Spark $20k Contest Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

Sponsor

This contest is sponsored by Toast, Inc., located at 401 Park Drive, Suite 801, Boston, MA 02215 (“Sponsor” or “Toast”). The Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram.

Entry

To enter: (1) tag your nominated restaurant in the comment section of Toast's 'call for entries' post on Instagram and (2) include a comment telling us how you have innovated in your restaurant (a “Post”). Entries must be posted on a public social media profile. Entering with the same Post on multiple social media channels on the same day will not count as multiple Entries. Each Post will be considered an “Entry.”  By entering, you indicate your full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s decisions regarding the Contest. Limit one (1) Entry per restaurant Instagram account, restaurant employee, or restaurant owner. 

You may not use an agency or any automated system to enter and Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entries received through such methods. Your entrance into the Contest constitutes your agreement to these Official Rules.

Eligibility

Eligibility to win the Prize is limited to restaurants that are located in the United States and in operation at the time of the Contest. Eligibility to participate in the Contest is limited to restaurant employees, restaurant owners, and restaurants with a public Instagram account that are located in the United States and  employed by the restaurant, the current restaurant owner, or in operation at the time of the Contest, as applicable. Limit one (1) Entry per restaurant Instagram account, employee, or restaurant owner. Any attempt by any participant to obtain more than the stated number of Entries by using multiple/different email or addresses, accounts, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that participant's entries and that participant may be disqualified.  Registrations or submissions generated by a script, macro or other automated means are void.  In the event of a dispute as to any entrant, the natural person associated with the name and email address provided on the Post shall be deemed to be the entrant. The potential winner of the Prize may be required to show proof of identity. All responses in the Post must be true, accurate, and complete to the best of the Entrant’s knowledge. Entrants agree that they will not include any content within a Post that infringes an intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of a third party. Entrants who disregard these Official Rules are not eligible to participate in or win the Contest. Directors, officers, employees, contractors and agents (and their immediate families and household members) of the Sponsor, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, or any other company involved with the design, production, execution or distribution of the Contest are also not eligible. The Sponsor's determination of eligibility, in its sole discretion, shall be final. The Contest is open to legal residents of 49 United States (excluding Rhode Island), the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The Contest is void in Rhode Island and where prohibited and shall be restricted by all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations that may apply.

Entry Period

The Contest begins on September 13, 2022 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time (“ET”). Entries must be received no later than 11:59PM ET on September 19, 2022 to be eligible. Sponsor’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the Contest.  

Voting

Once the Entry Period has ended, Toast will select the top five (5) Posts ("Finalists''). Only one (1) Post will be selected per nominated restaurant. Sponsor will notify each nominated restaurant Finalist  between September 20, 2022 and September 23, 2022 via direct message to the tagged restaurant’s Instagram account.  Finalists will have twenty-four (24) hours to confirm participation in the Contest.

The Finalists Posts will be put up for a public vote. Voting for the Finalists will open to the general public, including without limitation the Finalists themselves, at 9:00AM ET on October 4, 2022, and all votes must be received by 12:00 PM ET on October 10, 2022 (the "Voting Period") to be eligible. Votes may be cast via one (1) of the following methods: (i) by filling out the required fields contained on the Innovate Your Way to $20k Contest Voting landing page: https://bit.ly/3RxCUiV, or (ii) by emailing socialcontests@toasttab.com with the subject line VOTE along with the name of the restaurant finalist you would like to vote for (each, a “Vote”).  Votes that do not meet these criteria will not be counted. 

Judging Criteria

Selection of the Finalists and the associated Restaurant Winner will be determined based on the written explanations provided in Entries and the number of Votes received. Toast reserves the right to validate any information in the Entries and Votes and to disqualify any Entries or Votes that contain false or misleading information.

Winner Selection

The one (1) restaurant that receives the most Votes (“Restaurant Winner”)  will be selected on October 10, 2022 based on the public Vote results. Sponsor shall publicly announce the Restaurant Winner through its social media channels on or about October 11, 2022.  The Restaurant Winner will be notified via direct message to Restaurant Winners’ restaurant social media accounts or via email. The odds of winning depend upon the number of votes received for each Finalist. 

The Restaurant Winner is subject to verification by the Sponsor. An Entry is not a winner of any prize, even if it has the highest public vote, unless and until Entrant’s eligibility has been verified and Entrant has been notified that verification is complete. 

Except where prohibited, a potential winner will be required to complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, liability/publicity release, and/or W-9 form. Recipients of prizes valued at more than $600 must provide Sponsor with their social security number or applicable tax identification number in accordance with IRS regulations to enable the Sponsor to issue a Form 1099-Misc. If a potential winner fails to complete, sign and return these documents within five (5) business days, the potential winner forfeits the prize and an alternate entrant may be selected in his/her place according to the Judging Criteria. Only three (3) alternate potential winners may be contacted after which the applicable prize will remain unawarded.

Prizes

The One (1) Restaurant WInner will receive the following Prize:

  • $20,000.00 USD

Prize Conditions

The Prize is subject to availability. The winner is solely responsible for paying all federal, state, local, and income taxes and any other costs and expenses not expressly covered by Sponsor in these Official Rules. Any Prize details not specified above will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Any other incidental expenses for the Prize not specified herein are the winner’s sole responsibility. 

The Prize may not be assigned or transferred and must be accepted as awarded. You may not request a substitute Prize; however, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the Prize is not available for any reason, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion (and such prize will be deemed the Prize for all purposes under these Official Rules). The Prize will be awarded “AS IS” and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose). 

Except where prohibited by law, Entry and acceptance of a Prize constitute permission to use Restaurant Winner's name, prize won, biographical information, likeness, video tape, photographs, and statements for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity (including online posting) in any and all media now or hereafter known throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification or permission.

Release and Limitations of Liability

By participating in the Contest, you agree to release and hold harmless Instagram and Sponsor and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents, Instagram, and Twitter (the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest (including the voting process); (b) technical errors; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail; (e) errors in the administration of the Contest or the processing of Entries; (f) injury or damage to persons or property; or (g) copyright or trademark infringement related to your Entry. You further agree that in any cause of action, in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorney’s fees. You waive the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.

Disputes

You agree that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Boston, MA. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, your rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Massachusetts, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of Massachusetts or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Massachusetts.

Additional Terms

All entries become property of Toast, Inc. and such information will be used for purposes of this Contest and for the Sponsor’s general business purposes in accordance with Toast's Privacy Statement.

In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either: (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest; or (b) award the prizes according to the Judging Criteria from among the eligible Entries received up to the time of the impairment. Sponsor reserves the right to extend the Entry Period if it does not receive a sufficient number of Entries (as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion) by the date set forth above. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and seek damages from any individual who tampers with the operation of the Contest, violates these Official Rules, or acts in a disruptive or unsportsmanlike manner. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Proof of sending any communication to Sponsor by mail shall not be deemed proof of receipt of that communication by Sponsor. The Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited.