• Past Winners
  • 2010 Winners
  • 2009 Winners
  • 2008 Winners
• Participating Schools
• Home

Official Rules

Lots2Give™ Contest Official Rules

No Purchase Required to Enter or Win

1. ELIGIBILITY: Your school has been selected as a participant ('Participant' or 'you') in the Lots2Give™ Contest (the "Contest"). Only those schools selected by Sponsor based upon geographic location and level of need are eligible to participate in the Contest.
2. SPONSOR: The Contest is sponsored by Big Lots Stores, Inc., 300 Phillipi Road, Columbus, OH 43228 (the "Sponsor").
3. AGREEMENT TO OFFICIAL RULES: Participation in the Contest constitutes the Participant's full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules, Sponsor's User Agreement and Privacy Policy, all terms and conditions governing use of YouTube® and the decisions made by Sponsor in its sole discretion, which are final and binding (including, but not limited to, Sponsor's determination as to an Entry's compliance with the Entry Requirements). Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
4. ENTRY PERIOD: The Entry Period begins on April 4, 2011 at 12:01 a.m. EST and ends on May 23, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Entries that are submitted before or after the Entry Period may be disqualified in Sponsor's sole discretion.
5. CREATE AN ENTRY: To enter, each Participant must create a video and write an essay explaining why the Participant needs financial support. Together, the video and essay constitute your “Entry.” The Entry must meet each of the following requirements (collectively, the "Entry Requirements"):
   1. Essays must be 500 characters or less. Videos must be 90 seconds or less and no larger than 200 megabytes. Videos must be in one of the following file formats: (i) .MOV; (ii) .AVI; (iii) .MPEG (MPG); (iv) .MP4; or (v) .WMV.
   2. The Entry may not contain any trademarks, logos, or copyrighted elements other than elements owned by the Participant. Any elements that appear in the Entry, including without limitation, images, music, audio, speech, or other audiovisual materials used must be entirely original, created and performed solely by the Participant, or be in the public domain. Use of any elements that are not original or in the public domain will result in disqualification of the Entry, in the Sponsor's sole discretion.
   3. The Entry may not be obscene or indecent, it must not contain defamatory statements, it must not include threats to any person, place, business, or group, it must not invade privacy rights or any other rights of any person, business, or group, it must not name or depict any third party without his/her permission, and it must not be otherwise objectionable to Sponsor.
   4. The Entry may not depict or encourage any dangerous, life-threatening, or otherwise risky behavior.
6. SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY: Once you have created an Entry that meets each of the Entry Requirements set forth above, visit www.biglots.com/lots2give/contest fill out the required information, and follow the instructions to submit your Entry. Any representative of Participant that visits www.biglots.com/lots2give (the "Website"), fills out the required information, submits your Entry, or does anything else on the Website must be eighteen years of age or older. Each Participant may submit only one (1) Entry. Subsequent submissions will be disqualified.
7. LICENSE TO USE LOTS2GIVE™ MARK: Sponsor hereby grants Participant a non-exclusive, royalty-free, revocable, non-assignable license, in the United States, to use, from April 4, 2011 to December 31, 2011, Sponsor's Lots2Give mark (the "Mark") only in the form set forth in the "Promote" section of the Website, and only on Participant's website and on materials that the Participant creates to promote the Contest and the Lots2Give in-store donation program, and in no other manner. Participant may not display the Mark in a manner that is misleading, deceptive, unfair, defamatory, infringing, libelous, disparaging, harmful, obscene or otherwise objectionable to Sponsor. The Mark shall be used only in the form and format expressly approved by Sponsor as set forth in the "Promote" section of the Website. Except for resizing, the Mark shall not be altered or changed in any way or incorporated into any other trademarks or logos. Participant may not grant any sublicense in the Mark and shall not attempt to get any rights in the Mark or any confusingly similar approximations. It is expressly agreed that Participant is not acquiring any right, title or interest (other than the foregoing license rights) in the Mark (which shall remain the property of Sponsor) and no other license rights shall be deemed granted by implication, estoppel, course of dealing or otherwise. Participant agrees not to challenge Sponsor's right, title or interest in or to the Mark and Participant agrees to execute such documents as Sponsor may request to ensure that all right, title and interest in and to the Mark reside with Sponsor. If Participant's use of the Mark violates any of these conditions, or if Participant fails to abide by any term of these Official Rules, Sponsor may request that you modify or cease use of the Mark.
   

   Participant shall fully indemnify, defend (at Sponsor's option) and hold harmless the Released Parties (as defined below) from and against any claims, losses costs (including attorneys' fees and expenses), damages, expenses, liabilities, liens, actions, causes of action, charges, assessments and penalties of any kind from any cause arising or resulting from Participant's failure to abide by any provision of this Section 7. These indemnification obligations shall survive after Participant has ceased using the Mark.

