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Why the Communities Thrive Challenge?

We believe in an America where all people can earn enough to support their families, achieve financial security, and provide their children with more opportunities. Every day, local leaders and organizations are working to make this dream possible in their communities. Yet all too often, these community-driven approaches are missed by those who could invest in them and help them reach more people. We’re looking to fund, strengthen, and grow local solutions that expand economic opportunity for low-income and financially insecure people.

How It Worked

The Challenge took place over a six-month period in 2018 and included two review rounds and site visits for Finalists.

For more than 100 years, The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission has been to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot – or will not. For more information, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org.

Founded by Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is a new kind of philanthropy that’s leveraging technology to help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges – from eradicating disease, to improving education, to reforming the criminal justice system. Across three core Initiative focus areas of Science, Education and Justice and Opportunity, we’re pairing engineering with grantmaking, impact investing, policy and advocacy work to help build an inclusive, just and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit www.chanzuckerberg.com.

Meet the Reviewers

Valid applications receive feedback from peers and experts.

Timeline

Stay informed about important deadlines.

Scoring Rubric

Reviewers will use these traits to score valid applications. Scores will be normalized for fairness.

A Level Playing Field

Everyone is treated fairly.

To ensure fairness, once a valid application has been submitted for assessment, a minimum of five reviewers will grade each submission. Those reviewers will offer scores and comments against each of four distinct traits. Each trait will be scored on a 0-5 point scale, in increments of 0.1. Those scores will combine to produce a total normalized score. Examples of possible scores for a trait are… 1.4, 3.7, etc.

The most straightforward way to ensure that everyone is treated by the same set of standards would be to have the same reviewers score every application; unfortunately, due to the number of applications that we may receive, that is not possible.

Since the same reviewers will not score every application, the question of fairness needs to be explained carefully. One reviewer scoring an application may take a more critical view, giving any assigned team a range of scores only between 1.0 and 2.0, as an example; meanwhile, another reviewer may be more generous and want to score every submission between 4.0 and 5.0.

For illustrative purposes, let’s look at the scores from two hypothetical reviewers:

The first reviewer is far more generous, as a scorer, than the second reviewer, who gives much lower scores. If your application was rated by the first reviewer, it would earn a much higher total score than if it was assigned to the second reviewer.

We have a way to ensure that no matter which reviewers are assigned to your team, each application will be treated fairly. To do this, we utilize a mathematical technique relying on two measures of distribution: the mean, and the standard deviation.

The mean takes all the scores assigned by a reviewer, adds them up, and divides them by the number of scores assigned, giving an average score.

The standard deviation measures the “spread” of a reviewer’s scores. As an example, imagine that two reviewers both give the same mean (average) score, but one gives many zeros and fives, while the other gives more ones and fours. It wouldn't be fair, if we didn’t consider this difference.

To ensure that the scoring process is fair, we rescale all the scores to match the population of reviewers. In order to do this, we measure the mean and the standard deviation of all scores across all reviewers. Then, we change the mean score and the standard deviation of each reviewer to match.

Basically, we are finding the difference between both distributions for a single reviewer and those for all of the reviewers combined, then adjusting each score so that no one is treated unfairly according to which reviewers they are assigned.

If we apply this rescaling process to the same two reviewers in the example above, we can see the outcome of the final resolved and normalized scores. They appear more similar, because they are now aligned with typical distributions across the total population of reviewers.

We are pleased to answer any questions you have about how we seek to ensure a level playing field for every team. Please register today and join our discussion forums, where you can ask questions or seek clarification.

Questions and Answers

Get answers to frequently asked questions.

Rules

Understand the legal rules governing the Challenge.

Thank you for your interest in the Communities Thrive Challenge (the “Challenge”). The Challenge is sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, LLC, with platform support provided by RAMPIT. Please know that by participating in this Challenge and in accordance with these Rules you are eligible to receive various forms of recognition and a possible grant from The Rockefeller Foundation or the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Donor Advised Fund (DAF), an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, of up to $5,000 as a Finalist and another award of $1,000,000 as a Grantee. The Rules governing this Challenge ("RULES") are stated here as an extension of the Terms & Conditions ("TERMS") for use of this Website. The full TERMS are available for your review by accessing them on this Website. The RULES constitute "Challenge Terms and Conditions" under Clause 2.3 of the Terms. Capitalized words used but not defined in the RULES have meanings given to them in the TERMS.

Please read these RULES and the TERMS carefully, as they describe the conditions under which you are allowed to participate. As you participate, you may periodically be asked to recognize your acceptance of these RULES and the TERMS by clicking "accept" at various pages on this Website, but by continuing any use of this Website you expressly consent to all of these RULES and the TERMS.

1. Eligibility

The Rockefeller Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative welcome applications from organizations or entities that have a recognized legal existence and structure under applicable law (State, Federal or Country) and that are in good standing in the jurisdiction under which they are organized. The legal form of an eligible organization may include a “c” corporation, benefit or flexible purpose corporation (or similar “hybrid” corporation permitted under State law), limited liability company, LC3 entity, or limited partnership. Organizations must be based in the United States or its territories and must serve communities in the United States or its territories. Organizations in the following categories are eligible organizations and may submit proposals:

An organization recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity by the Internal Revenue Service under the United States Tax Code.
An organization recognized as a 501(c)(4) social welfare corporation by the Internal Revenue Service under the United States Internal Revenue Code.
An organization recognized as a 501(c)(6) business league, or associated fiscal sponsor, by the Internal Revenue Service under the United States Internal Revenue Code.
An organization that is not a charitable organization (including for profit organizations) but whose proposal has as its primary purpose the accomplishment of a charitable purpose under the law or regulations of the United States Code and with respect to which no private interests will receive more than an incidental private benefit.
Local organizations associated with national networks may apply so long as any award fund will go to the local affiliate.
Post-secondary educational institutions. (NOTE: Programs that work in one of the issue areas are eligible to apply; programs focused on research are not eligible.)

2. Ineligible Persons or Entities

Organizations that have received a grant/investment from The Rockefeller Foundation or the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, in the last ten years are not eligible to apply.

Organizations with an annual operating budget of less than $200,000 in FY2018 and FY 2017 are not eligible to apply.

Individuals are not eligible to apply.

Government agencies are not eligible to apply. If you work for a government agency and would like to participate as part of a team, please encourage one or more eligible, non-government organizations to register. United Nations agencies are considered government entities for purposes of this Challenge and are not be eligible to apply. Individuals who submit applications on behalf of an eligible organization and are also government officials or employees will be responsible for ensuring that their participation in the Challenge is permitted by the rules and regulations relevant to their position and that they have obtained any authorization that may be required by virtue of their government position.

Directors, officers, and employees of The Rockefeller Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, RAMPIT, The Common Pool, LLC, and any of their subsidiaries and affiliates, and Immediate Family (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such employees, are not eligible.

3. Guidance Related to Non-Charitable Applicants

Organizations applying to the Challenge that are not recognized as charitable organizations or their equivalent under United States law must ensure that any Award funds will be used solely for charitable purposes and will not result in private benefit to other people, organizations, or entities other than incidental benefit that is a necessary byproduct of the accomplishment of the charitable purpose.

4. Applications by Teams or Groups of Organizations

If invited to submit a Round 2 application, organizations may join together in a single application subject to these Rules. However, any grant Award must be distributed to a single legal entity that will have the legal responsibility and authority for the use of and reporting on any grant funds and that will exercise in fact direction, control and supervision of the proposed project.

Before any offer of a grant agreement is made, organizations proposing to work together must demonstrate through a fully-executed Letter of Intent (LOI) or other similar agreement, executed by all parties, that a single eligible entity or organization will serve as the grantee and will have direction, control, and supervision of the proposed project and management of all grant funds and reporting requirements.=

5. Supporting Documentation

All applicant organizations are required to submit the following documents before consideration of any grant Award may be available, in addition to the application requirements published on this Website:

Tax determination letter, if applicable;
Organizing documentation such as articles of incorporation, charter or similar documentation;
Audited financial statements;
Any other legal documentation governing the organization of the entity responsible for receiving grant funds – the need for any additional documents will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

6. Financial and Organizational Capacity

All applicants must demonstrate their financial and organizational capacity to carry out the proposed project and to appropriately manage any grant Award, should they be awarded a grant.

7. Treatment and Use of Intellectual Property

Each application should reflect the anticipated ownership, use, and licensing of any Intellectual Property Rights. You represent and warrant that your Entry is an original work created solely by You, that You own all Intellectual Property Rights in and to the Entry, and that no other party has any right, title, claim or interest in the Entry, except as expressly identified by You to us in writing in Your application. You retain all right, title and interest in any inventions, software or work of authorship You invent or create. The ownership and use of Intellectual Property Rights arising from this challenge remains with You.

