1. Eligibility & Qualifications
a) Sponsor: The Soul of City Micro Scholarship is sponsored by Sunday Soul Notes®, LLC, a for-profit commercial entity.
b) Target Applicant: Open exclusively to graduating high school seniors currently enrolled in good standing at Baltimore City College High School (3220 The Alameda, Baltimore, MD 21218).
c) Residency: Entrants must be legal residents of the United States.
d) Exclusions: Officers, directors, owners, employees, and immediate family members (spouses, parents, children, and siblings) of Sunday Soul Notes® or the judges are ineligible.
e) No Purchase Necessary: Entry is 100% free. No purchase, fee, or payment of any kind is required to enter or win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Void where prohibited by law.

2. Contest Structure & Skill Criteria
a) Scholarship Structure: This scholarship is a skill-based contest. Submissions must strictly follow the fill-in-the-blank structure of this application. Entries that exceed sentence limits, contain profane or inappropriate content, or omit required fields will be disqualified.
b) Original Work & AI Prohibition: Entries must reflect the applicant's own authentic thoughts and words. Submissions created, generated, or heavily edited using generative AI programs (including but not limited to ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) are prohibited. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entry suspected of utilizing AI assistance in its sole discretion.

3. Contest Timeline & Submission Limits
a) Start Date: October 1, 2026
b) Deadline: Submissions close on December 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.
c) Entry Limit: Limit one (1) entry per student. Multiple submissions from the same applicant will result in disqualification of all entries associated with that student.

4. Award & Tax Classification
a) Prize Value: One (1) winner will receive a single award of $300 disbursed via check or digital payment.
b) Tax Status: The award is sponsored by a for-profit commercial entity and is classified as taxable award income under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 74. It is not a tax-deductible charitable contribution or tax-exempt grant under IRC § 117.
c) Reporting: Because the value of the prize is under $600, Sunday Soul Notes will not issue an IRS Form 1099-MISC/NEC. However, the recipient is solely responsible for reporting and paying any applicable federal, state, or local income taxes.

5. Selection Criteria & Winner Determination
a) Judges: Entries will be judged by a panel of 3 judges appointed by Sunday Soul Notes based on the following objective skill criteria:
b) Format Adherence (50%): Strict compliance with the fill-in-the-blank rules and sentence structure.
c) Originality & Depth (25%): Authenticity and creative expression within the prompt bounds.
d) Sincerity & Narrative Fit (25%): Sincerity of thought and clear alignment with the prompt theme.
e) Judging & Tie-Breaker: Entries will be evaluated by a panel of three (3) judges appointed by Sunday Soul Notes based on the criteria in Section 5. In the event of a tied total score between two or more entries, the tied entry with the highest score in the "Originality & Depth" category will be declared the winner.

6. Winner Verification, Photo Requirement & Disbursement Timeline
a) Verification & Photo Requirement: To receive the award, the selected recipient must complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Publicity Release, along with a digital photo of themselves holding their official award certificate, via email to Sunday Soul Notes within seven (7) calendar days of initial notification.
b) Forfeiture: If the selected recipient fails to submit the required photo and signed documents within seven (7) calendar days, the award will be forfeited, and Sunday Soul Notes will select an alternate recipient using the judging criteria outlined in Section 5.
c) Disbursement Timeline: Award funds ($300) will be disbursed via check or electronic transfer within ten (10) business days following receipt and verification of the compliant photo and signed release documents.
d) Social Media Use: Upon verification, Sunday Soul Notes will publish the recipient's photo and submission on its official digital channels pursuant to the commercial publicity license granted in Section 8.
e) If the selected recipient is under the age of majority in their state of residence (typically 18), the Affidavit of Eligibility and Publicity Release must be signed and submitted by their parent or legal guardian.

7. Optional Social Media Sharing & Commercial FTC Compliance
a) Optional Activity: Posting on social media is entirely optional and is not a condition of receiving the prize.
b) FTC Disclosure Mandate: If the winner elects to post a photo or announcement on public social media, FTC regulations for commercial sponsorships require clear and prominent disclosure. The post must include #SundaySoulNotesContest, #SundaySoulNotesSponsor, or #ad in the primary caption (above the "more" fold). Generic hashtags like #scholarshipwinner alone do not meet legal commercial disclosure standards.

8. Intellectual Property & Commercial Release
a) By participating, entrants (and their parents/guardians, if minors) grant Sunday Soul Notes® an irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive license to reproduce, distribute, display, edit, and otherwise use the submitted prompt responses, winner names, and optional promotional photos across any print, digital, or social media channels for marketing, advertising, brand promotion, and commercial purposes without further compensation or review.
b) Winner Announcement: The official winner will be publicly announced on Sunday Soul Notes' official social media channels (@sundaysoulnotes) and website on or about February 15, 2027.
c) Data Privacy: Personal information collected from applicants will be used solely for the administration, judging, verification, and fulfillment of this contest, as well as brand promotional activities authorized under the Publicity Release. Sunday Soul Notes® will not sell, rent, or transfer applicant contact information to third parties for independent marketing purposes. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy at https://www.sundaysoulnotes.com/privacy-policy/.

9. Limitation of Liability & Disclaimers
a) Technical Liability: Sunday Soul Notes® is not responsible for technical, network, server, or hardware failures, lost or delayed submissions, or transmission errors.
b) Third-Party Disclaimers: This promotion is independently conducted by Sunday Soul Notes® and is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Baltimore City College High School, Baltimore City Public Schools, or any social media platform (including Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook).
c) Governing Law: This contest and these Official Rules shall be governed by and construed under the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to conflicts of law principles. By entering this promotion, all applicants release and hold harmless the sponsor from any and all liability, claims, or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages, or losses to persons or property arising from participation in this promotion, except for claims by the selected recipient alleging a material breach of the sponsor's explicit obligation to disburse the promised scholarship funds. The sponsor's total liability under any circumstance shall be strictly limited to the cash value of the offered scholarship. Any permitted legal action must be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Baltimore, Maryland.
d) Right to Cancel or Modify: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend, or modify the contest if fraud, technical failures, or any other factor beyond Sponsor's reasonable control impairs the integrity of the contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.
e) Tampering/Fraud: Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or acting in violation of these Official Rules.

Sponsor: Sunday Soul Notes®, LLC, 200 Washington Ave, 5th Floor #32, Towson, MD 21204.