   SPONSOR MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE MARK. IN NO EVENT SHALL SPONSOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE AND SPECIAL DAMAGES OR LOSS OF PROFITS) ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO PARTICIPANT’S USE OF THE MARK, EVEN IF SPONSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

8. PARTICIPANT’S WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS: By submitting an Entry, each Participant warrants and represents:
   1. The Entry (i) is original to the Participant, (ii) does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or any other rights of any third party, (iii) does not violate any law or regulation, (iv) has not previously been entered in any other contest or festival, and (v) has not been previously published in any medium.
   2. To the extent the Entry depicts any individual or features the voice of any individual, the Participant has obtained permission from each person appearing in the Entry, or if that person is a minor, permission from that person's parent or legal guardian, to use that individual's voice and/or image in the Entry and to grant the rights to the Sponsor described in the "Sponsor's Rights to Entries" section below, and can make written copies of such permissions available to the Sponsor upon request.
9. SPONSOR’S RIGHTS TO ENTRIES: By submitting a Entry, each Participant:
   1. Irrevocably transfers to the Sponsor all rights and title to the Entry, including, but not limited to, the right to copyright, reproduce, encode, store, copy, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, publicly perform, adapt, modify, create derivative works of, exhibit, and otherwise use the Entry as-is or as-edited (with or without using the Participant's name) in any media throughout the world in perpetuity for any purpose, without limitation, and without additional review, compensation, or approval from the Participant or any other party.
   2. Forever waives any rights of copyrights, trademark rights, privacy rights, and any other legal or moral rights that may preclude the Sponsor's use of the Participant's Entry, or require the Participant's permission for the Sponsor to use the Entry.
   3. Agrees not to instigate, support, maintain, or authorize any action, claim, or lawsuit against the Sponsor or the Released Parties (as defined below) on the grounds that any use of the Entry, or any derivative works, infringes any of the Participant's rights as creator of the Entry, including, without limitation, copyrights, trademark rights, and moral rights.
10. SELECTION OF WINNERS: From approximately June 6, 2011 at 12:01 a.m. EST through July 4, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST, the Entries that satisfy the Entry Requirements will be posted on the Website and members of the public will be invited to vote for the Entries based on the following criteria: (1) Entry originality, and (2) Entry persuasiveness. There is a limit of three (3) votes per user per day. The Grand Prize and First Prize and Second Prize winners will be determined based on the voting results. In the event of a tie, the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, will select the winner from the tied Entries based on the following criteria, which will be equally weighted: (1) Entry originality, and (2) Entry persuasiveness. Winners will be announced on or about August 13, 2011.
11. REQUIREMENTS OF A POTENTIAL WINNER: Except where prohibited, an authorized representative of a potential winner may be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility and a publicity release form in order to receive the prize. Documents must be signed and returned to the Sponsor within seven (7) days of being notified.
12. PRIZES: One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). Four (4) First Prize winners will each receive five thousand dollars ($5,000). Thirty (30) Second Prize winners will each receive two thousand dollars ($2,000). Any prize details not specified above will be determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. Prizes are not transferable or refundable and must be accepted as awarded. Each winner will be responsible for any taxes resulting from prize receipt and/or use. Odds of winning depend on the total number of Entries received that satisfy the Entry Requirements.
13. GENERAL CONDITIONS: In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, other technical problem, or at the request of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Google, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules, (b) award the prizes according to the public votes received as of the time of the impairment, or (c) terminate the Contest. The Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any Participant it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or the terms and conditions of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Google or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner (for purposes of this Section 12, "Participant" includes any representative of any Participant). Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be in violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Failure by the Sponsor to enforce any provision of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that, or any other, provision of these Official Rules.
14. RELEASE AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: By participating in the Contest, Participant agrees to release and hold harmless the Sponsor and its affiliated entities and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents (the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest, use of the Mark or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) any technical errors that may prevent a participant from submitting an Entry or prevent members of the public from voting for an Entry; (b) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail; (e) errors in the administration of the Contest or the processing of Entries or votes; or (f) injury, death, or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from participation in the Contest, use of the Mark or receipt or use of any prize. Participant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, consequential, incidental, punitive or special damages or costs and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorneys' fees
15. DISPUTES: Except where prohibited, Participant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Franklin County, Ohio. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, Participant's rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Ohio, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Ohio or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Ohio.
16. CONTEST RESULTS: To request a list of winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Big Lots Stores, Inc./Advertising Department/“Lots2Give” Contest Winners List, 300 Phillipi Rd., Columbus, OH 43228. Requests must be received by October 11, 2011.

COPYRIGHT

Notifications of claimed copyright infringement on www.biglots.com/lots2give (the "Website") must be sent to the agent designated to receive notification of claimed copyright infringement (the “Designated Agent”) for Big Lots Stores, Inc. (the "Service Provider"). If your Entry has been removed from the Website because the Designated Agent received a notification of claimed copyright infringement with respect to your Entry, you may send a counter notification to the Designated Agent. To be effective, any notification of claimed copyright infringement or counter notification sent to the Designated Agent for the Service Provider must comply with the applicable requirements of Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The Designated Agent for the Service Provider is: