Small Business United Blog

Intuit “Love a Local Business” Official Rules

by Gretchen Harding - July 31, 2009

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO SUBMIT A NOMINATION OR RECEIVE AN INTUIT GROWTH GRANT

1. Eligibility: The Intuit “Love a Local Business” January and February Program Program” (the “Promotion”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including D.C.) who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry. Only owners of the Small Business who meet these eligibility requirements and who are featured in an eligible Nomination (see Section 5, below) are eligible to win an Intuit Growth Grant. Employees of Intuit Inc., Dailey, Westwood One, Initiative, ePrize, LLC, and any of their parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. The Promotion is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.

2. Sponsor: Intuit Inc., 2632 Marine Way, Mountain View, CA 94043. Administrator: ePrize, LLC, One ePrize Drive, Pleasant Ridge, MI 48069.

3. Agreement to Official Rules: Participation in this Promotion constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s and Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to this Promotion. Receipt of an Intuit Growth Grant is contingent upon fulfilling all applicable requirements set forth herein.

4. Timing: You may nominate local businesses beginning at 12:00 am Pacific Time (”PT”) on January 1, 2010 and ending at 11:59 p.m. PT on February 28, 2010 (the “Nomination Period”). The Nomination Period will consist of two (2) monthly drawing periods (each a “Drawing Period”). For the purposes of this Promotion, each Drawing Period will be exactly a calendar month in length.

Non-winning nominations from one (1) Drawing Period will not carry over to a subsequent Drawing Period. Sponsor’s computer is the official timekeeping device for the Promotion.

5. The Nomination Process: During the Nomination Period, visit LoveALocalBusiness.com and follow the links and instructions to complete the nomination registration. Complete the nomination registration in its entirety, including your first and last name, your city and state, the name and contact information of the local business you want to nominate and a 250 character or fewer description of that local business (the “Nomination”). Submit the completed Nomination and the local business listed in your Nomination will receive one (1) chance to win an Intuit Growth Grant (see Section 7, below, for Intuit Growth Grant details) and one (1) chance to win the Grand Prize. Unless the owner of the local business featured in the Nomination, persons submitting a Nomination will not be eligible to receive the Intuit Growth Grant or a chance to win any other prize. By nominating a local business, you agree that your Nomination conforms to the Nomination Guidelines and Content Restrictions as defined below (collectively, the “Guidelines and Restrictions”) and that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may remove and disqualify your Nomination if it believes, in its sole discretion, that your Nomination fails to conform to the Guidelines and Restrictions.

Nomination Guidelines:

• The Nomination must be in English; and
• The Nomination must be two hundred (250) characters or fewer in length.; and

Content Restrictions:
• The Nomination must not contain material that violates or infringes another’s rights, living or deceased, including but not limited to privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights;
• The Nomination must not disparage Sponsor, Administrator or any other person or party affiliated with the promotion and administration of this Promotion;
• The Nomination must not disparage any brand names or trademarks;
• The Nomination must not contain material that is inappropriate, indecent, obscene hateful, tortious, defamatory, slanderous or libelous;
• The Nomination must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age; and
• The Nomination must be suitable for publication in a public forum (as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion), may not contain profanity, threats of physical violence or property damage, or material that is unlawful, in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations in any jurisdiction where Nomination is created.

For All Nominations: Limit: You may upload one (1) Nomination per each unique local business per Drawing Period, regardless of method of Nomination used. Nominations received from any person or email address in excess of the stated limit will be void. Nominations generated by script, macro or other automated means are void. All Nominations will become the exclusive property of Sponsor, and none will be acknowledged or returned. Sponsor shall have the right to edit, adapt and publish any or all of the Nominations, and may use them in any media without attribution or compensation to you or the local business featured in your Nomination, any successors or assigns, or any other entity. Uploading a Nomination constitutes your consent to give Sponsor a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, create derivative works from, and display such Nomination in whole or in part, on a worldwide basis, and to incorporate it into other works, in any form, media or technology now known or later developed, including for promotional or marketing purposes. If necessary, you will sign any necessary documentation that may be required for Sponsor or its designees to make use of the non-exclusive rights you are granting to use the Nomination. Released Parties (as defined in Section 8, below) are not responsible for lost, late, stolen, damaged, incomplete, invalid, un-intelligible, garbled, delayed or misdirected Nominations; all of which will be void.

In the event of a dispute as to any individual representing the local business featured in any Nomination, the authorized account holder of the email address provided in the Nomination form or, if no email address provided in the Nomination form, of the email address listed on the local businesses respective Google Maps page will be deemed to be the potential entrant and must comply with these Official Rules. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. The entrant may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder.

6. Intuit Growth Grant Recipient Selection and Requirements: Administrator is an independent judging organization whose decisions as to the administration and operation of the Promotion and the selection of the potential Intuit Growth Grant recipients are final and binding in all matters. Administrator will randomly select the five (5) potential Intuit Growth Grant recipients from amongst all eligible Nominations received during the Nomination Period on or around the first Thursday of the month immediately following the conclusion of the respective Drawing Period. A panel of qualified judges will select the potential Grand Prize recipient from amongst the five (5) potential Intuit Growth Grant recipients on or around the second Thursday of the month immediately following the conclusion of the respective Drawing Period based on the recipient that embodies the characteristics of a small business that is most loved by its customers, vendors, employees, or local community. The individual who owns the local business listed in the Nomination will be the potential recipient of the Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize and will be notified by email, mail or phone. Each potential Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize recipient will be required to execute and return to Administrator, within ten (10) days of the date notice or attempted notice is sent, an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability and Publicity Release (”Affidavit”) and must agree to abide to the applicable requirements set forth in these Official Rules in order to claim his/her Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize. If a potential Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize recipient cannot be contacted within a reasonable time period, fails to execute and return the Affidavit within the required time period, does not agree to these Official Rules, is not in compliance with these Official Rules, or if Intuit Growth Grant/Grand Prize or Intuit Growth Grant/Grand Prize notification is returned as undeliverable, such person forfeits the Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize. If a potential Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize recipient is disqualified for any reason, the applicable Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize may be awarded to an alternate local business by random drawing from amongst all Nominations received during the Nomination Period. Only three (3) alternate drawings will be held, after which the applicable Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize will remain un-awarded. Acceptance of any Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize shall constitute and signify Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize recipient’s agreement and consent that Sponsor and its designees may use the Intuit Growth Grant or Grand Prize recipient’s, name, city, state, likeness, photo and the name of his/her local business in connection with the Promotion for promotional, advertising or other purposes, worldwide, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including the Internet, without limitation and without further payment, notification, permission or other consideration, except where prohibited by law. Intuit Growth Grants and the Grand Prize will be fulfilled approximately eight (8) to ten (10) weeks after the conclusion of the Promotion.

7. Intuit Growth Grants: TWO (2) GRAND PRIZES (one (1) Grand Prize per Drawing Period): A prize package consisting of $9,500 cash, $500 worth of Sponsor-selected Intuit small business products and services, and the opportunity to work with a Sponsor selected Westwood One radio network representative to create a local commercial (length of commercial selected by Sponsor in its sole discretion) and a Sponsor selected amount of airtime for that commercial to be aired in a local radio campaign. Sponsor and Westwood One to determine length of commercial, amount of time spent recording and editing commercial, number of airings and duration of airtime in their sole discretion. Approximate retail value (”ARV”): $35,000.

EIGHT (8) INTUIT GROWTH GRANTS (four (4) Intuit Growth Grants per Drawing Period): $4,500 cash and $500 worth of Sponsor-selected Intuit small business products and services. ARV: $5,000.

For All Intuit Growth Grants: Limit: One (1) Intuit Growth Grant per eligible, unique local business per calendar year. The odds of receiving an Intuit Growth Grant depend on the number of eligible Nominations received during the respective Drawing Period. Intuit Growth Grants are non-transferable and no substitution or cash redemption will be permitted unless Sponsor, in its sole discretion, determines otherwise. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute an Intuit Growth Grant (or portion therof) with one of comparable or greater value, at its sole discretion. Any person winning over $600.00 in prizes from Intuit will receive an IRS Form 1099 from Intuit for the calendar year in which the Grand Prize or Growth Grant is awarded and a copy of such form will be filed by Intuit with the IRS. All federal, state, and local taxes and any expenses not expressly provided for in these official rules are solely the responsibility of the winner. All Intuit Growth Grants details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Total ARV of all Intuit Growth Grants: $110,000.

8. Release: By participating and/or accepting an Intuit Growth Grant, you agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor, Administrator and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies, and Intuit Growth Grant suppliers, and each of their respective parent companies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Promotion or receipt or use or misuse of any Intuit Growth Grant.

10. General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Promotion, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Promotion, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. If terminated Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, determine the Intuit Growth Grant recipients from among all non-suspect, eligible Nominations received up to time of such action using the judging procedure outlined above. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the Nomination process or the operation of the Promotion or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or those of any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner and void all associated Nominations. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Promotion may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies (including attorneys’ fees) from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

11. Limitations of Liability: Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by the person submitting the Nomination, the Intuit Growth Grand Recipient, printing, typographical or other errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Nomination process or the Promotion; (4) printing, typographical, technical, computer, network or human error which may occur in the administration of the Promotion, the uploading or processing of Nominations, the announcement of the Intuit Growth Grant recipients or in any Promotion-related materials; (5) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail; or (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from a person’s participation in the Promotion or receipt or use or misuse of any Intuit Growth Grant. Released Parties are not responsible for misdirected or undeliverable Nominations or for any technical problems, malfunctions of computer systems, servers, providers, hardware/software, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission or any combination thereof. Released Parties are not responsible for any unauthorized third party use of any Nomination.

12. Disputes: Except where prohibited, you agree that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Promotion or any Intuit Growth Grant awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Southern Division) or the appropriate Michigan State Court located in Oakland County, Michigan; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Promotion, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (3) under no circumstances will you be permitted to obtain awards for, and you hereby waive all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Promotion, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Michigan without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Michigan or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Michigan.

13. Entrant’s Personal Information: Information collected from persons participating in this promotion is subject to ePrize, LLC’s Privacy Policy (http://www.eprize.com/privacy/privacypolicy.html) and Sponsor’s Terms of Use (https://privacy.intuit.com/cpi/do/home) and Privacy Policy (http://about.intuit.com/privacy/).

14. For a List of Intuit Growth Grant Recipients: Requests for a list of Intuit Growth Grant recipients will only be accepted after the promotion end date (listed above) and no later than May 18, 2010. For the Intuit Growth Grant recipient List, send an email with subject line: “Intuit ‘Love a Local Business’ January & February Program Growth Grant Recipient List Request,” to WinListRequests@eprizefulfillment.com.

© 2009 ePrize, LLC. All rights reserved.

If you liked reading this you may also enjoy:

1. Love a Local Business
2. Love A Local Business Week 7 Winners
3. Love A Local Business Week 8 Winners

1. superflydragonlady says:

   December 13, 2009 at 5:34 pm

   Lucky Monkey Tattoo Parlour in Ann Arbor, Michigan brings amazing art and goodness to the community. The shop provides award winning tattoos and piercings, while also contributing gift certificates and services to numerous charitable organizations. We love Lucky Monkey!
2. Gretchen Harding says:

   December 17, 2009 at 6:27 pm

   Please make sure you nominate them on http://LoveALocalBusiness.com. Comments in the Small Business United Blog are not valid nominations.

   Thanks for loving a local business.
   Gretchen
3. Paul Roth says:

   December 18, 2009 at 8:26 pm

   Thanks for promoting small business here at home. These people are the grit and soul of what makes America and the free enterprise system so great.
4. JL Young says:

   January 4, 2010 at 4:45 pm

   I am unable to locate the local business that I want to nominate: A Votre Service Events, LLC in 08823. Where does the source list come from with the businesses listed?
5. Susan Nodar says:

   January 6, 2010 at 11:50 am

   I recently sold my business, Naturally for Paws in Ventura, California, to a wonderful person, Pat Hyatt. Pat was my manager in the store for 10 years and she truly cares for the pets and people who are our clients. She goes out of her way to provide outstanding customer service even to the point of meeting customers who can only come to the store on the days that we are closed. The grooming department is run by a certified master groomer, Aleshea, and it is such a pleasure to see the dogs’ guardians faces light up when they see how beautiful their dogs look.
   Naturally for Paws is a very small business and could really use the advertising exposure that you could provide as its budget is very limited. It would also be amazing to put it in the 21st century with new software, etc. There is a website if you would like to know more about the business and it is http://www.naturallyforpaws.com
   Thank you for your consideration.
   Susan
6. Tina says:

   January 6, 2010 at 8:35 pm

   I’ve read the rules but I’m confused . Can someone nominate their own business or does it need to be nominated by others?
7. Tina says:

   January 7, 2010 at 10:21 am

   Can a business be nominated in the January contest and if it doesn’t win then can it be entered in the February one?
8. Mark Wolfe says:

   January 8, 2010 at 4:23 pm

   Thank You for offering a loan to the small businesses that realy need the help.
9. susan says:

   January 11, 2010 at 8:52 am

   please tell us how to enter this contest and any others
10. De Jenkins says:

    January 12, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    Gretchen, I’m a little confused by this comment you made: “Each week you can nominate a single business using your email address. New nominations are required each week.”

