Join Us May 21st for our Annual Meeting in Mt. Pleasant - Click Here to Register!

Downtown Pitch Terms and Guidelines

Downtown Pitch – Competition Guidelines

Objective of the Downtown Pitch Competition 

  • The primary objective of the Downtown Pitch Competition is to enhance the vibrancy of our communities through community engagement at an event that will feature top business and community ideas submitted by area residents and businesses who are looking to enhance community vibrancy. 

Goals of the Downtown Pitch Competition 

  1. Support the growth of locally owned businesses by providing access to capital to enhance and expand businesses.
  2. To generate new ideas that foster community vibrancy through placemaking efforts and initiatives. 
  3. To engage with community stakeholders who are passionate about our community and desire to be more actively involved in fostering its resiliency. 

Eligibility Overview

Downtown Pitch Clare

Businesses that meet the following criteria and are located in, or plan to locate within the City of Clare within one year of the Pitch Competition scheduled for September 18th, 2023, are eligible to apply for the Business Vibrancy Award. 

  • The business sells or intends to sell products and/or services face to face AND has or will have a physical location within the City of Clare. 
  • The business will have, or intends to have, control over the site for which they are applying prior to application. Please note: changes in the proposed business location after grant selection may result in grant being forfeited. 
  • The business may be operating as a for profit or non-profit. 
  • Project must be completed within 1 year. 

Individuals or businesses who love the City of Clare and have an idea to help enhance it are eligible to apply for the Community Vibrancy Award. 

  • The individual or business plans to use the grant award to support activating outdoor public space within the City of Clare. Eligible types of projects include, but are not necessarily limited to: 
    • an event that encourages people to visit the City of Clare
    • a public amenity that would benefit visitors to the City of Clare (addition of benches, bike racks, flower boxes, etc.) 
    • a place-based improvement project (murals, art work, etc.)
  • Individuals must demonstrate how this project supports the vision and goals stated in the City of Clare's Master Plan.
  • Any project proposed to take place in the public right of way will need the approval and any associated permits from the City’s Department of Public Works.
  • Projects will need to be reviewed by the City for compliance with applicable ordinances, including zoning and the applicable building and fire codes in order to qualify for award.
  • Project must be completed within 1 year. 

Competition Deliverables

Application 
Pitch Presentation

Competition Process

Step 1:   Submit application deadline: July 21, 2023

Visit MMDC website link and complete the application.

The application will ask for detailed information regarding your idea including the moment you came up with the idea (what is your story, what made you move forward with your idea?), The idea itself (what problem did you identify, what is your idea going to fix?, how will this idea benefit the downtown area overall), The advantage (what makes your idea unique, better, faster, stronger?), The future (how will you spend your funds, next steps and where are you headed). 

Step 2: Application Process

After online submission, you will receive communication for verification of eligibility and agreement with use of funds. 

Step 3: Kickoff meeting and Presentation milestones delivered

On July 11th, 2023 at 10 am at the Clare City Hall office and June 12th, 2023 at 6 pm via Zoom, a Kickoff and Q&A meeting will be held. At each kickoff session, participants will receive a welcome packet with important templates, dates and details. The kickoff meeting is not required but highly recommended to ensure participants understand expectations and timeline of the competition deliverables. 

Step 4: Pitch and Executive Summary Development

Participants will be given milestones to complete in three phases. Phase 1 Pitch must be delivered and approved by August 4th, 2023.  From there, Phase 2 Pitch delivered and approved by August 15th, 2023.  Final Pitch Deck presentation to be delivered and approved by August 22nd. 

A strong Pitch Deck will be presented in PowerPoint format. Finalists should communicate the following details at minimum via their Pitch Deck: Problem, Solution, Benefit to both the business and the downtown, Project Timeline, Team and Roles, and Ask. Must be no longer than 10 minutes.  

