1. The Application
- Applicants must submit the following materials in order to qualify:
- Application Cover Page
- Business Plan
- Balance Sheet
- Two Letters of Recommendation
- Applications will be judged upon the following criteria: innovation, level of commitment, resourcefulness, goals, product quality, potential, planning, and profitability.
- Applications, business plans, and balance sheets must be the original work of the applicant. Applications must not contain material that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others. Any application that violates these rules will be immediately disqualified.
- Letters of recommendation must be written and signed by a teacher, school staff member, or customer. Letters from family members are not permitted. Letters must include a description of how long and in what capacity the author has known the applicant.
- Any third-party works included in the application, including – but not limited to – letters of recommendation and newspaper articles, must not be altered by the applicant. Any application that violates these rules will be immediately disqualified.
2. Awards
- The winning applicant will be determined by a judging committee selected by Junior Achievement of Greater Washington ("Junior Achievement") and Ernst & Young LLP.
- The winner will be announced in June 2012.
- The winner will receive a $1,000 award to be used as funds for business development, will be honored at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards on June 21, 2012, and will be invited to attend the Washington Business Hall of Fame in fall 2012.
3. Who May Enter
- Applicants must have started and currently be running a business or non-profit organization.
- Applicants must be enrolled students in the 9th – 12th grade at an accredited high school in the 2010 – 2011 academic year in one of the following counties or cities:
- Maryland: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's, Saint Mary's
- Virginia: Alexandria City, Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fauquier, Fredericksburg, King George, Loudoun, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren
- Washington, DC
- Applicants must be citizens or legal residents of the United States.
- Applicants who have co-founded their business with a partner are welcome to apply jointly, up to a maximum of two applicants per business. Should a jointly-founded business be selected as the winner, the two applicants will split the $1,000 award.
- Immediate family members of employees of Junior Achievement, the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement, the Associate Leadership Council of Junior Achievement, and employees of Ernst & Young are ineligible for this competition.
- Winners and disqualified applicants from previous Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Competitions are ineligible for this competition. Non-winning applicants from previous years are strongly encouraged to apply again, provided all other application criteria are met.
4. How to Enter
- Applicants must submit the application, business plan, balance sheet, and two letters of recommendation to Junior Achievement via postal mail. All materials must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on April 11, 2012. Applications received after 4:00 p.m. on April 11, 2012, will not qualify. Incomplete applications will not qualify.
- All materials must be mailed to: Junior Achievement, Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Competition, 1050 17th Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036.
- If selected as a finalist, the applicant must participate in an interview with a judging committee on the evening of Thursday, April 26 at Junior Achievement’s Washington, DC office.
5. Conditions for Participation
- Junior Achievement may use the prizewinner's name, likeness, and other identifying information (such as hometown, school, or grade) in promotional materials relating to this competition.
- The winner (or their parents or guardians) will be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility, originality, and compliance with the official rules, a liability release, and a publicity release as a condition to receiving their award.
- All taxes shall be the responsibility of the winner of the competition. The winner will be required to submit a completed IRS Form W-9 to Junior Achievement as a condition to receiving their award.
6. Miscellaneous
- No applicant will be given preference over any other on the basis of an applicant's name, school, grade, gender, race, ethnicity, geographic origin, or any legally protected status.
- No applicant will be given preference over any other on the basis of an applicant’s ability or inability to attend the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards ceremony on June 21, 2012 or the Washington Business Hall of Fame in fall 2012.
For more information, please contact
David Bing, Director, Development Operations, at (202) 777-4475 or David.Bing@JA.org.
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