Rules and Guidelines

Eligibility

Nonprofit or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that hold charitable status in their country (equivalent to the 501(c) (3) status as determined by the United States Internal Revenue Service) are eligible to participate in this program. Eligible organizations operate on a not-for-profit basis and have a mission to benefit the local community that could include, but is not limited to, the following.

• Providing relief to the poor
• Advancing education
• Improving social welfare
• Preserving culture
• Preserving or restoring the environment

Mobile Platforms

Projects must to be written for use on the Windows Mobile platform or a universal standard such as SMS which will work across any platform. For more information on Windows Mobile platforms, check out:

• Imagine Cup Technologies
• Windows Mobile Development Center
• Microsoft Research SMS Server Toolkit

Non-Eligible Organizations

The following organizations are not eligible to participate in the program.

• NGOs without the proper charitable status in their countries
• Individuals
• Private foundations
• Government organizations
• Educational institutions
• Hospitals
• Amateur or professional sports organizations
• Political, labor, or fraternal organizations
• Religious organizations. Exception: Separate charitable entities with a secular community service or project may be eligible.

Entries submitted by nonprofits must identify one point person over the age of 18 for technical and administrative issues. This person should appear first on the Submission Form.

Conflict of Interest

Employees, independent contractors, officers, and directors of Microsoft Corp. and TechSoup Global, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors, and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household of such persons, are not eligible to participate in the challenge.

Geographic Restrictions

Organizations that are incorporated in, persons who are citizens or residents of, and entries submitted from the following countries are not eligible: Cuba, Iran, Iraq*, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and Burma/Myanmar.

*Payment can be made to organizations within Iraq, however export licensing for products may result in unforeseen difficulties.

Additional Information

Organizers of the Challenge reserve the right to solely determine eligibility for the reasons stated herein or on any other reasonable basis. Those who do submit in violation of the eligibility rules will have their submission removed. The winning Projects may be asked for additional information before receiving the cash award. All winners will be appropriately evaluated by Microsoft to ensure that they are eligible to receive funds in accordance with company policy. Microsoft reserves the right to, upon proper notification to all participants, change the rules of the Challenge or suspend the Challenge in the case of unforeseen circumstances.

IP Protections

All submissions to the Mobile Challenge for Development will be governed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommerical-No Derivative Works 3.0 license. Title to all property, including intellectual property, financed under grants awards shall vest in the grantee.