Grand Prize: $5,000, one year of Vimeo Pro, and a $2,500 donation to the small business you highlight
Second Place: $2,500 + one year of Vimeo Pro
Third Place: $1,000 + one year of Vimeo Pro
March 23: Submissions open
May 7, 11:59 pm EST: Submissions close
May 15: Winners announced
We’re partnering with Vimeo to pay it forward in times where supporting small businesses has never been more important. Let’s show our support to the entrepreneurs, makers, restaurateurs, and small business owners that have always been there for us—give them some extra love by entering the Pay It Forward Challenge.
Use Vimeo Create to put together a video that promotes a small business—a locally owned restaurant, an independent shop, or even your own side hustle—and create a story on Vocal where you tell readers what makes the brand, or your brand, so special. Get creative and encourage others to learn more about the small business you choose to promote. #VocalCreators, show us what you’ve #MadeWithVimeo.
For more details, find the Challenge Tips section below.
With all that’s going on in the world, it's a confusing and scary time to be a small business—and the perfect time for the rest of us to give back. Let’s come together for all of the hardworking small business owners, makers, restaurateurs, and entrepreneurs that deserve some love.
Use Vimeo Create to create a video that shows support for a small business, a local independent restaurant, or online seller you feel deserves a boost. Or, if you're an entrepreneur yourself, take the opportunity to introduce your own small business or moneymaking project! Either way, the asset you put together using Create should help promote the brand or business, and should highlight the thing that makes the product, brand, or service unique.
Your story should include the video you make using Create, and additionally should tell readers what makes the shop or brand so special, why they deserve our support, and what’s the best way we can support them right now. Encourage readers to buy a gift card, place an online order, share on social, or even sign up for an email list to support the business while times may be uncertain.
Once you’ve shared your story and asset on Vocal, take the video to social to extend your support there. Share it on social media tagging the brand and letting them know you’re supporting them—or even get in touch and send them the video you’ve created so they can share it on their own socials, too.
For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words, and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until May 7, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration.
Entries that do not include a Vimeo Create video will not be eligible for the Challenge.
To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or third place prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these 35 countries will not be eligible to win.
Read the Official Rules for more information.
After my internship ended early from the coronavirus pandemic and freelance film industry jobs were left in shambles, I found myself with an overabundance of time and a lack of money. Fortunately, I remembered a little website called Vocal where I won a writing Challenge the year before.
Today we’re excited to introduce Challenges, a new way for creators to get inspired and join the rest of the Vocal community in some friendly competition. Starting this week, creators will be able to participate in various Challenges across a range of topics and interests for the chance to win cash prizes, experiences, and much more.
There’s no one right way to tell a story. Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes, and we want to see what yours looks like. Challenges are meant to inspire this creativity, and we want to see you tell a story that’s unique and authentic to you—but there are just a few things we look for across the board to be sure we’re judging every entry consistently and fairly.