8. License to Use Entry

Portions of your application, including Your Quick Pitch, The Problem, and Your Approach may be published on this website; the remainder of your application will only be viewed by challenge administrators and, on anonymous basis, by peer reviewers. By submitting an application, you've granted the Challenge Sponsors a license to post portions of it on our website as described in Clause 6.4 of the Terms.

9. Lobbying

Grant funds may not be used for lobbying purposes as defined in 26 U.S. Code § 4945 and related regulations.

10. Grant Agreement

The successful applicant or Grantee will be expected to enter into a grant agreement with The Rockefeller Foundation or the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, containing key terms and conditions which are separate from these RULES and TERMS posted on this Website for this Challenge. To ensure that you are prepared to enter into such a separate agreement, guidance is provided. NOTE: Each grant agreement governing the use of Awards may vary, depending on the nature of the project and the organization receiving the Award.

11. Prohibited Use of Award Funds

Grant Award funds must be used for the project for which they are awarded, and may not be used:

For non-charitable purposes;
To carry on propaganda or otherwise to attempt to influence legislation within the meaning of Code Section 4945(d)(1);
to influence the outcome of any specific public election, or to carry on, directly or indirectly, any voter registration drive within the meaning of Code Section 4945(d)(2); or
to make a grant to any individual for travel, study, or other similar purposes, or to make a grant to any organization, except in compliance with the provisions of Sections 4945(g) or (h), as the case may be.

12. Other Rules

Your application must be in English.
You must complete registration to participate in the Challenge. Individuals must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry to participate by representing an applicant organization. You cannot reside in nor be governed by countries that are prohibited by law, regulation (including United States or other applicable export laws and regulations), treaty or administrative act from entering into trade relations (including export of technology) with the United States of America or its citizens.
Your Entry must meet the application requirements stipulated on this Website. You must comply with all deadlines posted on this Website. Your Entry may not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Challenge Sponsors and/or RAMPIT, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content. The Challenge Sponsors reserve the right to cancel, modify or suspend Challenge in whole or in part without liability to You. The Challenge Sponsors and/or RAMPIT also reserve the right to disqualify You from participating.
By participating in the Communities Thrive Challenge, You represent, warrant, and agree that:
1. You are the sole author, creator, and owner of the Entry;
2. the Entry is not the subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim;
3. the Entry does not and will not violate or infringe upon the Intellectual Property Rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or other legal rights of any third party;
4. the Entry does not and will not contain any harmful computer code (sometimes referred to as "malware," "viruses" or "worms"); and
5. the Entry, and Your use of the Entry, does not and will not violate any applicable laws or regulations, including, without limitation, applicable export control laws and regulations of the United States and other jurisdictions. If the Entry includes any third-party works (such as third-party content or open source code), You must provide the Challenge Sponsors with all appropriate licenses and releases for such third party works. In the event You cannot provide all such required licenses and releases, the Challenge Sponsors reserve the right, in the Challenge Sponsors' sole discretion, to disqualify the applicable Entry.
You may participate by registering, but You may not register more than one true and uniform identity; multiple registrations for a participant using multiple identities are not allowed. The Challenge Sponsors and/or RAMPIT reserve the right to disqualify any Entry made by a participant violating this limitation, regardless of whether all of the respective parties had knowledge of such violation. You may only submit one Entry.
Upon submitting Your Entry, the Entry will be subjected to an Administrative Review, to ensure compliance with all of the requirements. Qualified Entries will then be distributed to other registrants during a Peer-to-Peer assessment of those Entries. If Your Entry qualifies for Peer-to-Peer review, You will be required to assess five (5) other Entries, using the same trait-scoring rubric that the Expert Panel reviewers will use. If You do not complete those assessments, using the tools and process described on this Website, and/or You disclose the Content of those Entries without permission, Your participation may be terminated. Based on normalized scores from each Peer-to-Peer review, a rank order of the Entries will be populated. Informed by this rank order with consideration given to geographic distribution, organizational size, and issue area, up to eighty (80) Entries will be invited to submit a Round 2 application.
Once the Round 1 applicants have submitted their Round 2 Entries, those Entries will be subjected to a second Administrative Review to ensure compliance with all of the requirements. All qualified Round 2 Entries will then advance to an Expert Panel review. The Expert Panel consists of experts who are identified on this Website. Each of the Round 2 Entries will be assessed by five Expert Panel members, who will be assigned to score these Entries either randomly or after considering any potential conflicts of interest, using the trait-scoring rubric and any other judging criteria that are also described on this Website. In cases where a Judge indicates any potential conflict of interest, the Entry will be assigned to another Judge. Based on normalized scores from each Expert Panel review, a rank order of the Entries will be populated.
Informed by the rank order as determined by the Expert Panel and with consideration given to geographic distribution, organizational size, and issue area, up to twenty (20) Entries will be named as Finalists. The selection of Finalists is at the sole discretion of the Challenge Sponsors. Finalists will receive an award of $5,000 and will be required to participate in a site visit from the Challenge Sponsors.
Once the site visits of the Finalists have been completed, the Finalists will be presented to the Selection Committee for final consideration. The Selection Committee will meet to review and discuss the top Entries and will determine any Grantees, using judging criteria that may not incorporate the same trait-scoring rubric employed by any previous assessment(s). The judging criteria are to be applied in the sole discretion of the Selection Committee judges. By participating in the Communities Thrive Challenge, You acknowledge and agree to be bound by the final decision of the Judges.
While RAMPIT, LLC (“RAMPIT”) is providing an online platform for your participation, RAMPIT is not responsible for the payment of any Award(s). Payment of any Award(s) is the sole responsibility of the Challenge Sponsors, and under the Terms each participant has agreed to look solely to the Challenge Sponsors for the payment of any Award.
By submitting your Entry, You agree (on behalf of You and Your organization) irrevocably to release, discharge and hold harmless the Challenge Sponsors, The Common Pool, LLC, and RAMPIT and their partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors and representatives from any Loss arising out of Your participation in the Challenge and the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any Award(s). Neither the Challenge Sponsors, The Common Pool, LLC, nor RAMPIT assume 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 Challenge entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms. Neither the Challenge Sponsors, The Common Pool, LLC, nor RAMPIT are responsible for any problems with or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or any website, human errors of any kind, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to Competitors’ or any other persons’ computers related to or resulting from participation, uploading or downloading of any materials related to this Challenge. In the event of a dispute about the identity of any Competitor, an online registration will be declared as if made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry.
THIS CHALLENGE IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Competitors agree that this Competition shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the United States of America and the forum of any dispute shall be in the courts of the United States of America.
If for any reason the Challenge is not capable of running as planned, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, Trojan horses, denial of service, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of Challenge Sponsors that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Challenge, Challenge Sponsors reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Challenge. If the Challenge Sponsors and/or RAMPIT terminates the Challenge, Challenge Sponsors and/or RAMPIT will not retain any rights in the submitted Entries.
The Challenge Sponsors reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any Competitor who is found to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Communities Thrive Challenge, to be acting in violation of these Rules, or to be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with the intent to disrupt or undermine the legitimate operation of the Communities Thrive Challenge, or to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person.
Entry into the Communities Thrive Challenge does not constitute entry into any other Rockefeller Foundation challenge, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative challenge, RAMPIT challenge, or promotion that may be offered by the Challenge Sponsors and/or their affiliates.
The Challenge Sponsors and/or RAMPIT reserve the right to disqualify any participant who violates these Rules, the TERMS and any standards of behavior expressed or implied in them.
The names of the Finalists and Grantees will be posted on this Website for such period of time as the Challenge Sponsors deem reasonable.

Contact Information:

You may contact us with any questions or comments about these Rules. Please enter Communities Thrive Challenge in the subject line of your email. You may reach us at: questions@communitiesthrivechallenge.org.

About the Challenge

Help us identify local, community solutions that can scale.

Why the Communities Thrive Challenge

At The Rockefeller Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, we believe in an America where all people can earn enough to support their families, achieve financial security, and provide their children with more opportunities. Every day, local governments, businesses, and nonprofit leaders across the country are working to make this dream possible in their communities.

Yet all too often, these community-driven approaches are missed by those who could invest in them and help them reach more people. This is especially true for efforts in small cities, rural America, and places with high rates of poverty.

That’s why The Rockefeller Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative - with guidance from community leaders across the country - have created the Communities Thrive Challenge, a $10-million funding opportunity open to organizations that are working to expand economic opportunity for low-income and financially insecure people and communities in the United States.

"We have to build a future where people don’t have to depend on luck to succeed."

Priscilla Chan, co-founder of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

After two rounds of review, including peer-to-peer evaluation and review by an expert panel, as many as 10 organizations will receive a $1 million grant, as well as best-in-class technical assistance and an opportunity to share their stories on a national stage. At least 80 applicants will advance to the second round as semi-finalists, and 20 will be chosen as finalists. Each finalist that does not become a grantee will receive $5,000 in recognition of their great work.

Through the Communities Thrive Challenge, we hope to:

Fund, strengthen and scale community-driven approaches across the country that help low-income and financially insecure people find and retain well-paid and meaningful work, achieve financial security, or build economically vibrant neighborhoods. Ultimately, we hope to uncover strategies that could narrow the opportunity gap in the U.S.
Lift up the stories of successful community efforts and share them with other funders, leaders, and the broader country. Strategies from small-to-midsize cities, rural communities, in both thriving and distressed areas are of particular interest; we also seek organizations led by people who represent the communities they serve.
Learn directly from community leaders across the country about the ideas and needs that should influence long-term, larger-scale strategies to increase opportunity.

"This Challenge is about ensuring more people in America have access to a good job and a secure future."

Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation

What We're Looking For

We are looking for nonprofit programs; businesses; organizing or advocacy models; technologies; economic development strategies, or other approaches that deliver significant and consistent results in any of the following areas:

Better Work: Improving job quality, pay, and worker benefits, and creating new, well-paying jobs for low-income or otherwise marginalized workers in a rapidly changing economy and labor market. Indicators of success might include: income and number of jobs that pay a living wage and provide benefits.

Skills Development and Opportunity Matching: Connecting low-income people with work and the skills necessary to succeed in a changing labor market, possibly through additional skill development, building career pathways from low-wage to higher-paying jobs, or identifying financing solutions to support the development of new skills and job transitions. Indicators of success might include: job placement, retention and promotion, or training program accessibility and completion.

Financial Security: Enabling underserved and financially insecure workers and their families to better manage unanticipated changes in their income and expenses without experiencing periods of deeper poverty or being forced to rely on predatory debt. This could involve a range of approaches, including improving the design or delivery of social services. Indicators of success might include: financial stability, wealth building, decreased and manageable debt, improved credit scores, access to safety nets or emergency cash.

Economically Vibrant Communities: Building neighborhoods, cities, or towns that foster economic stability and mobility for residents who have historically been excluded or marginalized, and ensuring that their neighborhoods benefit from a region’s economic growth and vibrancy. Indicators of success might include: access to core services, such as child care and responsible financial institutions, a reasonable, affordable commute to gainful employment, as well as an increase in total jobs and/or small businesses owned by people of color, women, LGBTQ individuals, and others who have historically faced extra barriers to business ownership.

To gain better insight into community-driven approaches that are already being implemented across the country, we are teaming up with local United Way chapters across the Country to meet with leaders in roughly a dozen communities, such as Ypsilanti, Michigan; Louisville, Kentucky; and Brownsville, Texas. These will include visits with local government officials, community leaders, organizers, employers, and families in urban, rural, and suburban areas. These conversations, together with the organizations we learn about through the Challenge, will help inform both institutions’ long-term economic opportunity strategies and improve our ability to support work at the local level.

Ultimately, we hope to help funders, policymakers, and other leaders identify and learn about standout approaches that are already making a difference in communities across the U.S. To that end, we will publish a searchable database of all eligible applicants, share the stories of finalists and grantees of the Communities Thrive Challenge, and widely share key themes and lessons learned.

Application Round One

Introduce us to your organization and its work.

Please read all of the application requirements before completing each section. Applications will be available for download in several languages, but your responses must be submitted in English. There are a number of ways to fill out this application. Some organizations may choose to feature particular projects or programs. Others may choose to cover all of their organization’s work. Whichever approach you choose, please clearly indicate how your work relates to the Communities Thrive Challenge focus areas. Portions of your application, including but not limited to the Proposal Title, Quick Pitch, Organization, the Problem, Your Approach, and geographic location, may be published on this website. The remainder of your application will only be viewed by Challenge administrators, peer reviewers, and other potential funders.

Before submitting, be sure to review your application as it will appear to reviewers by clicking the ‘Preview’ link at the bottom of the page. When you have completed all of the requirements, a confirmation message will be displayed on the screen. At that point, you can submit your final application. Once you have submitted the application, you will no longer be able to make changes. By submitting this application, you've granted us license to post portions of it on the Communities Thrive Challenge website. (NOTE: We will never post any of your financial information or the writing about challenges that you face).

You must submit your application no later than Tuesday, June 19, 2018, at 5:00 PM Pacific.

A. The Basics

The questions below will help us develop an initial, high-level understanding of your organization’s structure and mission as well as its impact, potential for scale, community engagement and leadership. You may apply as a team of two or more organizations, but in the Round One application please describe only the primary or lead organization. If invited to submit a Round Two application, you will have the opportunity to provide more detailed information on each of these topics and introduce your partners.

Proposal Title (10 words)

Please provide a name for your proposal.

Quick Pitch (50 words)

Provide a clear and succinct explanation of your organization’s approach to improving economic opportunity for your community. Your Quick Pitch is a brief statement that each reviewer will read to develop an initial understanding of your work. This is your opportunity to make a strong first impression.

Organization (150 words)

Briefly describe how your organization works. What are your values? How do you organize your team to get work done? What is unique about your organization’s operations?

Size of Your Organization

How many people work for your organization? Please select from the options listed below.

1 - 10 employees
11 - 50 employees
51 - 200 employees
201 - 500 employees
501 - 1,000 employees
1,001+ employees

Previous Funding

Has your organization received an investment or grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative or a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in the past 10 years?

No
No, but an affiliated organization has
Yes, from The Rockefeller Foundation
Yes, from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

NOTE: If the answer is yes, your organization is not eligible for the Communities Thrive Challenge. However, we still welcome you to submit your application as a way for both The Rockefeller Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to get to know you better and learn about your most recent work. Your application will not be reviewed as part of the Challenge. If an affiliated organization has received funding, your organization may be eligible subject to The Rockefeller Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative legal review.

Operating Budget

Please provide your organization’s annual operating budget, selecting from the options listed below.

Less than $200,000
$200,001 - $500,000
$500,001 - $750,000
$750,001 - $1,000,000
$1,000,001 - $1,500,000
$1,500,001 - $2,000,000
$2,000,001 - $3,000,000
Greater than $3,000,000

NOTE: If your annual operating budget is less than $200,000, your organization is not eligible for the Communities Thrive Challenge. However, we’d still like to learn more about your work and encourage you to submit your application as a way for us to get you know you. Your application will not be reviewed as part of the Challenge.

Geographic Reach

Where does your work occur? Enter a zip code for each place where your work takes place.

B. Impact

Here’s your opportunity to provide additional information and details about your organization’s work, approach, and overall impact.

The Problem (200 words)

Explain the problem(s) in your community that your organization aims to address. Which obstacle(s) to economic opportunity do you seek to eliminate? Why is this problem significant?

Your Approach (200 words)

Describe your organization’s approach to addressing the problem(s) described above (e.g., a theory of change, strategy, or model). Why do you take this approach? Which outcomes do you aim to achieve?

The People You Serve (150 words)

Discuss the people that your organization serves, invests in, or represents. Who are these people? What are the obstacles they face?

Results (150 words)

How do you know your approach is working? Describe the results you have already achieved.

Population Directly Served

How many people does your organization DIRECTLY serve, invest in, or represent?

Population Indirectly Served

If applicable, how many people are impacted by your work more broadly or indirectly? For example, if your organization shares your knowledge, resources, or model to impact people indirectly, please include this in your estimate.

C. Potential for Scale

Not every program has the potential for scale – some approaches are expressly designed for specific local contexts or populations. Both The Rockefeller Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative have been honored to support such efforts in the past.

However, the Communities Thrive Challenge is specifically looking for organizations that have a model or approach that has great potential for impact at scale with the appropriate new resources, investment, strategy, and partnerships. No organization can achieve impact at scale alone!

We have a broad definition of scale. Market expansion is one way to expand an organization’s reach. But scale can also be achieved by disseminating your model to a national network for implementation by others, building an alliance with partners across your region, partnering with government, influencing public or private policy, mobilizing or tapping into a movement, introducing a new product, sharing new data or insight, and by other means.

Approach to Scale (150 words)

How could your approach be effective at a larger scale? If you had $1M of unrestricted grant funding, how might you scale your approach? What do you think others could learn from your approach?

D. Your Community

We’d like to know about the community you serve and how you engage with it.

