Terms and conditions | STACY’S RISE PROJECT™

STACY’S RISE PROJECT™

Terms and conditions

1. GENERAL: The Stacy’s Rise Project (the “Program”) is sponsored and administered by PepsiCo Canada ULC (“Sponsor” or “PepsiCo”). By entering this Program, you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions and the Sponsor’s determinations regarding the Program, which are final and binding. The Program is subject to all applicable federal, provincial, and local laws and is void where prohibited. There is no purchase necessary or other cost to enter the Program or be awarded a Grant.

2. PROGRAM PERIOD:

   (a) The Program Period begins November 9, 2023 at 9:00 AM ET and ends December 15, 2023 at 12:00 PM ET.

   (b) The time clock of the computer administering this Program is the official clock for this Program.

   (c) The Sponsor reserves the right to shorten or lengthen the Program Period for any reason in its sole discretion.

3. ELIGIBILITY:

   (a) To be eligible to enter a business in the Program, you (“Officer”) must be all of the following for the duration of the Program Period:

   • a woman entrepreneur who is the leading executive (i.e., Founder and/or President, CEO, CFO, COO, or any such other similar title) of a business that meets the below business criteria; and
   • a resident of Canada who has reached the age of majority in their province / territory of residence.

   (b) To be eligible to participate in the Program, the Officer’s business that is being nominated (“Entrant”) must meet all of the following criteria as of the first day of the Program Period, and for the duration of the Program Period:

   • Be a for-profit Canadian-based business;
   • Must have at least $25,000 and no more than $1M CAD in annualized sales;
   • Must have women founders or current women ownership participants;
   • Must be willing to participate in a virtual Mentorship Program (defined in Section 9); and
   • Must not be part of an accelerator program at the time of participation.

   (c) The following persons are NOT eligible to participate:

   • Employees, contractors, directors and officers of the Sponsor, Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (“WEOC”), or their parents, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies;
   • Participating retailers, distributors, Web design, advertising, fulfillment, judging and promotion agencies involved in the administration, development, fulfillment and execution of this Program; and
   • The immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, and/or “step”) of each and those living in their same households (those persons whether related or not who live in the same residence for at least three [3] months during the twelve [12]-month period preceding the start date of the Program).

   The potential grant recipients are subject to verification of eligibility by the Sponsor, which may include completing associated documentation.

4. HOW TO ENTER:

   (a) To enter the Program, visit the Program Website: www.stacysriseproject.ca. Each Officer must clearly and concisely complete all sections of the online application, which consists of a series of questions about the Entrant and the Officer, and submit the application (the “Entry”). The full list of Entry questions can be found in the application form on the Program Website.

   (b) All entries must be received by 12:00 PM ET on December 15, 2023 to be eligible.

   Limit One Entry per Entrant and per Officer. Multiple entries received for any Entrant or Officer after the first Entry received from that Entrant or Officer will be void.

5. ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS:

   (a) The Sponsor may disqualify any Entry that, as adjudged in the Sponsor’s determination:

   • contains any material that is indecent, obscene, hateful, discriminatory; defamatory, slanderous, libelous, unlawful, or otherwise inappropriate;
   • is submitted in bad faith, is inappropriate, or otherwise violates these Terms & Conditions;
   • is submitted by an Entrant or Officer who is ineligible or noncompliant with these Terms & Conditions; and/or,
   • is submitted by any person who tampers with or abuses any aspect of the Program or the Program Website, who acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, who violates these Terms & Conditions, or about whom a background check provides unsatisfactory results in Sponsor’s sole discretion.

   If there is a dispute about who submitted an Entry, the authorized account holder of the email address used to submit the Entry will be deemed to be the Officer and the business identified in the Entry will be deemed the Entrant for the Program. 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 Officer may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder.

6. OTHER ENTRY TERMS:

   (a) After an Entry has been submitted, it cannot be modified in any way and the Sponsor is not responsible for any delayed Entry, incomplete Entry, or Entry not received, recognized, or accepted for any reason.

