NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE ODDS OF WINNING
Hudson Valley Credit Union’s (“HVCU”) “2023 Business Plan Contest” (“Contest”) is governed by these official rules (“Official Rules”). By participating in the Contest, each entrant (including both the business and representative individual) agrees to these Official Rules. Results of the Contest are final in all respects. The Contest is subject to all applicable laws and regulations, and the eligibility requirements below, and is void where prohibited by law.
You are not required to purchase any goods or services or pay any money to enter into the Contest. For a copy of these Official Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope containing a request to “2023 Business Plan Contest,” Marketing Department, P.O. Box 1071, Poughkeepsie, NY 12602 or e-mail us at businessbanking@hvcu.org with the subject “2023 Business Plan Contest.”
Contest Period: The Contest starts on May 10, 2023 at 12:00 AM EST and ends on September 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST (“Contest Period”).
Eligibility: The Contest is open to for-profit businesses who are legally registered to do business and have a currently active and operational business entity as determined in HVCU’s sole discretion and are either business members of HVCU or eligible to be business members of HVCU. Businesses located in, businesses who conduct the majority of their business within, and business owners who live, work, worship, attend school, or volunteer in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Ulster, or Westchester Counties are eligible for business accounts at HVCU. Eligible business entities include: Sole Proprietorship/DBA (Doing Business As), Corporation, Subchapter “S” Corporation, Limited Liability Company (LLC), Partnership, and Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). Business members affiliated with employees of HVCU and/or any affiliated companies, advertising, and promotion agencies, and the immediate family and household members of each, are not eligible. All federal, state, and local laws apply. Void where prohibited. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.
To Enter: In order to enter the Contest, eligible businesses must comply with the following requirements: (1) all qualified entries must submit a 2023 Business Plan Contest entry form, as the owner, through the HVCU website at the following link:
https://info.hvcu.org/en-us/2023-business-plan-contest; (2) all qualified entries must submit an original or existing business plan to HVCU through the
2023 Business Plan Contest entry form or via
HVCU’s secure email portal; and (3) all qualified entries must schedule and attend a free, no obligation Business Plan Consultation with a Branch Manager on or before September 1, 2023. By submitting an entry, you represent and warrant that you have all necessary rights to enter the Contest and submit an entry, the entry is an original work by you, and no other party has any rights, title or interest in or to the entry. For more information, please see the “Use and Ownership of Submissions” section. See the “Picking a Winner” section below for more detail on the criteria used for evaluating entries.
Each eligible business may only submit one entry during the Contest Period and any additional entries are void. HVCU will not verify receipt of entries. Any entry not complying with these requirements will be disqualified in HVCU’s sole discretion without notification. HVCU is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, misdirected or stolen entries or transmissions, or problems of any kind whether mechanical, human, or electronic. As set forth in more detail below, once submitted, all entries become the property of HVCU. All entries must be received and all entry requirements satisfied during the Contest Period, by Friday, September 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST.
Picking a Winner: HVCU will pick one (1) winner of the Contest from all submissions received during the Contest Period, and will do so within ten (10) business days after the end of the Contest Period (and as further described in the “Prize Details” section below). HVCU will judge the submissions based on the following criteria in its absolute and sole discretion: description of the business and its services/purpose in the community, the business’s clients/customers served within the community; strategic/financial/logistical challenges and needs of the business; and the viability, creativity, and presentation quality of the business plan. The business’s membership status at HVCU or decision to open an account with HVCU will not factor into the judging of the prize winner. HVCU will notify the winner via the contact number or e-mail address provided on their submission, or through other contact information of record for the business’s account. The winner must accept the prize in writing within five (5) calendar days after the notification of winning is sent. If the business does not do so, another winner will be selected. Each eligible entrant can only win one prize for the Contest.
Prize Details: HVCU will select one (1) business to receive a $10,000 cash prize to be deposited within sixty (60) days of acceptance of the prize into an HVCU Value Business Account if the winning business is a current HVCU member or decides to open a new HVCU account, or if the winning business is not an HVCU account holder payment of the prize will be processed via bank check. The prize may not be transferred, assigned, or substituted. All taxes, whether federal, state, or local, on the prize are the sole responsibility of the winner and HVCU will report all prize winnings if required by applicable law. The winner agrees to cooperate with HVCU with respect to any necessary tax filings.
Prior to its receipt of a prize, the winner will be required to sign a Statement of Eligibility, Waiver of Liability and Publicity Release, which, among other things, grants permission to publish its name and/or logo and likeness in HVCU’s member communications in relation to the Contest, as HVCU sees fit in its sole discretion. Winner may be asked to provide a photo for use in promotional materials.
Liability: By participating in this Contest, entrants and the winner (including any and all representative individuals participating in the Contest on behalf of eligible businesses) release and waive all right to, and hold harmless HVCU, its agents, affiliates, officers, employees, and representatives, and its advertising and promotions agencies, along with any websites used for the promotion of the Contest, including without limitation Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter from, any claims, injury, loss, damage or expense arising out of or in any way in connection with participation in this Contest and/or the awarding, acceptance, use or misuse of any prize. HVCU, its agents, affiliates, officers, employees, and representatives, and its advertising and promotions agencies, along with any websites used for the promotion of the Contest, are not responsible for any negligence, claims, liability, injury, property loss, or other damages of entrants and/or winner arising from, or in connection with, acceptance, receipt, possession, or use/misuse of the prize awarded or participation in this Contest. HVCU is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by tampering, hacking, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with the Contest. HVCU reserves the right to disqualify entrants who fail to follow these Official Rules or who make any misrepresentations relative to the Contest and redemption of the prize.
Use and Ownership of Submissions: By participating in this Contest, entrants and the winners, to the fullest extent allowable under applicable law, grant Hudson Valley Credit Union the perpetual right and license to publish, distribute, and otherwise display your name, business name, trademark, logo, and any photo or video submission, and all aspects of any submission for advertising and promotional purposes in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide in perpetuity, without compensation, authorization, remuneration or notification. Further, by submitting an entry, the business irrevocably assigns, transfers and conveys to HVCU all rights, title and interest in and to the entry and upon submission, the entry is the sole property of HVCU and the business waives any and all rights and claims it has, or may in the future have, to the entry. HVCU may use, modify, edit, display, publish and reproduce the entry in any medium or manner whatsoever without giving notice, credit or compensation to the business.
If your business is chosen to receive the prize, you acknowledge and agree that Hudson Valley Credit Union will have the right to make use of your business name, trademark, logo, and other submitted identifiers in connection to the Contest.
Dispute: All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules or the rights and obligations of any entrant, winner, and HVCU in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the State of New York, without regard to choice of law rules. The decisions of HVCU are final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest. These Official Rules may not be published or otherwise reproduced elsewhere, in whole or in part, without the written consent of HVCU, which claims all applicable rights to these Official Rules.
List of Winner: For the name of the winner, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: “2023 Business Plan Contest,” HVCU, Marketing Department, P.O. Box 1071, Poughkeepsie, NY 12602 or e-mail us with the subject “2023 Business Plan Contest,” at businessbanking@hvcu.org.
Sponsor: Hudson Valley Credit Union, P.O. Box 1071, Poughkeepsie, NY 12602. The Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or otherwise associated with any websites used for the promotion of the Contest, including without limitation Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
THE CONTEST IS VOID WHEREVER PROHIBITED BY LAW.