    Paragraph 4 says: “The Nomination Period will consist of two (2) monthly drawing periods (each a “Drawing Period”). For the purposes of this Promotion, each Drawing Period will be exactly a calendar month in length.”

    And the fourth paragraph of Paragraph 5 says: “You may upload one (1) Nomination per each unique local business per Drawing Period, regardless of method of Nomination used.”

    I interpreted this to mean I could nominate a single business two times - once during the January drawing period and once during the February drawing period. Can you help me understand, please? Thanks.
11. Erica says:

    January 12, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    Can a small “online” start-up business be nominated and are online businesses eligible?
12. Brian Wilson says:

    January 13, 2010 at 6:01 pm

    We started receiving nominations about a week ago, and now all of a sudden our nominations are gone as well.

    Buisnees name: thumpertalk
    zip: 89130

    Over 200 nominations in the last week, and now all of a sudden our business has disapeared and no longer showing in the search?

    Is this some type of scam?
13. Brittany Frompovich says:

    January 14, 2010 at 8:30 am

    Hi Gretchen,

    My company appears on the “The Pulse” twice now. There are two “Lady Bass Music” entities in Fredericksburg, VA. One is ranked 17th with 97 fans, and the other Lady Bass Music has 9 fans. Both entities are receiving votes from people I know personally, and these votes are not redundant. Can we somehow consolidate these two entities into one? This issue is causing confusion with people who want to vote for the business.

    Also, there is no easy way to email anyone at Intuit about issues with the Love A Local Business contest. There is no customer support address for this contest. Can one be posted in a spot that is easy to find?

    Thank you for your time. My email address is lady.bass.music@gmail.com.
14. Gretchen Harding says:

    January 14, 2010 at 11:13 am

    Anyone with questions or concerns can email lovealocalbusiness@intuit.com, which is the email address we use for confirmation emails and periodic competition updates to participants. We also respond to comments on this blog and on Twitter.

    For purposes of the competition, c**ulative comment counts on The Pulse do NOT determine winners. Winners are randomly selected from among all eligible nominations. All of the comments you describe - unique email address for the same business - would be valid.

    We did change the underlying database for finding a business in Step 2 of teh form - this is likely the reason you are seeing two listings. We are working to merge the two sets of listings so that The Pulse continues to provide an easy way for business who have nominated themselves (by using the form on the “Apply for a Grant” tab) to easily review their recent comments.

    Good luck,
    Gretchen
15. Charlie Wheeler says:

    January 18, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    Adams Auto & Tire in Commerce, Ga provides honest service
    to all comers.
16. Opal Beckford says:

    January 18, 2010 at 9:32 pm

    I am greatful that Intuit care about small businesses enough to help them expand or sustain.

    Good luck to all participants
17. Kathryn Rung says:

    January 19, 2010 at 9:27 am

    I would like to nominate Jabez Lawnmower and small engine repair. The gentleman of this self 0wned company fixed our chain saw after we had had several people look at it and quote us outrageous amounts of money. We were event old to trash it. but, Steve, of Jabez, not only fixed it, ordered parts and got it back to us in a timely manner without charging us an exhorbitant amount of money. Thanks, Steve and God bless you in your future endeavors.
18. betsy Weststeyn says:

    January 19, 2010 at 1:05 pm

    They are very friendly and ready to help find fabrics to finish a project.
19. Charles L. Golba says:

    January 19, 2010 at 6:16 pm

    They sold a Van that my mother in law had in a very short time, and for more money then we could get for her if we had tried to sell it.
20. Charles L. Golba says:

    January 19, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    It’s good that Intuit helps small busniesses get reconition and helps them grow.
21. clay street laundry says:

    January 21, 2010 at 10:19 am

    I JUST RECENLTY BOUGHT A SMALL BUSINESS AND IM REALLY GLAD TO KNOW THAT SOMEONE IS OUT TO HELP THE SMALL GUYS..
22. Charles L. Golba says:

    January 28, 2010 at 8:54 am

    It’s good that Intuit helps small busniesses get reconition and helps them grow.
23. Joel Custodio says:

    January 29, 2010 at 1:45 am

    This is the kind of organization that the small businesses need, specially at the time of economic crisis.
24. Jan in Melbourne, FL says:

    January 29, 2010 at 9:18 am

    Kudos to you… for helping small businesses during this recession. Thank you very much for trying to help them survive which not only helps the owner’s family survive, but their employee’s families and the families who frequent their businesses!
25. Chasing Tails Canine Daycare Boarding says:

    February 2, 2010 at 1:27 pm

    I think it is awesome that Intuit is helping small businesses! This is a definate plus, to all of us that are trying to survive in todays economy.