   (b) The Entrant retains all rights in and to its product or service, including all intellectual property rights, but no Entry may disclose any information confidential to or any trade secret of the Entrant or any third party. The Sponsor will treat all information provided by the Officer and/or Entrant as non-confidential.

   (c) By submitting an Entry to the Program, each Entrant hereby grants the Sponsor and WEOC on behalf of Entrant and Officer a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, global, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, edit, translate, create derivative works from, and display the information in the Entry, in whole or in part, and to incorporate it into other works, in any form, media, or technology, now known or later developed, for any purpose including for promotional and marketing purposes, including on the Program Website or other Sponsor branded websites or social platforms, or WEOC branded websites or social platforms.

   (d) By submitting an Entry to the Program, each Entrant hereby waives any and all moral rights that the Entrant may have in and to the Entry on behalf of Entrant and Officer;

   (e) The Released Parties (defined below) do not guarantee that any Entry will be used as described in the preceding license.

   (f) The Released Parties (defined below) are not responsible for any unauthorized use by third parties of any Entry.

   (g) The Entrant acknowledges and agrees that: (i) the Sponsor has wide access to ideas, designs, protocols, methodologies and ideas for products, and that new ideas for products are constantly being submitted to it or being developed by its own employees; (ii) many of those products may be competitive with, similar to, or identical to Entrant’s product; (iii) the Sponsor will not refrain from developing or authorizing another to develop any products, concepts, systems or techniques that may be similar Entrant’s or Business’ product; and (iv) Entrant will not be entitled to any compensation as a result of the introduction by the Sponsor or its parent, affiliate or subsidiary companies of any similar product that has or may come to any such company from other sources or is developed by the Sponsor itself or any of its affiliated companies. Entrant acknowledges and agrees that neither the Sponsor nor its parent, affiliate or subsidiary companies have now or shall have in the future any duty or liability, (whether direct or indirect) with respect to the infringement or protection of Entrant’s patent (if any) or other intellectual property rights related to the Entrant’s or Business’ product.

7. REVIEW CRITERIA AND SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS: Entries will be reviewed by the Sponsor, WEOC and/or their designated agencies (the “Judging Panel”) based on the following criteria:

   (a) Clarity and feasibility of plan for proposed use of funds and need for mentorship (30%)

   (b) Demonstrated understanding of product/market fit (40%)

   (c) Demonstrated commitment to community (30%)

   The Sponsor will award five (5) Grants (defined below) to Entrants whose Entries receive the highest cumulative score (the “Grant Recipients”). Grant Recipients will be notified by email or telephone no later than February 28, 2024.

8. ADDITIONAL TERMS:

   (a) The Sponsor, WEOC and/or their designated agencies reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to conduct a brief interview with any Officer and request the Officer to submit additional materials relating to their Entry.

   (b) The Sponsor reserves the right to not award any grants, if in their sole discretion, they do not receive any suitable Entries. No details of the deliberations on individual Entries will be revealed to Entrants or the public.

   (c) Certain Entries may be featured from time to time by the Sponsor during and/or after the Program Period in the Sponsor’s brand or corporate websites, social media pages and other channels, in the sole discretion of the Sponsor; being selected as a featured Entry is unrelated to the Judging Criteria and does not guarantee selection as a Grant Recipient.

   (d) In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken based on the highest score in the first review criterion continuing thereafter to each review criterion in order, as needed to break the tie.

   (e) Decisions of the Judging Panel are final and may be made in its absolute and sole discretion.

   (f) Each Grant Recipient may be required to execute and return to the Sponsor an affidavit of eligibility, liability release, and, where lawful, a publicity release (collectively, the “Release”), within five (5) business days the Sponsor’s notification.

   (g) If a potential Grant Recipient cannot be located or does not respond within five (5) business days after the Sponsor’s notification, or the potential Grant Recipient rejects the grant or fails to complete the Release within the allotted time period, the Grant will be forfeited and may be awarded to an alternate Grant Recipient, who is the Entrant with the next highest ranked Entry from among all remaining eligible Entries.

9. SUMMARY OF GRANTS:

   (a) Grant Recipients will receive a $25,000 (CAD) unrestricted grant to be used for the benefit of the Grant Recipient’s business.