Local Context (75 words)

Provide a description of the community, communities, or region where you work (whichever is most relevant to understanding your organization). Explain your understanding of the necessary operations or tactics critical to succeeding in your community and overcoming any local implementation challenges.

Community Engagement (75 words)

What community members or partners does your organization work with? How do you ensure your work is informed by the community on an ongoing basis?

E. Leadership

Finally, please tell us about the people who run your organization.

Your Leadership Team (150 words)

Who is on the leadership team for your organization? How does your leadership team reflect the community you work with? Why are these individuals uniquely qualified to lead your organization?

Other Considerations (100 words)

If there is any other information you would like reviewers to consider, please include it here.

Application Round Two

Share with us your results and vision for the future.

Only organizations that have been invited to apply to the second round may complete this application. If you have been invited, congratulations on advancing to Round Two of the Communities Thrive Challenge!

Please read all of the application requirements before completing each section. Applications will be available for download in several languages but must be submitted in English. There are a number of ways to fill out this application. Some organizations may choose to feature particular projects or programs. Others may choose to cover all of their organization’s work. Whichever approach you choose, please clearly indicate how your work relates to the Communities Thrive Challenge focus areas. Portions of your application, including but not limited to Principal Organization, Results & Effectiveness, and Video, may be published on this website. The entirety of your Round One application and your Round Two application will only be viewed by challenge administrators, expert panel reviewers, and potential other funders.

Before submitting, be sure to review your application as it will appear to reviewers by clicking the preview link at the bottom of the page. When you have completed all of the requirements, a confirmation message will be displayed on the screen. At that point, you can submit your final application. Once you have submitted the application, you will no longer be able to make changes. By submitting this application, you agree to the terms & conditions, rules & privacy policy, and you've granted us license to post portions of this application on our website (NOTE: We will never post your financial information or the writing about challenges that you face).

You must submit your application no later than Monday, August 6, 2018 at 5:00 PM Pacific.

A. More of the Basics

You may apply as a single organization or as a team of organizations as long as the team is represented by one single legal entity (NOTE: Grants will be made to only one single legal entity. Refer to the Eligibility Guidelines in the Rules for further information).

PRINCIPAL ORGANIZATION

Provide the legal name of the principal organization responsible for receiving and taking accountability for any grant funds, as well as providing the direction, control, and supervision for the work, if awarded. Identify a single point of contact who will assume a key leadership role coordinating dedicated team members and/or affiliated organizations.

Principal Organization (Potential Grantee)
Organization Legal Name:*
Street Address*
Address Line 2
City*
State*
Postal / Zip Code*

Point of Contact
First Name*
Last Name*
Position/Title*
Email Address*
Phone Number*

Team Applications (150 words)

If you have chosen to apply as a team, please explain why. How can you ensure this will be an effective partnership? Have the organizations worked together in the past? If you are not applying as a team, please enter “Not applicable.”

B. Impact

We are looking for organizations that effectively and consistently deliver results that address significant, urgent, and complex problems.

Results & Effectiveness (350 words)

On the Round One application, we asked you about your results and how you know your approach is working. Now, we’d like to dig a bit deeper.

How did you choose which outcomes to focus on? How do you know whether you are making progress on those outcomes? Please provide relevant information, data, or evidence. Has your organization run any pilots, evaluations, or other research? How do you incorporate that data or insight into your work?

Has your organization or approach ever been externally evaluated? (NOTE: This is not a requirement for the Communities Thrive Challenge) If so, describe the results.

Information Sources

We value a variety of data that your approach is working (e.g. informal feedback, survey, interview, or focus groups). What kind of data, if any, do you collect? Please select all that apply.

Informally check in with the people you serve to see how things are going
Formally collect and document qualitative feedback
Routinely collect program and other data on progress
Pilot or user test new programs, products, or policies
Internally conduct evaluation or assessment of outcomes
Externally conduct evaluation or assessment of outcomes
External randomized control trial
Other

C. Potential for Scale

Not every program has the potential for scale – some approaches are expressly designed for specific local contexts or populations. Both the Rockefeller Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative have been honored to support such efforts in the past.

However, the Communities Thrive Challenge is specifically looking for organizations that have a model or approach that has great potential for impact at scale with the appropriate new resources, investment, strategy, and partnerships. No organization can achieve impact at scale alone!

We have a broad definition of scale. Market expansion is one way to expand an organization’s reach. But scale can also be achieved by disseminating your model to a national network for implementation by others, building an alliance with partners across your region, partnering with government, influencing public or private policy, mobilizing or tapping into a movement, introducing a new product, sharing new data or learnings, and by other means.

Vision for Scale (500 words)

On the Round One application, you were asked to consider how your approach could be effective at a larger scale. Now, we’d like you to expand your imagination and vision for scale. How would you define ‘impact at scale’ for your organization or approach? Picture 10 years into the future: your organization/program/policy/product/movement has transformed lives and communities. How did this happen? What role did your organization play?

Barriers to Scale or Challenges (150 words)

Aside from financial resources, what other challenges or barriers (internal and external) do you currently face in achieving the vision for scale described above? Please identify the top three, including at least one that is internal (i.e., an operating challenge that is not solely the product of outside political, social, or economic forces).

D. Community Engagement, Inclusion & Partnerships

Organizations that are driven and informed by the community are often most effective at addressing the needs of their target population.

Community Engagement (350 words)

In Round One, we asked you to briefly explain how you collaborate and ensure your work is informed by the community. Now we would like to dig a bit deeper: Specifically, how have you engaged your community (or communities) in your work? What tactics have you used in your outreach and engagement? How are the people you are trying to serve actively involved in designing and improving your work? Please provide an example of how you have modified your approach in response to community feedback.

Inclusiveness (150 words)

Please explain how your organization works to be inclusive of all people, regardless of ability (mental and/or physical), age, ethnicity, gender, migration or veteran status, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic background.

Cross Sector Collaboration & Partnerships (150 words)

Who are your most important partners and allies, whether government, businesses, or nonprofits? How, if at all, does your organization’s current success and your vision for scale depend on these partners and allies?

E. Leadership

We are seeking leaders who are well-positioned to support the organization through growth and scaling, demonstrate a strong history and commitment to the field of work, and authentically represent the populations they serve.

Your Leadership Team (150 words)

On application Round One, we asked you about your leadership team. Is there anything we didn’t learn about your leaders in Round One that you would like to add now? If this application is being submitted on behalf of a team of organizations, please make sure we know about the leaders from all of the organizations (not just the principal organization that is the potential grantee).

Resumes

Additionally, please upload a PDF file that includes the resumes/CVs for the three most senior leaders of the organization (or primary organization if applying as a team), including the person responsible for your organization’s financial health. Please combine all resumes into one file as you are only allowed to upload one file.

F. Financial Requirements

Current Amount of Funding

What is the total amount of current and expected funding (including philanthropic and government dollars, earned revenue, debt, etc.) for the current fiscal year? Please indicate when you fiscal year begins.

Prior Fiscal Year Funding

What was the total amount of funding for the prior fiscal year?

Current Funding Sources

What are your current and expected sources of funding? (NOTE: The total amount of current funding above must match the total amount in this table.)

Current Funding Sources Narrative (150 words)

How did you tap into these resources? Will these resources be available in the future? Describe your three-year funding plan. Is there anything else you’d like us to know about your funding sources?

Budget Narrative Description (150 words)

Please offer a general overview for how you would use the grant of $1,000,000 if selected. If you’ve chosen to focus your application on a particular project, please also include the expected operating budget for the rest of your organization. This should include, in broad terms, total projected needs by function and/or division. You may include any explanations of existing resources you have secured.

Budget

We understand organizational needs are constantly changing and are committed to offering unrestricted funding to our final portfolio of 501(c)(3) public charity grantees. By law, however, grant funding must be restricted to specific charitable projects of any organization that is not a 501(c)(3) public charity. Depending on your organizational structure, please follow the instructions below:

If you are a 501(c)(3) public charity, please provide an illustrative line item budget for how you would spend the $1,000,000 if you received it today. (NOTE: Should you become a grantee, you would not be bound by this budget. The grant will be for general operating support -- the illustrative budget is a way for reviewers to get a rough sense of how you would use the grant.)
If you are not a 501(c)(3) public charity, please provide a detailed line item budget for how you would spend the $1,000,000 grant if you received it today. The budget should include a detailed breakdown of staff hours dedicated to the project to help us understand how your work serves a charitable purpose.

Please make sure that any funds identified in this table reflect and clarify your general explanations provided in your budget narrative.

Financial Sustainability (150 words)

The Communities Thrive Challenge grant will contribute to your organization’s work, but additional resources may be required. If additional funds are needed, please describe your plans to secure those funds. Describe how you plan to ensure your organization’s financial sustainability over the next few years.

G. Compliance for Applicants that are not Section 501(c)(3) Public Charities

This section of the application are only required for organizations that are not 501(c)(3) public charities. Your responses to these questions may be reviewed in order to determine if your organization qualifies to receive a grant, based on whether you can satisfy the policies and standards of The Rockefeller Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the laws applicable to them. As a reminder, grant funds can only be used for charitable purposes. Please see the rules and conditions for more information.

Charitable Purpose (150 words)

What is the charitable purpose of your work? Describe how the public or a subset, which is a charitable class, will benefit from your approach. A charitable class must generally be an indefinite number of individuals who are the subject of the charitable purpose and not a limited number of specified individuals. For example, the class can be needy persons within a disadvantaged community but not a specified person in the community, even if the person is disadvantaged. There can be a comparatively small number of individuals, if the individuals are not identified and the class is open ended.

Private Benefit (150 words)

Will private interests (such as shareholders, for-profit companies, contractors, consultants, or other individuals) benefit more than incidentally from the work as compared to the public or charitable benefit? If your approach will trigger any private benefit to one or more individuals, provide an explanation of how the public benefit cannot be achieved without necessarily benefiting those individuals and to what degree any private benefit compares to public benefit.

H. Your Video Pitch

You are required to submit a video presentation that captures your own pitch for why your approach should be funded. You will upload a short digital film using YouTube. Set the Privacy Settings on your video to Public or Unlisted; do not set them to Private. Your video may be extracted from your submission and made available to the public.

Your video should comply with the following guidelines. If it does not, your submission may be invalid and no longer eligible for an award.

A length of no more than 90 seconds.
Only one to two people should present during the video.
Dialogue should be in English, or, if in another language, subtitled in English.
Not contain identifiable children without parent consent.

Here are general suggestions for delivering a high-quality video pitch:

Introduce yourself and your organization and/or team.
What problem are you trying to solve?
What is your approach?
What is unique about your approach? And how could it expand its reach?
How would you achieve greater impact if you had the necessary resources?

Hone your content:

Keep your description and language simple.
Demonstrate passion through your words and enthusiasm.
Focus on providing a personal connection and telling us about why your work matters; we are not looking for Hollywood production values. This is about showcasing your passion and approach, not your movie-making chops.

I. Information for Finalists

We expect to name 20 Finalists in late August 2018. If you are selected, you will be expected to:

Host The Rockefeller Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative teams for a site visit between September 4 and 21, 2018.
Provide up to three years of audited financial records and tax statements for the principal organization.
Provide references.
Possibly answer further questions about your organization’s operations and financial systems during a due diligence process, including being responsive to request for phone calls or documents (reply requested within 48 hours) from The Rockefeller Foundation and/or Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
If you are part of a team application, provide a fully executed Letter of Intent (LOI) or other similar agreement, executed by all parties, that a single eligible entity or organization will serve as the grantee and will have direction, control, and supervision of the proposed project and management of all grant funds and reporting requirements.

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us.

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We are not in the business of selling your information. We do, however, disclose your personally identifiable information in a variety of circumstances in connection with developing and maintaining this Website and operating or supporting Competitions. For example:

By its nature, this Website enables Users to communicate in a variety of ways. This also applies to information you choose to make available through features that connect to third party services, if applicable. Once you make your personally identifiable information available, it may be collected and used by the recipients without restriction. We urge Users to exercise common sense, prudence and good judgment about what personal information to make available to others through this Website.
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Terms & Conditions

Understand your participation on this website.

RAMPIT, LLC (“RAMPIT”) provides an online platform for skill-based challenges through various websites, including but not limited to this website, which are subject to the following terms and conditions. RAMPIT has contracted with THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION and the CHAN ZUCKERBERG INITIATIVE, LLC, to host a Challenge, as described below, on this online platform. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE. THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT THE TERMS OF A LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND RAMPIT FOR YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE AND THE RELATED SERVICES. BY RECOGNIZING YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS, EITHER BY REGISTERING A USER ACCOUNT AND/OR BY ACCESSING AND USING THIS WEBSITE, AS APPLICABLE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ALL OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, YOU MUST CEASE USING THIS WEBSITE AND THE RELATED SERVICES.

1. Definitions and interpretation

In this document, the following capitalized terms have the following meanings, unless otherwise expressly indicated:

“Affiliated Persons” means:
1. the officers, employees, contractors, agents, representatives and affiliates of the Challenge Sponsors and any entity associated with the funding, administration, or processing of the Communities Thrive Challenge, and
2. the members of the Immediate Family (as defined below) of any of the persons identified in the foregoing clause (a). The term “Immediate Family” includes a person’s spouse/domestic partner and the parents, siblings, children and grandchildren of the person and his or her spouse/domestic partner.
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“Rules” means any set of provisions that establish specific conditions, under which participants are bound, that are posted on this Website, either as a notice of an extension of these Challenge Terms and Conditions or in addition to these Challenge Terms and Conditions.
"RAMPIT" means RAMPIT, LLC, a Tennessee limited liability company, with a place of business at 805 2nd Avenue South, #3, Nashville, TN 37210.
"RAMPIT Affiliate" means an entity affiliated with RAMPIT by ownership or common ownership (including The Common Pool, LLC, and 23Com Software, LLC) or any subsidiary of RAMPIT.
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2. Agreement to be bound

Use of this Website is subject to this Agreement. You agree to be bound by this Agreement and any subsequent amendments to this Agreement, as set forth below.
RAMPIT reserves the right to amend or modify this Agreement at any time, provided that if such modifications materially limit Your rights and/or expand Your obligations hereunder, RAMPIT will notify You electronically, such as by email or through the Website. Such material modifications will take effect on the earlier of the date You indicate Your assent (by clicking "Accept" or otherwise). No modification of the Agreement will apply to any dispute between You and RAMPIT that arose prior to the effective date of the modification. If at any time You disagree with the Agreement or any modifications thereof, You may terminate this Agreement and shall cease using this Website. Your continued use of the Website after the revised Agreement becomes effective (such as following notice as set forth above) indicates that You have read, understood, and agreed to the revised Agreement. Any new or different terms supplied by You are specifically rejected by RAMPIT unless RAMPIT agrees to them in a signed writing specifically including those new or different terms.
Particular Challenges may be subject to additional terms and conditions ("Challenge Terms and Conditions"). Challenge Terms and Conditions will apply in addition to this Agreement and will not limit this Agreement in any way unless RAMPIT notifies the parties to a Challenge that this Agreement is amended by the Challenge Terms and Conditions. If RAMPIT does not provide such notification to the parties, this Agreement will prevail in the event of any inconsistency between it and the Challenge Terms and Conditions.
RAMPIT may alter this Website from time to time by adding or removing features. This Agreement will not be affected by any alterations to this Website.
Users may use this Website, including but not limited to those in the capacity of a Competitor. This Agreement will apply to Your use of the Website in that capacity, but Users may also include Challenge Administrators or representatives of the Challenge Sponsor, and any conditions placed on them as Users are identified in the Terms.

3. Participation

In order to participate in any Challenge, You must register as a User. Participation on this Website is free.
Participation is available only to Entities that are able to form legally binding contracts under applicable law. If You do not accept this Agreement, You will not be permitted to participate in any Challenge or otherwise access or use the Website in any way.
By entering, You represent that you are not:
1. An individual under the age of 18 years;
2. A person whose participation has been permanently suspended or terminated under Section 4 below; or
3. A person who resides in or is a citizen of countries that are prohibited by law, regulation (including United States or other applicable export laws and regulations), treaty or administrative act from entering into trade relations (including export of technology) with the United States or its citizens.
When registering as a User, You warrant to RAMPIT that:
1. You are 18 years of age or older, and You are registering as a User on Your own behalf and in Your own name as an authorized representative of an Entity (and not on behalf of and/or in the name of a third person);
2. If You are representing an Entity, You have full legal capacity and power to enter into and perform Your obligations under this Agreement on behalf of the Entity; and
3. You agree to act in good faith and in accordance with this Agreement.
No individual or represented Entity may register more than once (for example, by using a different username/email).
Acceptance of registration is at the sole discretion of RAMPIT. If RAMPIT believes that any registration has been made in contravention of clauses 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5 above (or otherwise in breach of this Agreement), it may refuse to accept the registration.
You are responsible for all use of this Website made using Your User Account (and/or username/email or password), whether or not You are aware of that use or could reasonably have been aware of that use. You agree to notify RAMPIT immediately if You become aware of any unauthorized use of Your User Account.
Your User Account is personal to You and may not be sold, assigned or transferred to a third party. If You attempt to sell, assign or transfer Your User Account to a third party, RAMPIT may suspend or terminate Your participation and account at its sole discretion.
RAMPIT may communicate with You through the username/email that You provide at registration. You agree to notify RAMPIT within a reasonable time if there are any changes to Your details. If You fail to notify RAMPIT of any changes to Your details, You agree to waive any objection, claim, defense or recourse You might have had as a consequence of RAMPIT failing to communicate with You. If You change Your email address and fail to notify RAMPIT of the change, RAMPIT will be deemed to have communicated with You on the date on which it communicated with the email address most recently provided by You.
You warrant that any Content provided or posted by You (through registration or otherwise):
1. is not false, inaccurate, misleading or fraudulent;
2. does not infringe any third party's Intellectual Property Rights or other rights arising at law or otherwise;
3. is not obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening or harassing;
4. does not violate any applicable law;
5. does not contain or describe pornography and is not otherwise harmful to persons under the age of 18 years;
6. will not create liability of any kind for RAMPIT or cause RAMPIT to lose the services of its internet service providers or other suppliers (in whole or in part);
7. will not create liability of any kind for the Challenge Sponsors.
  
