as personal data.

9.3 Entrants therefore represent and warrant that they are only submitting entry materials which they own, or otherwise have the right to submit and agree to indemnify WEC & MTM and its board members, employees against any liabilities, damages, losses, costs or expenses arising as a result of their failure to obtain such right.

Intellectual Property rights

10.1 On submitting an entry, the entrant fully and unreservedly grants WEC & MTM a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive and full rights to use, reproduce, publish, distribute, perform, display, creative derivative works from, and otherwise exploit any such material submitted, in whole or in part, in any form, including for promotional or marketing purposes.

10.2 Entrants are fully responsible for all content they submit to WEC & MTM and accept liability for any actions relating to the content. Any comments and reviews posted on the website by entrants or other users do not necessarily reflect our opinions and we are not responsible or liable for any content submitted by you or anyone else.

Liability

11.1 WEC & MTM reserves the right to cancel or amend CFC Awards, Pitch IT! Masterclass and Contest, and these terms and conditions at any time.

11.2 WEC & MTM will not be liable to applicants for any consequential losses (i.e. loss of revenue, loss of business, loss of goodwill, loss or damage to data or information) arising out of, or in connection with, the provision of the service of publishing your entry on the WEC website.

11.3 WEC & MTM may assert its rights or obligations under these terms at any time. You may not assert your rights or obligations under these terms without WEC's or MTM's prior written consent. WEC & MTM will not be liable for failure to meet its obligations under these terms if it is prevented from doing so due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control.

Data storage

12.1 By uploading your submission to www.wecinc.org/cfc-entry you agree that we will store the entry materials (including your company name) in our database. Your data will be only accessed by WEC & MTM board members, employees as well as the appointed judges.

12.2 We collect such data including, but not limited to, your first and last name, email address, telephone number, address, occupation, and any other data included in a submitted entry, including but not limited to entry materials.

12.3 Any type of submitted data that WEC deems as personal data will not be published.

BY SUBMITTING YOUR INFORMATION YOU HEREBY AGREE TO ALL OF THE ABOVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS