Official Rules and Guidelines
The Preserving Our Region Grant Contest (“Contest”) is designed to fund creative, actionable ideas for projects that generate a positive, lasting impact on the environment in our local New Hampshire communities. Supported by the Solutions Journalism Network’s Innovation Fund, the contest awards financial grants alongside media coverage to help turn community-driven climate and environmental ideas into reality.
1. Sponsor & Funding Source
The contest is sponsored and administered by the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript (the “Sponsor”), PO Box 36, Peterborough, NH 03458. The grant prize money is funded through the Solutions Journalism Network’s Innovation Fund. The Sponsor acts solely as an administrative organizer and media partner and does not direct, manage, or execute the physical implementation of the winning projects.
2. Eligibility Requirements
To participate in the contest, entrants must satisfy the following criteria:
Residency & Enterprise:
Entrants must reside or actively operate an enterprise (such as a school, local business, non-profit, or civic organization) in one of the following sixteen (16) coverage towns within the Sponsor’s distribution area:
Antrim, Bennington, Greenfield, Francestown, Hancock, Wilton, Lyndeborough, Mason, New Ipswich, Greenville, Temple, Sharon, Jaffrey, Rindge, Dublin, and Peterborough.
Entity Types:
Submissions are welcome from individuals, classrooms, non-profit organizations, community groups, or local businesses.
Age Limitations:
If a proposed project involves participants under the age of eighteen (18), the entry must be compiled and officially submitted by a parent, legal guardian, or educator over the age of 18, who explicitly agrees to these Official Rules. In addition, where a minor’s name, image, voice, or likeness appears in any submitted materials, the parent, legal guardian or educator submitting the application is expressly promising that (i) the license and publicity rights described below in Section 7, and (ii) the release and indemnification obligations described in Section 8, have been agreed to by the legal guardians on behalf of any minors involved in the submission.
Exclusions:
Employees of the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, the Solutions Journalism Network, and their immediate family members or household relatives are ineligible to enter.
No Entry Fee Necessary:
No purchase, entry fee, or financial commitment of any kind is required to enter or win.
3. Key Timeline
- Contest Launch & Submission Opening: July 30, 2026
- Submission Deadline: September 24, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
- Winner Announcement: October 15, 2026
4. Submission Specifications
Entries must adhere strictly to the following parameters to remain eligible for judging:
Presentation Slide Deck:
All entries must utilize the official 10-slide template provided by the Sponsor, responding to the questions relating to the core pillars of Solutions Journalism. Submissions should be highly visual, utilizing inspiring photographs or graphics rather than dense blocks of text, with each slide meant to be shown for approximately 20 seconds.
Accompanying Video Pitch:
Entrants must submit a recorded video pitch of no more than 3 minutes and 20 seconds in length. The video must show the 10-slide presentation. Any reliable recording software may be used.
Content Restrictions:
Video pitches and slides must not contain copyrighted music or images, explicit or offensive language/material, or promote unsafe physical activities. Any entry containing such material will be disqualified immediately.
5. Judging Process & Criteria
All qualified entries will be evaluated by a panel representing regional environmental and conservation organizations. Submissions will be graded on a 100-point scale based on the following weighted criteria:
- Environmental Impact (50% / 50 Points): The potential of the proposed project to create a demonstrable, positive impact on the local natural environment.
- Feasibility (30% / 30 Points): The practicality and realism of the project’s design, timeline, resources, and execution plan.
- Community Impact (10% / 10 Points): The degree to which the project engages, educates, or directly benefits local residents.
- Originality (10% / 10 Points): The creativity and freshness of the idea or its implementation strategy.
In the event of a mathematical tie, the entry that scored higher in the individual “Environmental Impact” category will be declared the winner.
6. Grants and Financial Disbursements
Two (2) grant awards of $4,000.00 each will be distributed to two separate winning entries to fund the implementation of their proposed environmental projects. Grant funds will be disbursed via check from the Sponsor to the verified winners within ten (10) days of the official announcement, scheduled for October 15, 2026.
Each Winner agrees to provide the Sponsor with two brief written progress reports of no more than one page each: (i) a three-month progress report, due no later than three (3) months after receipt of grant funds, and (ii) a final report summarizing the project’s outcomes, due no later than twelve (12) months after receipt of grant funds or upon completion of the project, whichever occurs first. The Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, waive either report where its own editorial coverage of the project has provided sufficient information on its progress. These reports, and any materials submitted with them, are subject to the rights granted to the Sponsor under Section 7.
Winners are solely responsible for any applicable local, state, or federal taxes associated with receiving the grant. An IRS Form 1099-MISC will be issued to each winner for tax reporting purposes.
7. Intellectual Property & Promotional Licenses
By entering this contest, each participant agrees to the following terms regarding creative assets and likeness rights:
Broad License Granted to Sponsor:
By submitting an entry, participants grant the Sponsor a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable, and perpetual license to host, display, edit, publish, translate, store and distribute the submission materials (including the slides, images, and video pitches). This license permits the Sponsor to keep the video pitches on the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript digital platforms indefinitely, display entries on the “Preserving Our Region” landing page, and screen the video submissions at public events, including future Community Conversations.
Publicity & Media Consent:
Winners and participants grant the Sponsor the right to use their names, voices, likenesses, biographical information, and project summaries in connection with the promotional marketing of this contest and within future editorial reporting, follow-up news stories, print publications, and digital newsletters in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript and in other publications of Newspapers of New Hampshire, the parent corporation of the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript.
Warranties:
Each participant warrants that their submission is their own original work, that to the best of their knowledge it does not infringe upon any third party’s intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights, and that they have full authority to grant the rights and licenses described in this Section 7.
Where an entry includes a minor participant, the participant warrants that all necessary parent or guardian consent has been obtained in connection with (a) the intellectual property, publicity and media consent noted above in this Section 7 and also (b) those promises and guarantees regarding any participating minor’s names, images, voices, or likenesses made in the “Age Limitations” paragraph in Section 2 above.
8. Limitation of Liability & Indemnification
Important Disclaimer:
By participating in this contest and accepting a grant, each entrant agrees to release, indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, the Solutions Journalism Network, and their respective parent companies, affiliates, employees, officers, and directors from and against any and all liability, claims, losses, damages, or injuries (including, but not limited to, bodily injury, illness, death, or property damage) arising out of or in connection with the preparation for, participation in, or subsequent implementation, physical construction, execution, or maintenance of any proposed project.
The Sponsor acts strictly as a funding vehicle for the grant prizes and does not supervise, manage, control, or take responsibility for the physical execution of any funded projects. All project implementation is done entirely at the physical and financial risk of the grant recipient.
The Sponsor is not responsible for computer, technical, printing, typographical, human, or other errors of any kind, including errors that may occur in the administration of the contest, the announcement of grant recipients, or the processing of entries; nor for entries or supporting materials that are lost, stolen, late, misdirected, undelivered, delayed, garbled, damaged, incomplete, or illegible, or that fail to enter the Sponsor’s processing or review system for any reason.
As a condition of entering the contest, each entrant agrees, on their behalf and on the behalf of any participants in the submission and any resulting projects, that: (a) they will not seek, and hereby waive any right to, punitive, incidental, consequential, or other indirect damages, and that any recovery is limited to actual, documented out-of-pocket costs; and (b) attorneys’ fees are not recoverable under any circumstances arising out of or connected with this contest or any grant awarded.
These Official Rules shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New Hampshire, and any cause of action arising out of or connected with this contest, or any grant awarded, shall be heard and resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. If any provision of these Official Rules is held invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that holding shall not invalidate or render unenforceable any other provision of these rules.
9. Right to Disqualify
The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any participant or entry if the Sponsor determines that the participant or project: violates these rules; conducts unsafe or dangerous activities; or behaves in a manner that is objectionable, unlawful, or otherwise inconsistent with the standards, editorial integrity, or values of the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript.
This right applies both before and after a grant has been publicly announced. Where the Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, that continued association with a funded project is inconsistent with its standards, editorial integrity or values, or that a grant recipient has breached these Official Rules, the Sponsor may choose, in its sole and absolute discretion, to cease promoting the project, remove references to the project from its properties, and publicly disassociate from the project at any time, including after grant funds have been disbursed, without any obligation to return funds already paid.
10. Contest Modification, Suspension & Cancellation
The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to modify, suspend, extend, or cancel this contest, in whole or in part, if it becomes impractical to proceed as planned for any reason beyond the Sponsor’s reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disaster, public health emergency, or technical failure. In the event of cancellation, the Sponsor will make reasonable efforts to notify entrants and, where practical, will adjust remaining timelines rather than cancel outright.
11. Winner Verification & Public Information
To receive a list of the official prize winners (available after October 15, 2026), send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, PO Box 36, Peterborough, NH 03458, or visit ledgertranscript.com for information.
These rules have been established in accordance with New Hampshire RSA requirements for promotional contests. Decisions made by the judging panel and the Sponsor are final and binding in all aspects of this competition.