  Unlawful, plagiarized, third-party intellectual property infringing, unintelligible, illegible, obscene, indecent or incomplete entries will be disqualified in the Challenge Sponsors’ or RAMPIT’s sole discretion. The Challenge Sponsors and RAMPIT reserve the right to scrutinize all new Entries for these requirements at any time during or after the Challenge.
If RAMPIT believes that any Content contravenes Clause 3.10 (or any other provision of this Agreement), it may remove that Content and/or take any other steps as it deems necessary to protect itself or third parties against any Loss. To the maximum extent permitted by law, RAMPIT and the Challenge Sponsors will not be liable for any Loss to any person arising from the removal of Content under this Section.

4. Terminating Your Participation

Subject to Clause 4.2, You may terminate Your participation at any time and without cause by notifying RAMPIT through this Website.
If You terminate Your participation, this Agreement and any other applicable terms and conditions will continue to apply to any Postings made by You prior to giving the notice described in Clause 4.1 above.
RAMPIT may, in its absolute discretion, terminate or suspend Your participation at any time and without notice if it believes that:
1. You have breached this Agreement or any other applicable terms and conditions;
2. You have acted in a way which is unlawful, or which may create liability for You, RAMPIT, our Users, our internet service providers or any other supplier, or the Challenge Sponsors;
3. RAMPIT is unable to verify any information provided by You;
4. Other Users give negative feedback about You, which RAMPIT determines in its absolute discretion is worthy of termination;
5. You have acted or represented Yourself in any way that RAMPIT or the Challenge Sponsors deem that your termination is necessary.
If RAMPIT terminates Your participation, RAMPIT may in its absolute discretion withdraw any Postings submitted or made by You. If RAMPIT terminates Your participation, RAMPIT may, at its sole discretion, immediately withdraw Your Entries, which will have no force and effect from the date on which Your participation was terminated.
Subject to Clause 4.4, if RAMPIT suspends Your participation, any entries or other Postings submitted or made by You may be suspended for the period in which Your participation is suspended.
If Your participation is terminated, either by You or by RAMPIT:
1. You are no longer authorized to access this Website;
2. all restrictions imposed on You, licenses granted by You and all indemnities, disclaimers and limitations of liability set out in this Agreement, including clauses 10 (Limitation of Liability) and 11 (Indemnities), will survive, along with clauses 13 (Intellectual Property), 15 (Arbitration) and 17 (Miscellaneous).

5. Use of this Website

You must not use the Website to facilitate or participate in any illegal activity or engage in any activity which RAMPIT, in its absolute discretion, considers inappropriate. RAMPIT reserves the right to terminate or restrict Your access to this Website immediately and indefinitely if it suspects that You are engaging in any such behavior or are in breach of any terms of this Agreement. You agree that You will use Your User Account and this Website only for the purposes of using the Services and for no other purpose. Without limiting the foregoing, in using Your User Account and accessing the Website, You agree not to:
1. use Your User Account in a fraudulent or illegal manner, or email or otherwise send any materials from Your User Account which are offensive, unlawful, harassing, libelous, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene or otherwise objectionable;
2. use Your User Account to stalk or harass another person;
3. use Your User Account to impersonate any person in any way whatsoever;
4. use Your User Account to infringe the copyright, trademark, patent or other Intellectual Property Rights of any person or entity;
5. use Your User Account to send advertising, chain letters, junk mail, spam or any other type of unsolicited electronic communications;
6. use Your User Account to send or distribute any Content of any kind which contains a virus, spyware, malware or other harmful, disruptive or destructive component;
7. intentionally or negligently use Your User Account in a way that degrades performance of this Website to other persons;
8. manipulate, or attempt to manipulate, any Challenge;
9. use Your User Account or any mechanism, software or other scripts in relation to the Website which could disrupt or interfere with the Website or any servers, software, hardware or equipment connected to or via the Website;
10. restrict or inhibit any other User from using or enjoying the Website;
11. distribute any pornographic, extremist or racist material or any material which might otherwise be harmful to persons under the age of 18 years;
12. violate any applicable law, rule or regulation relating to Your use of the website.

6. Terms specific to Competitors

If You are registered as a Competitor, You agree and acknowledge that:
1. in making an Entry, to be bound by this Agreement and all Challenge Information (including the Challenge Terms and Conditions) relating to the Challenge;
2. RAMPIT does not guarantee the accuracy of the Challenge Information (or other Content posted on the Website), ownership of any Content, or the availability of any Award(s);
3. any leader board appearing in connection with a Challenge is indicative only and makes no representations and creates no entitlements in relation to any Award(s);
4. RAMPIT does not control the decisions of the Challenge Sponsors, and You release RAMPIT and Challenge Sponsors from any claims of any nature known or unknown that You may have in relation to the decisions of the Challenge Sponsors (including the selection of the Grantees and ranking of Competitors), including any defamation or other claims arising from its ranking of Competitors;
5. RAMPIT is not responsible for any Postings provided by Users or for the accuracy of Content provided by Users;
6. RAMPIT is not liable to bestow any Award(s), and You will look solely to the Challenge Sponsors and any designated administrating entity for the bestowal of any Award(s);
7. in the event that You have any dispute with another User, You release RAMPIT from all claims of any kind arising from that dispute;
8. You will not initiate contact with a Challenge Sponsors for the purpose of contracting separately with the Challenge Sponsors to circumvent any Challenge; and,
9. an Entry will be deemed to have been logged at the time that it is received by RAMPIT. You agree that neither RAMPIT nor the Challenge Sponsors are responsible for any Entry not being received due to technical reasons or otherwise.
The Challenge Sponsors reserve the right to conduct an administrative review of any Entry or any Competitor in order to screen for completeness and other Entry Content requirements (as described in the Challenge Terms and Conditions) before distributing approved Entries to Judges.
Competitors irrevocably grant the right for RAMPIT, the Challenge Sponsors, and/or any entity designated by the Challenge Sponsors, to publish any Entry, Entry Content, or Content on this Website; the remainder of any Entry, Entry Content, or Content will also be viewed by the Challenge Sponsors, RAMPIT, and Judges, as necessary.
By participating in the Challenge, You hereby irrevocably grant to the Challenge Sponsors a non-exclusive, royalty free, sub-licensable, worldwide, license and right to use the Entry to the extent necessary to administer the Challenge, and to reproduce, distribute, publicly perform and publicly display the Entry for any purpose, including, without limitation, for advertising and promotional purposes relating to the Challenge. If You are selected as a Finalist or Grantee of the Challenge, as a condition to receiving the respective Awards, You hereby irrevocably grant the Challenge Sponsors a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty free, sub-licensable, worldwide, license and right to post on the Challenge Sponsors’ website portions of your Entry.

7. RAMPIT's relationship with Competitor and Challenge Sponsor

RAMPIT is not involved in any way in the formation of any contract between the Competitor and the Challenge Sponsors. RAMPIT at no time acts as an agent for any Competitor.
RAMPIT will not be liable to You in any respect if a Challenge Sponsors or Competitor fails to perform its obligations under this Agreement or the Challenge.
The Challenge Sponsors will at all times be responsible for the bestowal of any Award(s) in accordance with the Agreement and the Challenge Terms and Conditions. RAMPIT will have no liability whatsoever in respect to the failure of a Challenge Sponsors to bestow any Award(s), and You acknowledge and agree that You will not take action of any kind against RAMPIT in respect to any claim for any Award(s) that You may or may not have or wish to make.

