Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some questions that we get asked usually. We are always adding more so keep checking back.

GENERAL

Is the team size limited to 3-5 Members? Can we have extra members?
Yes and no - The 3-5 members will make up your official team. However, we encourage you to get others involved - call upon different clubs in the school to help you. Think of yourselves like an organizing committee or a board of directors. You can make your project so much better by involving everyone in your school as well people in your community.

I have graduated high school, and will be attending University/College next year, can I still compete?
Unfortunately, only those who are currently enrolled full-time as a secondary school student are eligible for this competition. However, Impact Entrepreneurship Group offers many other entrepreneurial opportunities tailored to university and college students - you can find out more information about these opportunities from our website at www.impact.org.

Can I make a team with students from different schools?
Unfortunately, this is not an option for this year. However, we will be looking at implementing this in future competitions.

Who should be the contact person for my team?
You must designate a contact person in your proposal. This person will act as the team leader that receive information from us and keep everyone in the team on track. An active phone number will be required from the team leader. If you're uncomfortable with giving us your address, please use your school's address. However, it is important that you will be able to receive mail with the address you give us as we will be mailing you.

What is illegal?
Illegal is a blanket word that we are using to describe anything that is prohibited by law. This would include but not limited to, the resale of controlled or banned substances, or using property without consent. If ever in doubt about certain situations, always play on the safe side and give us a call / email.

MONEY

I just registered my team, when will I receive the $100?
The completion and submission of your proposal will mark the official registration of your team in the Competition. Once that is done, you will receive your $100.

What if businesses want to donate to us?
Entrepreneurs usually don't receive donations to start their business. Instead, they receive funds from presenting their business proposal to investors. To provide you with a real-world experience, it is a model we will simulate - you may only work with the $100 provided for the Competition.

What can I spend the $100 on?
The fund could be spent on anything towards your proposed business idea. This could be to purchase your first few products to sell, or to purchase the supplies needed to run your event.

When can I spend the $100?
We are allowing purchases to be made no earlier than March 29th, 2009, the Sunday before the competition begins. This should provide you with plenty of time to acquire any materials you need for your project.

Do we need to account for everything? Electricity and water?
We encourage you to use a spreadsheets and our soon to be announced finance app to track everything from sales and purchases to invoices and pre-orders. Building good habits in accounting now will prove to be very helpful in the future. On the other hand, you won't have to include expenses on things like electricity and water.

What if we lose the $100?
We will not hold the team liable for the $100. We do, however, require extensive evidence on your attempt to use the $100 to make profit for the competition. Proper documentation and receipts will be needed prove that the money was spent in an appropriate manner. This will protect us from anyone who may decide to spend our fund for personal benefit.

Where does the funding for the initial loan of $100 come from?
The $100 initial loan to each team wil be provided by Impact Microcredit. Detailed information on financing can be found on our website's full rules.

How do we get the $100?
We are in the process of finalizing fund distribution to individual schools, but it will most likely be in the form of a pre-loaded credit card.

YOUR PROJECT

Can we have more than one event?
It's completely up to you! Grow your money with a couple events or just invest all in one.

Can I start promoting and getting pre-orders before March 30th?
Yes! Definitely use this time to begin promoting your project - generate a buzz and create a brand. As for getting pre-orders, no monetary exchange will be allowed until after March 30th, the start of the competition.

Can I make preparations and book venues before March 30th?
Of course! Begin marketing, scheduling - anything you need to make your event a great success - just no monetary transactions before March 30th, 2009.

CHARITY

How is the money being donated?
We are using CanadaHelps.org, a non-profit organization to distribute the money and receipts to the charity and donator respectively. Due to transactions fees in accepting payment and sending receipts, 3% is deducted by CanadaHelps. We will be exploring methods to reduce this cost and will keep you updated on the matter.

What is a Canadian Registered Charity?
CanadaHelps.org list over 80,000 Canadian Registered Charities. Another website, www.cra-arc.gc.ca/charities, also allows you to search for one. Note that the charity you choose does not have to be one that benefits Canadians, but must be a Canada-based charity.

What is the process of collecting profits and submitting them to the charitable organizations?
All proceeds from teams will be submitted online to Impact Microcredit, we will then re-distribute the funds according to the team's choice of charity through CanadaHelps.org - the most efficient way for charities to receive/process donations. All teams will receive a receipt for their donation from the charity.

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