Rules

• The minimum donation for submitting a photo to be included in the VBSPCA’s 2018 Pet Calendar is $25 per photo. Each entry includes one free calendar. You may submit as many photographs as you like.
• Online: To submit photos online, click on the Participate tab above and follow the directions to upload a photograph of your pet. Online entries must be received by September 23rd, 2017, 9:00:00 PM EST.
• By mail: Mailed photos should be sent to: VBSPCA Photo Contest, Attn. Photo Fundraiser, 3040 Holland Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23453. Mailed entries must be received by September 9th, 2017, 4:00 PM EST.
• Donations are fully tax-deductible as permitted by law. The VBSPCA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All entrants will receive receipts for their contributions.
• Participants selected as a full-page month winner will be notified and must be available to attend a photo session with Dee Akright Photographers the week of September 25th through September 28th. If you submitted a photo in memory of your pet, a shelter animal will be selected for the photo session. We will include your original photo as well in the calendar.

All photos become the property of the Virginia Beach SPCA.

• Acceptable photo formats are .jpg and .png.
• Digital photos must be 300 dpi resolution or higher
• Photos sent by mail must be no larger than 4”x6”
• Photos may contain one or more pets, and may not include people
• Photos must:
• be in color
• contain only pets (no people)
• be horizontal (landscape) format
• Any image that includes people, or content that is deemed inappropriate, indecent or obscene, as determined by the staff of the VBSPCA, will be removed from the Photo Fundraiser.
• Photographs may not be edited or altered (other than minor color, contrast, or sharpness adjustments)
• Photographs must either feature pets owned by the entrant, OR the entrant must have permission from the pet’s owner to submit their pet’s image.
• Photographs must be of dogs, cats or small animals. The only small animals that will be allowed to enter the contest are rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, mice, birds and gerbils, so that they reflect the animals we receive at the shelter.

• The VBSPCA judging committee will give consideration to the submissions who get the highest number of votes for “model of the month” photos throughout the calendar: 11 photos will be selected as full-month pages.
• Participants selected as a full-page month winner will be notified and must be available to attend a photo session with Dee Akright Photographers the week of September 25th through September 28th. If you submitted a photo in memory of your pet, a shelter animal will be selected for the photo session. We will include your original photo as well in the calendar.

You can win “model of the month” by having friends and family vote for your pet’s photo. The recipient of the most votes will be eligible to have their pet featured on a full month page (specific rules apply).

• Once a photo is submitted, it will appear in the online gallery on the VBSPCA’s website, and be open to voting by the general public. Votes are $1 each, with a minimum $5 donation for five votes.
• All votes for photo submissions will be tabulated and displayed online.
• To vote online, click on the Participate tab above. The online voting period will end September 23, 2017, 9:00:00 PM EST. Donate a minimum of $5 for five votes. Those votes can then be cast for any submitted photo in one-vote increments. Voters do not have to use all of the votes at the time of donation. When voters donate, they will be given the option of applying all of the votes to one photo, spreading their votes over various photos, or storing votes in their account. If a voter chooses to store the votes, voter can log in to their account using their ID and password and vote at a later time. All votes must be applied to selected photos by the conclusion of the voting period to be counted.
• Voting by mail is accepted. Votes by mail must be received by the VBSPCA no later than September 16, 2017, 4:00 PM EST. Mail-in votes should be sent to: VBSPCA, Attn. Photo Fundraiser, 3040 Holland Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23453. Envelopes must include your phone number, donation by check, the pet and entrant names, and your written request to apply your enclosed donation towards votes for them in the 2018 Photo Fundraiser.
• Ending time for the Photo Fundraiser will be determined by the host website’s server, which will show prominently on the Photo Fundraiser website as a countdown clock on the last day of the fundraiser.
• The 11 photographs with the most votes (donations) at the end of the submission period will win the voting portion of the Photo Fundraiser.
• All votes are donations to the VBSPCA and are fully tax-deductible as permitted by law. All donors will receive receipts for their contributions.

The top 11 participants to receive the most votes when the voting period ends will be contacted by the VBSPCA. Your beloved pet will be a "Model of the Month” for one of the calendar pages of the Virginia Beach SPCA’s 2018 calendar.

Additionally, all participants to achieve 200 votes or more for their photo entry will receive four free 2018 calendars by mail.