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Official Rules

Background

The Mission of The Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation is to strengthen the State of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish People, and its special ties with the United States of America; and to ensure the special affinity to the State of Israel of the young and future Jewish generations.

Milstein Family Foundation Innovation Competition (“the Competition”), an initiative of the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation (“MFF”), is inviting entries that represent the most innovative pro-Israel, on-campus initiatives for our second annual competition.

We are looking for a never-been-done-before, out-of-the-box, pro-Israel initiative on campus and beyond – be it showing positive aspects of Israel, strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance, or fighting anti-Israel forces.

Up to $16,000 will be awarded to support the implementation of the winning initiative.

Up to three (3) finalists will be invited to present their initiatives during the Milstein Student Reception at the 2019 AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C, to a judging panel which will make the final funding decisions.

Eligibility

  • Both individuals and groups are eligible to apply. All applicants must be actively enrolled college students or senior high school students at the time of submission.
  • Applicants must be personally in charge of the proposed initiative and able to fully execute it.

Criteria

  • Initiative can be implemented within 12 months from funding decision.
  • Initiative will be carried out in collaboration with at least one national non-profit 501(c)(3) pro-Israel organization. Application materials should mention the participating organization.
  • MFF will prioritize cost efficiency and maximization of number of people impacted by the initiative.
  • Selection of finalists and funding decisions will be made at the judges’ sole discretion. Detailed feedback will not be provided.

Finalists

  • Finalists must present their project in person at the Milstein Fellows Reception at the 2019 AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. on March 24-26, 2019 (exact date and time TBA).
  • In case of a group submission, a maximum of three (3) members of the group will be allowed to present to the judging panel.
  • Finalists will be granted free admission to the AIPAC Policy Conference. MFF is NOT responsible for funding travel and stay costs.
  • Presentations must last no longer than five (5) minutes and must be presented in a PowerPoint-style format.

Prizes

  • Grand prize of $15,000 will be granted to the winning initiative to be used to execute it.
  • Personal prize of $1,000 will be granted to the presenter/ presenting group of the winning initiative.
  • Audience favorite prize of $200 will be granted to each presenting group member (up to $600 per group) voted by the audience as the favorite initiative.

Winner

  • Winners will be selected at the end of the Milstein Student Reception at the 2019 AIPAC Policy Conference. Students in the audience will be able to vote for their favorite initiative.
  • Grand prize winner is required to keep MFF apprised of project’s progress in form of written reports.
  • Winner must execute the project no later than 12 months from funding decision unless an extension is requested from and granted by MFF. If not operational by that date, the winnings will be forfeited and may be awarded to another entrant at MFF’s discretion.
  • Award money is non-transferable and will be donated to the partner organization that is a 501(c)(3) whom the winner will be implementing the winning initiative with.

Application Requirements

  • Applicants will submit the following materials:
    • Two-page executive summary: A4 size paper, 1” margins, 1.5-line spacing, Helvetica font, size 12.
    • A YouTube or a Vimeo link to a 90-second pitch video.
    • 1-page Project budget. While the prizes will be maximum $15,000, the project budget can exceed this amount. In such case, the applicant must sufficiently show that the remainder of the budget is secured. MFF funding will be granted only after all other funding is received by the applicant.
    • 1-page résumés of each of the individual applicants.
  • To be considered for this competition, all application materials must be submitted in full. Applications missing any of the aforementioned materials will be disqualified.
  • Applicants must demonstrate an ability to complete their proposed initiative if given funding.
  • Late submissions will not be considered.

Competition Timeline

  • Applications are due by Friday, February 1st.
  • Five (5) semi-finalists will be selected by Friday, February 8th.
  • Semi-finalists will send a video of their four-minute pitch by Friday, February 25th.
  • A judging committee will select and approve three (3) finalists by Tuesday, March 4th.
  • Finalists will participate in a video rehearsal call with MFF team by Friday, March 15th.
  • Three (3) finalists will present their initiatives during the Milstein Student Reception at the 2019 AIPAC Policy Conference, on March 24-26, 2019 (exact date and time TBA).

During the Milstein Student Reception at AIPAC PC

  • Each finalist will be given five (5) minutes to pitch their project to the judging panel and the audience, using a PowerPoint-style visual presentation.
  • Following the presentations and prior to announcement regarding the winners, reception attendees will be able to vote for their favorite project using their mobile devices.
  • At the end of the reception, the judges will announce their decisions and the results of the audience favorite vote.
    • Ultimately, the judges will decide who wins the competition, but the audience vote can be considered in their decision-making process.

After the AIPAC PC

  • The judging panel reserves the right to change its decision regarding allocation of prize money up to seven (7) business days after the Policy Conference
  • Winners must be available to meet with the judging panel and/or their representatives either in person or via video conference within one (1) week following the Policy Conference.
  • Funding is contingent upon signing terms and conditions acceptable to MFF.

Miscellaneous

  • MFF reserves the right to use participants’ names, likeness, picture, portrait, voice, biographical information, written submissions, and written or oral statements for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation unless required by law. Information regarding the winners and winning initiative may be posted on http://www.milsteinff.org and may be released to the public.
  • For questions, please email [email protected]

Application Form

Milstein Family Foundation Innovation Competition (“the Competition”), an initiative of the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation, is inviting entries that represent the most innovative and new ideas for our second annual competition.

We are looking for a never-been-done-before, out-of-the-box, pro-Israel initiatives which will show positive aspects of Israel or fight anti-Israel forces.

Can your idea, initiative, project, program, or event advance the cause of pro-Israel advocacy on campus and beyond? If so, please apply below to be considered for up to $16,000 grand prize to execute your idea and more cash prizes!

  • Accepted file types: doc, docx, pdf, Max. file size: 2 MB.
    A4 size paper, 1” margins, 1.5-line spacing, Helvetica font, size 12
  • paste a link to a 90-second pitch video
  • Accepted file types: doc, docx, pdf, Max. file size: 2 MB.
  • Accepted file types: doc, docx, pdf, Max. file size: 2 MB.
    1 page resumes of each of the individual team members. Combine into one file if there is more than one team member. Resumes must include emails.