Step 5: Finalists announced

Week of September 5th, 2023 the top finalists will be announced and invited to participate in the Downtown Pitch – Mt. Pleasant competition on September 19th, 2023.  It is mandatory to present in person for the competition.  All finalists will have access to the Scorecard to help understand the criteria judges will be looking for.  

Required Key Dates & Sign-Offs

  • Submission Deadline:  July 21st, 2023
  • Kickoff Meeting: July 11th at 10 am, in-person at the City of Clare City Hall
  • Kickoff Meeting: July 12th at 6 pm, virtually via Zoom

  • Application Deadline:  July 21st, 2023 

  • Phase 1 Pitch Presentation:  August 4th, 2023 (presentation deck submitted via email) 

  • Phase 2 Pitch Presentation and Draft of Project Summary: August 15th, 2023 (updated presentation submitted after receiving feedback from committee submitted via email)

  • Phase 3 Pitch Presentation (in person): August 22nd, 2023

  • Finalists Announced: Week of September 5th, 2023

  • Competition Presentation:  September 19th, 2023  

Terms and Conditions: 

The purpose of the Competition is to be part of an overall program aimed at systematically enhances community vibrancy by (i) facilitating business enhancement and expansion through mentorship and increased access to capital and ii) fostering community support through generation and nurturing of ideas to enhance community outdoor spaces through the introduction of community-led ideation. This Competition will award over $16,000 in prizes.    

 Applicant Conditions

  1. Applications can only be submitted once.  An individual who applies on behalf of a business entity represents and warrants he or she has requisite authority to act on behalf of such entity.
  2. For purposes hereof, “applicants” includes individuals and business entities.  There is no limit to the number of people on an applicant’s team.
  3. All applications must be the original work of the applicant making the submission.
  4. The decisions of the Reviewing Parties are final, including interpretation of these Terms and Conditions.
  5. Applicants who engage in immoral, illegal or other activity that may adversely affect the image of Downtown Pitch Competition, or any of their affiliates, or other applicants, are ineligible for the Competition.
  6. All applicants and award recipients must comply with these Terms and Conditions.  Any violation of these Terms and Conditions will disqualify an applicant from the Competition, and result in forfeiture of any awards the applicant received in connection with the Competition.

 Applicant Representations and Covenants

  1. By submitting an application, applicants represent and warrant that:
  2. The information in the application is and will be true and accurate.
  3. The ideas contained in the application will not infringe upon the rights, including privacy and intellectual property rights, of any third party.
  4. The applicant has a reasonable basis for holding the intellectual property that forms the basis or is integral to the applicant’s business or the proposed business submitted in the Competition.
  5. The applicant has and will have the right and authority to submit the content in its application to Downtown Pitch Competition.
  6. The applicant will obtain permission or a license, as appropriate, for any third-party materials, information or other intellectual property contained in its application.
  7. The applicant will comply with all applicable laws and regulations in connection with its activities relating to the Competition.
  8. The applicant will not attempt to hold Downtown Pitch Competition or MMDC responsible or liable for any third-party violation of its intellectual property rights as a result of participation in the Competition.
  9. The applicant consents to Downtown Pitch Competition and/or MMDC performing a background check with respect to the applicant and its principals.

Confidentiality and Intellectual Property

Access to the applications is granted to Downtown Pitch and MMDC (including its officers, managers, members, consultants and agents), and Downtown Pitch sponsors and collaborating partners (collectively, the “Reviewing Parties”).  The Reviewing Parties offer no guarantee of confidentiality, either explicit or implicit, in connection with any data or information presented or discussed by applicants.  The Reviewing Parties will not agree to or sign non-disclosure agreements in connection with any application or applicant.  Applicants requiring non-disclosure agreements should not participate. Before submitting their applications, applicants are urged to confirm with appropriate advisors or legal counsel that any intellectual property described therein is legally held or licensed by the applicant, is non-infringing and appropriately protected.  Applicants should be prepared to provide reasonable back-up documentation for these statements, if requested. The authors of each applicant submission will retain all copyrights to the contents of their submission, provided that the Reviewing Parties may make photocopies, photographs, and video and/or audio recordings of any data or information divulged, presented, or discussed by any applicant throughout that applicant’s participation in the Competition.  By entering the Competition, applicants agree to grant a license to the Reviewing Parties to use such materials without restriction and to conduct such due diligence as the Reviewing Parties determine is necessary or desirable for purposes of evaluating the application and carrying out the Competition as described herein. In addition, the Reviewing Parties will have the right to publicly post certain information about accepted applicants and their applications in the public areas of the Reviewing Parties’ websites, including, but not limited to, name and category of business, logo, and an abstract.  The Reviewing Parties will also have the right to use the content of applicants’ applications for research and other not-for-profit purposes.