8. Terms specific to Finalists and Grantees and Challenge Sponsor

Finalists and Grantees agree that any Award is conditional upon receipt by the Challenge Sponsors of any Entry Content used or consulted by that Finalist or Grantee in generating the winning Entry and that any Award will not be bestowed until this condition has been satisfied.
Finalists and Grantees may be required to execute a separate agreement as a condition to receiving an Award. If a Finalist or Grantee fails or refuses to sign and return this separate agreement within five days after the Challenge Sponsors’ request (or a shorter time as exigencies may require), the Finalist or Grantee may be disqualified, and an alternate Finalist or Grantee may be selected.
By participating in the Challenge, in addition to any other rights granted herein or which may be granted in any other agreement entered into between the Challenge Sponsors and RAMPIT, on the one hand, and You, on the other hand, You, to the extent allowed by applicable law, hereby irrevocably (a) grant to each of the Challenge Sponsors and RAMPIT the right to use Your name, likeness, image, voice, and biographical information in any and all media for any purpose, including, without limitation, advertising and promotional purposes relating to the Challenge and (b) release Challenge Sponsors from all liability of any kind with respect thereto.
No more than the advertised number of Awards will be distributed.
Attempts to notify potential Finalists and Grantees will be made using the contact information provided on the Finalist’s and Grantee’s Entry. The Challenge Sponsors and RAMPIT are not responsible for e-mail or other communication problems of any kind. If, despite reasonable efforts, a potential Finalist or Grantee does not respond within five days after the first notification attempt (or a shorter time as exigencies may require), or if the Award or Award notification is returned as unclaimed or undeliverable to such potential Finalist or Grantee, such potential Finalist or Grantee will forfeit the Award and an alternate Finalist or Grantee may be selected. If any potential Finalist or Grantee is found to be ineligible, or has not complied with this agreement or any Challenge rules or requirements or declines the applicable Award for any reason, such potential Finalists or Grantees will be disqualified and an alternate Finalist or Grantee may be selected.

9. Taxes on Awards

You will be responsible for any tax, levy, or other charge that may arise under any applicable law from the use of this website, including from receiving any Award(s). You acknowledge that You will not be entitled to demand any additional payment by reason of any Award(s) being subject to any tax, levy, or other charge in any jurisdiction.

10. Limitation of liability

THIS WEBSITE AND SERVICES, AND ALL CONTENT ASSOCIATED THEREWITH, ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, RAMPIT AND CHALLENGE SPONSORS AND THE OWNERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS OF EACH EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE (EVEN IF THE PURPOSE HAS BEEN DISCLOSED), AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. RAMPIT DOES NOT WARRANT THIS WEBSITE AND RELATED SERVICES AND THE CONTENT PROVIDED THROUGH IT, INCLUDING THE ENTRIES AND ASSOCIATED ENTRY CONTENT, TO BE AVAILABLE, ACCURATE, USEFUL, OR FREE OF ERRORS, VIRUSES, OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE, LOSS OF DATA, OR OTHER HARM THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE (INCLUDING THE SERVICES).
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL RAMPIT OR CHALLENGE SPONSORS OR THE OWNERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SSUPPLIERS OF EITHER BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OR RELATED TO THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, EVEN IF RAMPIT OR CHALLENGE SPONSORS OR THE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF EITHER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THESE LIMITATIONS WILL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER RAMPIT NOR THE CHALLENGE SPONSORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS ARISING OUT OF, OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH:
1. delay or inability to access or use this Website;
2. reliance on any Challenge Information or other Content;
3. the transmission of any computer virus, however occurring;
4. any unauthorized access to, modification or alteration of Content;
5. any Content sent or received or not sent or received;
6. any transaction entered into through this Website;
7. any infringement of rights, including Intellectual Property Rights;
8. any threatening, defamatory, obscene, offensive, harmful, inappropriate or illegal Content or conduct of any party;
9. any Content sent by any third party using and/or included in this Website;
10. termination of Your participation; or,
11. any delays, interruptions, inaccuracies, errors, omissions or cessation of services.
For the avoidance of doubt, You acknowledge that RAMPIT is a provider of an interactive computer service and that neither RAMPIT nor Challenge Sponsors are a publisher under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, and therefore not responsible for any of the Users' Postings. If, notwithstanding the provisions of this Clause 11.3, a court of competent jurisdiction holds RAMPIT or Challenge Sponsors liable in respect of any matters arising under or incidental to this Agreement, RAMPIT'S AND CHALLENGE SPONSORS’ TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE OR RELATED SERVICES (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, WARRANTY, OR OTHERWISE) WILL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR USING THIS WEBSITE DURING THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING YOUR CLAIM, OR, IF NO AMOUNT WAS PAID, SUCH LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO $100.
You agree that neither RAMPIT nor Challenge Sponsors nor the third-party providers of either will be liable or responsible for any failure in, or delay to, the provision of the Services or in RAMPIT nor Challenge Sponsors complying with its obligations under this Agreement where such failure or delay has arisen as a direct or indirect result of:
1. fire, earthquake, storm, flood, hurricane, inclement weather or other act of God, war, terrorism, explosion, sabotage, industrial accident or industrial strike;
2. telecommunications failure, hardware failure or software failure;
3. the failure of any third party to fulfill any obligations to RAMPIT or Challenge Sponsors; or
4. any other circumstance or event which is or is not within the reasonable control of RAMPIT or Challenge Sponsors.
In the event an insufficient number of eligible entries is received or the Challenge Sponsors are prevented from awarding an Award or continuing with the Challenge as contemplated herein by any event beyond its control, including, without limitation, fire, flood, natural or man-made epidemic, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, satellite or equipment failure, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared) or any federal state or local government law, order, or regulation, public health crisis, order of any court or jurisdiction, or other cause not reasonably within the Challenge Sponsors’ control (“Force Majeure”), the Challenge Sponsors shall have the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Challenge. If the Challenge is terminated for Force Majeure before expiration of the Communities Thrive Challenge, the Challenge Sponsors will (if reasonably possible) select a Finalists from all eligible, non-suspect entries received as of the date of the event giving rise to the termination.
All obligations of the Challenge Sponsors under or pursuant to this Agreement are subject to the availability of funds, and no provision of this Agreement shall be interpreted to require obligation or payment of funds in violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act, (31 U.S.C. § 1341).
You agree that the Challenge Sponsors and RAMPIT:
1. shall not be responsible or liable for any losses, damages, or injuries of any kind (including death) resulting from participation in the Challenge or any Challenge-related activity, or from Your acceptance, receipt, possession, use, or misuse of any Award, and
2. have not made any warranty, representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, with respect to any Award, including, without limitation, regarding such Award’s merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The Challenge Sponsors and RAMPIT assume no responsibility for any damage to Your computer system which is occasioned by accessing the Challenge Website or participating in the Challenge, or for any computer system, phone line, hardware, software, or program malfunctions, or other errors, failures, delayed computer transmissions, or network connections that are human or technical in nature.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold each of the Challenge Sponsors, RAMPIT, and their owners, officers, employees, agents and suppliers, harmless from all claims and Losses (including legal fees) due to or arising out of or in connection with Your Postings, Challenge, Challenge Information and other Content (as applicable), Your use of this Website, or Your breach of this Agreement.

12. Access to the Site outside of the United States

Neither RAMPIT nor Challenge Sponsors represent or warrant that the Content on this Website complies with the laws of any country outside of the United States. If You access this Website from outside the United States, You do so at Your own risk.

13. Intellectual property

You acknowledge that, as between the parties, RAMPIT is the owner of all Intellectual Property Rights in and to this Website (excluding Postings). You acknowledge that You have no Intellectual Property Rights in or to this Website or to any Postings not made directly by you except for a limited license to use this Website as necessary to participate in a Challenge or evaluate the possibility of such participation.
You acknowledge that all text, graphics, user interfaces, photographs, trademarks, logos and artwork, including the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, 'look and feel' and arrangement of such Content, provided by RAMPIT or its licensors on this Website is owned or licensed by or to RAMPIT and is protected by applicable copyright, patent and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair challenge laws. No such Content can be copied, publicly displayed, modified, sold, licensed or distributed in any way by You without RAMPIT's prior written consent. You shall not use the name “The Rockefeller Foundation” or the “Chan Zuckerberg Initiative” or any variation, adaptation, or abbreviation thereof, or the name of any of The Rockefeller Foundation’s or the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Board members, officers, employees, or agents, or any trademark, insignia or program identifier-owned by The Rockefeller Foundation or the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, in any promotional material or other public announcement or disclosure, nor copied, publicly displayed, modified, sold, licensed or distributed in any way by You without the prior written consent of The Rockefeller Foundation or the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which consent The Rockefeller Foundation or the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative may withhold in its sole discretion.

