Bear cub naming contest official rules

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. OPEN TO INDIVIDUALS 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT TIME OF ENTRY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS CONTEST, YOU AGREE TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES, WHICH ARE A CONTRACT, SO READ THEM CAREFULLY BEFORE PARTICIPATING. WITHOUT LIMITATION, THIS CONTRACT PROVIDES FOR INDEMNIFICATION OF THE SPONSOR AND OTHER RELEASED PARTIES BY YOU, A CLASS ACTION AND JURY TRIAL WAIVER, A REQUIREMENT THAT MOST DISPUTES BE SETTLED BY MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION, AND A LIMITATION OF YOUR RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.

1.           Eligibility. The International Fund for Animal Welfare Bear Cub Naming Contest (“Contest”) is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, and any country where it may be lawfully conducted. Must be 18 or older to enter. Void where prohibited by law. No officer, director, or employees of International Fund for Animal Welfare, Inc., (the “Sponsor”) or their immediate family members (defined as spouse or children) are eligible to participate. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, provincial, municipal, and local laws and regulations. Participation constitutes entrant’s (“Entrant”) full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Winning a Prize (defined below) is contingent upon selected Entrant fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

2.           Sponsor. The sole and exclusive Sponsor of this drawing is International Fund for Animal Welfare, Inc., ("Sponsor" and/or “IFAW”).

3.           Timing. The Contest entry period begins at 12:01:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) on 14 June 2025 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. ET on 20 June 2025 (the “Contest Entry Period”). Sponsor is the official time keeper for the Contest.

4.           How to Enter. There are two (2) ways to enter the Contest:

a.   Make a donation along with your name entry: Eligible individuals who enter and make a suggested donation of two dollars ($2) for each name entered into the Contest during the Contest Entry Period, will automatically be entered into the Contest. Entries will be attributed to the email address Entrant used to enter. Limit of one entry per household. Entry must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. ET on 20 June 2025 to be eligible. 

b.   Enter without making a donation: To enter without a donation, submit your suggested two (2) names for the bear cubs and provide your email address. Entries will be attributed to the email address Entrant used to enter. One entry per household. More than one entry from any household, Entrant or e-mail address will void all entries from that household, Entrant or e-mail address. Entrants must have a valid email address. Entry must be received by 11:59.59 ET on 20 June 2025 to be eligible.

Personal information collected from Entrant is subject to IFAW’s privacy policy. All entries become the sole and exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Use of multiple email addresses or any automated system to enter is prohibited and will result in disqualification. 

5.           PRIZE DRAWING: On or about 1 July 2025, Sponsor will select a shortlist of names to provide to Sponsor’s Partner, Wildlife Trust of India, who work directly with the bear cubs and will select the two winning names most fitting for the bear cubs and the individuals who submitted the names who will be the Conditional Prize Winners and two Alternate Conditional Winners from among all valid Contest entries received during the Contest Entry Period. You do not need to be present at the drawing to win.

6.           Winner Notification. The two (2) Conditional Prize Winners will be notified using the contact information used to enter the Contest within three (3) business days from the drawing and notified that they were selected as the Conditional Prize Winners. If Sponsor is unable to contact any Conditional Prize Winner, if Conditional Prize Winner fails to respond to the Sponsor's initial contact within three (3) business days of notification, or if return of e-mail notification as undeliverable after three (3) attempts, Entrant will be disqualified and the first Alternate Conditional Winner will be notified as the new Conditional Prize Winner.

7.           Verification of Conditional Winners. CONDITIONAL PRIZE WINNER IS SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR. Entrant(s) selected as Conditional Grand Prize Winner(s) will be contacted within 3 business days following notification and will be required to sign and return to Sponsor, within 7 days of the date notice is sent, an affidavit of eligibility, and liability/publicity release (except where prohibited). If a Conditional Prize Winner cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the above required documents, or if the prize notification is returned as undeliverable, Conditional Prize Winner forfeits the Prize and Sponsor may award the applicable Prize to a selected Alternate Conditional Winner.

8.           Odds of Winning. Odds of winning = One (1) divided by total number of valid entries received during the Contest Entry Period.

9.           Two Prizes. Two (2) Prizes will be awarded. The entrant providing the first bear cub name selected will receive an IFAW accessory pack. The entrant providing the second bear cub name selected will receive an IFAW accessory pack. Prize Winner is responsible for all taxes resulting from winning the Prize including all federal, state, provincial, municipal, and local, taxes, fees, assessments, and like charges. Prize is non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor's sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any listed prize for one of equal or greater value for any reason.

THE PRIZE IS OFFERED AND PROVIDED "AS IS" WITH NO WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE BY SPONSOR OTHER THAN WHAT IS EXPRESSLY INCLUDED WTH THE PRIZE.

Sponsor is not responsible for any change of email address and/or mailing address of Entrants, nor is Sponsor responsible for any lost or damaged mail.

10.        Entry Conditions and Release. By entering the Contest, each Entrant agrees to: (a) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules, Privacy Policy and the decisions of the Sponsor which are binding and final in all matters; (b) release and hold harmless the Sponsor, and each of their respective parents, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Contest, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the "Released Parties") from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to an Entrant’s entry, creation of an entry or submission of an entry, participation in the Contest, acceptance or use or misuse of prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, exploitation or use of entry; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Released Parties against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising out of or relating to an Entrant's participation the Contest and/or Entrant's acceptance, use or misuse of a prize.

11.        Publicity. Except where prohibited, participation in the Contest constitutes winner's consent to Sponsor use of winner's name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.

12.        General Conditions. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual 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 any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages 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.

In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of any Entrant, the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter the Contest will be deemed to be the Entrant. 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. Potential Prize Winner(s) of any Prize may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder to be awarded the Prize. All entry information becomes the sole and exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be returned or cancelled.

13.        Limitations of Liability. If for any reason an entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, Entrant's sole remedy is another similar entry or ticket in the Contest, provided that if it is not possible for Sponsor to award another entry due to discontinuance of the drawing, or any part of it, for any reason, Sponsor, at its discretion, may elect to hold a random drawing from among all valid entries received for the Contest up to the date of discontinuance for any or all of the prizes offered. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. In event that production, technical, programming or any other reasons cause more than stated number of prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be available and/or claimed, Sponsor reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes by a random drawing among all legitimate, unawarded, eligible prize claims. In the event that information, in any published ad, press release, article, brochure, or any other communication regarding the Contest conflicts with the Official Rules, the Official Rules shall take precedence over all other communications or published materials. Sponsor reserves the right to make changes in the Contest Official Rules to correct typographical errors or maintain legal compliance, and such changes shall become effective on the date published on the web site(s).

The Released Parties are not responsible for: (a) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Entrant, or programming associated with or used in the Contest; (b) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (c) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (d) technical or human error, which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; (e) any injury or damage to persons or property, which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize; or (f) entries, prize claims or notifications that are lost, late, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible, damaged or otherwise not received by the intended recipient, in whole or in part, due to computer, human or technical error of any kind, including but not limited to, by reason of unauthorized human intervention, spam filters, privacy settings, inactive email accounts or an entrant’s failure to monitor its email account.. If for any reason an Entrant’s entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, Entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Contest. No more than the stated number of Prizes will be awarded. If, for any reason, the Contest cannot be executed as planned, including, but not limited to, any governmental order, epidemic, pandemic, force majeure, social media mandate, printing, administrative or other error of any kind, transmission failure, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor that corrupt or affect the security, administration, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest, or if the Contest is compromised or becomes technically corrupted in any way, electronically or otherwise, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or terminate the Contest and, if terminated before the original end date, to select the winners from among all eligible, non-suspect entries received as of the date/time of termination.

14.        Severability. If for any reason, any portion of these Rules, including this arbitration section, is found to be illegal, void or unenforceable, that portion will be severed, and it shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remainder of these Sweeps Rules which shall continue in full force and effect.

15.        Prize Representations. Sponsor and/or its agents make no representations as to condition, warranties, or fitness for a particular use of a Prize. For vehicle prizes, no representations as to originality, mileage, or compliance with safety or emissions laws or regulations are made and Sponsor and/or its agents reserves all discretion with respect to any option or feature not expressly stated in these rules. Prize Winner agrees to accept the Prize "AS IS", "WHERE IS."

16.        Disputes and Claims one year time limit. Entrant agrees that any dispute, claims or lawsuits, regardless of form, that may arise out of or related to the Contest or any Prize awarded, must be filed within ONE (1) YEAR of the action, omission, event or occurrence giving rise to the Dispute, claim(s) or lawsuit, after which such dispute, claim(s) or lawsuit will be time-barred and prohibited, without regard to any longer period of time which may be provided by any period of limitation or pursuant to law or statute.

17.        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 Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Questions?: Please email info-uk@ifaw.org