Downtown Pitch Competition does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender expression, military status or marital status.

 Downtown Pitch Competition reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions in its sole discretion.  In the event of a modification, all applicants will be notified as soon as reasonably possible.

Downtown Pitch Competition and/or its designees reserve the right to use and reproduce information disclosed about yourself, and/or company for purposes of business or publicity (i.e.) photo and video testimony. 

Downtown Pitch Competition may temporarily or permanently suspend the contest, or modify the contest venues, structure or rules at any time and without advance notice. Competition sponsors, judges, and service providers reserve the right to disqualify and reject any entries and participants for any reason.  

By entering the contest, entrants fully and unconditionally agree to be bound by the rules and the decisions of Downtown Pitch Competition and the judges, which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the contest. 

Any and all federal, state and local taxes and fees resulting from participation or receipt of any award are the sole responsibility of the participant.  All federal, state, and local laws and rules apply.  

By participating in the contest, all entrants and winners agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Downtown Pitch Competition the judges, and their respective affiliates, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors, from any and all liabilities, for losses, harm, damages, injuries, costs or expenses whatsoever including without limitation, property damage or injury which may occur in connection with participation in the contest, for any claims based on third party rights in the entry or arising out of the use of the entry as allowed by these rules including, but not limited to publicity rights, defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement or any other intellectual property-related cause of action.

Any attempted entry other than as set forth above is prohibited; no automatic, programmed, robotic or similar means of entry are permitted. Downtown Pitch Competition and its affiliates are not responsible for technology, hardware, software, or communications malfunctions, errors or failures of any kind, lost, congested, or unavailable network or internet connections, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the contest or vote, including issues resulting from downloading any materials from the contest or Sponsor’s website.

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT DOWNTOWN PITCH COMPETITION ITS JUDGES, AFFILIATES, PARTNERS, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS, EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGE, LOSS, OR EXPENSE OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR RESULTING FROM YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE PITCH A DREAM CONTEST REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY IS BASED IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE. IN NO EVENT, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, A NEGLIGENT ACT, SHALL PITCH A DREAM, ITS JUDGES, AFFILIATES, PARTNERS, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS, EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS), ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO THE DOWNTOWN PITCH CONTEST OR ANY OTHER PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OR INFORMATION OFFERED, SOLD, OR DISPLAYED ON THIS SITE, YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS SITE GENERALLY, OR OTHERWISE IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER PITCH A DREAM, ITS JUDGES, AFFILIATES, PARTNERS, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS, EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. 

You expressly waive all rights to trial in any action or proceeding instituted in connection with these rules or the contest. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these rules or the contest shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association.  The prevailing party shall be entitled to recover its expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) in connection with the arbitration and any appeal from the losing party. Any award by the arbitrator shall be final and binding on all parties, subject to any limited right to appeal under the Federal Arbitration Act. Any court having jurisdiction may enter judgment on the arbitrator’s award.  Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be conducted in the State of Michigan, City of Clare. 

THESE OFFICIAL RULES AND THE INTERPRETATION OF ITS TERMS SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, U.S.A., WITHOUT REGARD TO ITS CONFLICTS OF LAWS RULES. For any disputes with Downtown PitchCompetition arising out of the contest or the rules that are not subject to arbitration, you agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the state or federal courts located within Clare County.