   (b) Each Grant Recipient may receive recognition on the Stacy’s Rise Project Canada website and/or Sponsor’s platforms.

   (c) Each Grant is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by the Sponsor.

   (d) The Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to substitute property of equal or greater value for any grant (or portion of a grant) that cannot be awarded.

   (e) Each Grant Recipient is responsible for all applicable federal, provincial, and local taxes, if any, as well as any other costs and expenses associated with grant acceptance and use not specified in these Terms & Conditions.

   (f) The Released Parties make no warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to any grant awarded in the Program.

   (g) The Entrant’s Officer will also be eligible to participate in a collaborative mentor-guided business acceleration program consisting of virtual webinars with entrepreneurial experts, online office-hours access to experts, Virtual Training and Support, and bi-weekly calls with assigned mentors (“Mentorship Program”).

   (h) Grant Recipients may be required to submit brief progress reports throughout the Mentorship Program and will be required to obtain the consent of the Sponsor (not to be unreasonably withheld) for the manner in which they intend to use the grant awarded.

   (i) The Sponsor cannot guarantee the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of any such efforts extended for the Mentorship Program.

   (j) The Officer eligible to attend the Mentorship Program (or a substitute, if approved in Sponsor’s sole discretion) will also be eligible to attend the Stacy’s Rise Program Kick-Off Event (the “Event”) to be held at Frito-Lay Headquarters in Plano, Texas (USA). Actual dates to be confirmed, but the Event will be held no later than March 31, 2024. The Event will consist of round trip economy class air transportation for one (1) person from the major international airport closest to Officer’s places of residence in Canada to Dallas, Texas (flights, carrier and class to be determined at the Sponsor’s sole discretion); one (1) night occupancy at a hotel in Plano, Texas; Welcome dinner, breakfast and lunch included; group transportation from hotel to Frito-Lay Headquarters; and Stacy’s Rise Goodie bag (approximate retail value $1,500 CAD, based on a Toronto, ON departure). The difference between approximate retail value and actual retail value, if any, will not be awarded. The Officer attending the Event is responsible for all other expenses not specifically mentioned herein, including, without limitation, ground transportation to and from departure / destination airport, meals not expressly included in the description, gratuities, taxes, travel documents, telephone calls, in-room movies, mini-bar expenses, room service, medical and travel insurance, excess baggage costs, optional tours, airport departure taxes, duties, all personal expenses and all other expenses not specified herein. A valid credit or debit card may be required to guarantee your room on check-in. Transportation and accommodation are subject to availability, government restrictions and regulations, hotel, airline, airport or other transportation restrictions and regulations. Other restrictions may apply. The Office must be in possession of a valid passport and must have a minimum of six months validity for the duration of the trip (though non-Canadian passport validity requirements may be higher). The Officer is responsible for obtaining all required medical and travel related necessities (including vaccinations) and documentation, including a valid passport and/or visa, or any applicable permission to enter the destination country that forms part of the itinerary. If the Officer does not have proper travel documentation, or applicable permission to enter the destination country that forms part of the itinerary, or does not accept or participate in any portion of the Event for any reason whatsoever (including reasons beyond the control of the Officer such as inclement weather delaying or cancelling a portion of the Event), the Officer forfeits that portion of the Event, and the Sponsor shall have no further obligation or liability to the Officer with respect to the forfeited portion. It is required that the Officer obtain personal travel insurance (including emergency medical) prior to departure sufficient to materially assist in obtaining health care and/or repatriation (if necessary) in the event of a medical emergency. The Officer is responsible for transportation to and from the departure and destination airport. The Sponsor is not liable if travel is impeded or refused by reason of decisions of any governmental authorities (foreign or domestic), or other airline or airport authorities. No responsibility is assumed by the Sponsor if any part of the Event (or element(s) thereof) is cancelled, delayed, suspended or rescheduled after ticketing for any reason whatsoever beyond its control. If, for any reason, any element of the Event does not occur, that portion of the Event will be forfeited without additional compensation and the remainder of the Event will be awarded. The Released Parties shall not be liable for injury, loss, or damage of any kind, resulting from the acceptance, use or misuse of the Event, travel related thereto or otherwise from participation in the Program.