14. Third party sites

From time to time, RAMPIT may provide, or any Content may contain, links to Third Party Sites and resources. You acknowledge that:
1. Neither RAMPIT nor Challenge Sponsors have any control over Third Party Sites and resources;
2. Neither RAMPIT nor Challenge Sponsors are responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources; and
3. Neither RAMPIT nor Challenge Sponsors endorse nor are either responsible for any content, advertising, products, services or other materials on or available from such sites or resources.
You acknowledge and agree that neither RAMPIT nor Challenge Sponsors will be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any Loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with Your use of or reliance on any Content or material available on or through any Third Party Sites or resource.

15. Arbitration

In the interest of resolving disputes between You and RAMPIT in the most expedient and cost effective manner, You and RAMPIT agree that any and all disputes arising in connection with this Agreement shall be resolved by binding arbitration. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, may allow for more limited discovery than in court, and can be subject to very limited review by courts. Arbitrators can award the same damages and relief that a court can award. Our agreement to arbitrate disputes includes, but is not limited to all claims arising out of or relating to any aspect of this Agreement, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory, and regardless of whether the claims arise during or after the termination of these Terms. You understand and agree that, by entering into this agreement, You and RAMPIT are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action.
You and RAMPIT or Challenge Sponsors each agree that nothing herein shall be deemed to waive, preclude, or otherwise limit any rights to (i) bring an individual action in small claims court, (ii) pursue enforcement actions through applicable federal, state, or local agencies where such actions are available, (iii) seek injunctive relief in a court of law, or (iv) to file suit in a court of law to address intellectual property infringement claims.
Any arbitration between You and RAMPIT will be governed by the Commercial Dispute Resolution Procedures and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (collectively, "AAA Rules") of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), as modified by these Terms, and will be administered by the AAA. The AAA Rules and filing forms are available online at www.adr.org, by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.
A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send a written notice of the dispute to the other, by certified mail or Federal Express (signature required), or in the event that we do not have a physical address on file for You, by electronic mail ("Notice"). RAMPIT's address for Notice is: RAMPIT, LLC, 805 2nd Avenue South, #3, Nashville, TN 37210 or support@rampit.com. The CHALLENGE SPONSORS’ addresses are THE ROCKERFELLER FOUNDATION, 420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a limited liability corporation, located at 435 Tasso Street, Suite 100, Palo Alto, CA 94301. The Notice must: (a) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and, (b) set forth the specific relief sought. We agree to use good faith efforts to resolve the claim directly, but if we do not reach an agreement to do so within 30 calendar days after the Notice is received, You may commence arbitration proceedings.
Any arbitration hearings will take place at a location to be agreed upon by the parties to the arbitration or, if a location cannot be agreed upon, then it will be agreed upon by the arbitrator(s), provided that if the claim is for $10,000 or less, You may choose whether the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator, through a non-appearance based telephonic hearing, or by an in-person hearing as established by the AAA Rules. Regardless of the manner in which the arbitration is conducted, the arbitrator shall issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to explain the essential findings and conclusions on which the decision and award, if any, are based. The arbitrator may make rulings and resolve disputes as to the payment and reimbursement of fees or expenses at any time during the proceeding and upon request from either party made within 14 calendar days after the arbitrator's ruling on the merits.
YOU AND RAMPIT AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, unless both You and RAMPIT or agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding.
If only Clause 15.6 is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this Section 15 shall be null and void and, in such case, the parties agree that the exclusive jurisdiction and venue described in Section 17 shall govern any action arising out of or related to the Agreement.

16. Digital Millennium Copyright Act

If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any Content infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") by providing RAMPIT's copyright agent (the "Copyright Agent") with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail):
1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail;
5. A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
RAMPIT's designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement is Copyright Agent, RAMPIT, LLC, 805 2nd Avenue South, #3, Nashville, TN 37210, email: support@rampit.com. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of this Section 16, your DMCA notice may not be valid.
If you believe that your Content that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the material in your Content, you may send a counter-notice containing the following information to the Copyright Agent:
1. Your physical or electronic signature;
2. Identification of the Content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the Content appeared before it was removed or disabled;
3. A statement that you have a good faith belief that the Content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the Content; and
4. Your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court in Nashville, Tennessee, and a statement that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement.
If a counter-notice is received by the Copyright Agent, RAMPIT may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that it may replace the removed Content or cease disabling it in 10 business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the Content provider, member or user, the removed Content may be replaced, or access to it restored, in 10 to 14 business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at RAMPIT's sole discretion.

17. Miscellaneous

As defined in Clause 1.2, this Agreement is the entire agreement between You and RAMPIT relating to the subject matter herein, and supersedes all previous communications, representations, understandings and agreements, either oral or written, between You and RAMPIT with respect to said subject matter. This Agreement shall not be modified except in a writing signed by both parties, or by a change made as provided in Clause 2.2. If any provision of this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability will not affect the remainder of this Agreement, which is severable from said provision and will remain in full force and effect.
If You breach any provision of this Agreement and RAMPIT has knowledge (either actual or constructive) of that breach, a failure to pursue legal action or to enforce any remedy against You will not constitute a waiver of its legal rights. Any waiver of rights under this Agreement must be in writing and signed by RAMPIT.
All matters relating to this Website and this Agreement are governed by and are to be construed according to the laws applicable in the state of Tennessee, United States (without regard to any rules governing choice of law). If one or more of the exceptions from arbitration expressly set forth in Section 16 above apply, You agree unconditionally to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Davidson County, Tennessee, in relation to all matters arising out of or in any way connected with this Agreement or this Website.
RAMPIT may assign its rights and novate or transfer obligations which arise under this Agreement. You must not assign, novate or otherwise transfer Your rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of RAMPIT. Any assignment attempted in violation of this Clause 17.4 shall be void.
The parties agree that no rule of construction applies to the disadvantage of a party because that party was responsible for the preparation of this Agreement or part of it.
Unless otherwise requested in writing by You, RAMPIT may refer to You and Your corporate identity (if applicable) as part of promoting this Website and RAMPIT in the marketplace.
RAMPIT accepts content uploaded from Users in good faith and on the basis of warranties provided by Users. It is Your responsibility at all times to investigate and become satisfied as to the accuracy of the information provided by any other party (including all Users) on this Website. RAMPIT at no time makes any representations as to the accuracy of any information provided on this Website.
You acknowledge and agree that to the extent that this Agreement relates to a Challenge, a prospective Challenge or any Posting, this Agreement is intended also to be for the benefit of the Challenge Sponsor, the Competitors and other Users, who are express and intended third-party beneficiaries with respect to their rights and who are entitled to enforce the provisions of this Agreement against You.
All notices, requests, demands, consents, approvals, offers, agreements or other communications given by You to RAMPIT must be emailed to RAMPIT at support@rampit.com.
In the interpretation of this Agreement, unless the contrary intention appears:
1. the words 'includes' or 'including' mean 'includes without limitation' or 'including without limitation';
2. a reference to a 'person' or 'entity' includes a reference to an individual, group of individuals, corporation, firm, association or other entity;
3. the singular includes the plural and vice versa;
4. an agreement, representation or warranty made by two or more persons is made by them jointly and by each of them severally; and headings are inserted for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of this Agreement.
This Challenge is a skills-based challenge to resolve bona fide requirements and, for clarity, is not any game(s) of chance.

Meet the 63 Semi-Finalists

After peer and expert panel review, 63 organizations were named Semi-Finalists of the Communities Thrive Challenge.

Meet the Finalists

After two rounds of peer and expert panel review, 20 finalists were selected in the Communities Thrive Challenge. These finalists represent organizations from cities and towns across the country implementing community-driven approaches to help create better work, provide skill development opportunities, improve financial security, and build economically vibrant communities.

Meet the Grantees

After a deep review including site visits with the 20 finalists, we selected 10 Communities Thrive Challenge grantees. Each grantee received a $1M grant, as well as technical assistance tailored to their needs as they scale, and the opportunity to share their story on a national stage. The finalists who were not selected for the final portfolio received a $10,000 donation in recognition of all they have achieved.

Community Solutions for a National Challenge

These organizations have developed community-driven models that help low-income and financially insecure people find and retain well-paid, meaningful work, achieve financial security, or build economically vibrant neighborhoods. Ultimately, we hope their work will help narrow the opportunity gap in the U.S.

Explore Our Submissions

Learn about the work of hundreds of organizations and local leaders