10. ODDS OF WINNING:The odds of being awarded a grant depend on the results of scoring by the Judging Panel based on the Judging Criteria.

11. GENERAL CONDITIONS:

    (a) Each Entrant and Officer will release, discharge and hold harmless the Sponsor, WEOC, and their parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and funding partners, and the shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, and representatives of each of the foregoing (collectively, the “Released Parties”), from any and all injuries, liability, losses, and damages of any kind to persons, including death or property damage resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the Entrant’s or the Officer’s participation in the Program or any Program-related activity or the acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any grant.

    (b) Liability Limitation. The Released Parties are not responsible for:

    • lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered, or garbled Entries;
    • lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider, website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Program, including errors or difficulties that may occur in connection with the administration of the Program, the processing or review of Entries, or the announcement of the Grant Recipients;
    • any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Program; and/or,
    • injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Program or downloading materials from or use of the Sponsor’s website or other platforms.

    (c) Program Compromised. The Sponsor may, at its sole discretion and without liability, terminate the Program in whole or in part, or modify or suspend the Program at any time, if fraud, technical failures including any network server or hardware failure, viruses, bugs, errors in programming, or communications or any other errors or other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor corrupt the administration, integrity or security of the Program or if any other factor interferes with the conduct of this Program as contemplated by these Terms & Conditions. The Sponsor may do so, without notice, except as required by law. Without restricting the generality of the foregoing, the Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate the Program in whole or in part, or amend or suspend it and award only the number of Grants stated in these Terms & Conditions using the Judging Criteria outlined above.

    (d) In these Terms & Conditions: “Including” means including but not limited to. “Sponsor’s determination” or “Sponsor’s consent” means Sponsor’s determination or Sponsor’s consent, in either case, in its sole discretion.

    (e) Program Changes. The Sponsor reserves the right to modify these Terms & Conditions in order to better achieve the Program’s purpose as adjudged in Sponsor’s determination, without liability or obligation to Sponsor. The Sponsor will give notice of Terms & Conditions modifications on the Program’s official site and in these Terms & Conditions.

12. PUBLICITY:

    (a) By entering and participating in the Program, each Entrant and Officer permits the use of Entrant’s and Officer’s names and submitted content for programming, advertising, publicity, and promotional purposes in all media, now known or later created, worldwide and on the Internet, and in perpetuity by the Sponsor, WEOC, and their designees, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from Entrant or Officer or any third party and without prior notice, approval, or inspection.

    (b) Each Entrant and Officer will execute specific consent to the uses described in the previous sentence at the Sponsor’s request.

    (c) No Entrant or Officer may release on their own or through a third party any publicity or other materials regarding their participation in the Program, without the Sponsor’s consent.

13. GOVERNING LAW: This Contest is subject to all Federal, Provincial, and Municipal laws. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant and the Contest Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws in effect in the Province of Ontario without regard to Ontario conflicts of law principles. All entrants consent to the jurisdiction and venue of the Province of Ontario.

14. CONFLICTS/DISCREPANCIES: In the event of any discrepancies between the English language Rules and the non-English language Rules, the English Rules shall prevail. In the event of a conflict between any Contest details contained in these Rules and any Contest details contained in Contest advertising materials (including, but not limited to, online, point of sale, television, and print advertising, promotional packaging, and other promotion media), the details of the Contest as set forth in these Rules shall prevail.

15. INVALIDITY: The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these Rules shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein.

16. PERSONAL INFORMATION: Personal information may be collected, used or disclosed in jurisdictions other than Canada. Personal information that resides in jurisdictions other than Canada will be subject to the general laws of application in those jurisdictions. The personal information gathered about entrants in the course of this Contest will be used solely by the Sponsor for the administration of the Contest and in connection with any publicity relating to the Contest. For more information about how the Sponsor manages your personal information, see the Sponsor’s Privacy Policy available at www.pepsico.ca.