The Gusto Impact Contest & Awards

2025 OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU MUST HAVE INTERNET ACCESS AND A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS TO PARTICIPATE.

To enter the Gusto Impact Contest & Awards (the “Contest”), you must agree to and abide by these rules (“Official Rules”). “You”, “Your”, and “Entrant” means you as an individual and the business entity that you represent in entering this Contest. If You are entering this Contest on behalf of a Small Business (as defined below) which is Your employer or a business that You own in full or in part (e.g., in Your capacity as an agent or authorized representative of the Small Business), You represent that You have the authority to bind the Small Business and that the Small Business accepts these Official Rules. Submission of an Entry (as defined below) constitutes Your full and unconditional agreement to the Official Rules and Gusto’s decisions and interpretations of the Official Rules (as well as those of judges), which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. To be eligible to win a Prize (as defined below), Entrant must fulfill all requirements set forth herein.

1. Contest Sponsor and Administrator: Gusto, Inc., 525 20th Street San Francisco, CA 94107 (“Gusto”).

2. Eligibility of Entrants. For the purposes of these Official Rules, “Small Business” is defined as a business with no more than 75 employees, which is located and operating in the Eligibility Area (defined below) and has average annual receipts under $7MM, excluding Franchisees (as defined below), licensees and independent owner/operators of larger business entities. The Contest is open to legal residents of the United States who own a Small Business located in the metropolitan areas of Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Miami, Florida; and Houston, Texas in the United States, as defined by the specific Zip Codes listed in this attachment (collectively, the “Eligibility Area”). 

Entrants must be Small Businesses (i) where the individual entering the Contest on behalf of the Small Business is at least 18 years of age, (ii) that has been registered with their secretary of state as a business in good standing for at least 12 months prior to submitting an entry into the Contest, and (iii) which has a bank account capable of accepting receipt of funds via ACH or similar. In addition, Entrants must (1) not be a party to any existing or pending litigation (2) not be engaged in certain trades or areas as set forth herein and (3) be willing to actively participate in a winners event (including signing a photography/video release form) which shall be scheduled at a time that Gusto shall reasonably consult with the Small Business to determine a mutually agreeable time. 

Entrants are under no obligation to purchase any insurance-related services of any kind from Gusto or affiliates of Gusto in order to participate or win.  For the purpose of this Contest, a Franchisee is defined as any business operating under license from a franchisor and governed by a franchise agreement. All other persons (i.e., members of the general public) are not eligible. 

Moreover, and without limitation, employees, officers and directors of Gusto, and the immediate family and household members of any of the foregoing individuals, are not eligible to enter a Small Business in the Contest. “Immediate family members” shall mean parents, legal guardians, step-parents, children, step-children, siblings, step-siblings, or spouses, regardless of where they live. “Household members” shall mean people who share the same residence at least three (3) months a year, whether legally related or not. Potential Small Business winners will be required to provide proof of eligibility in order to receive Prize; if an individual who submitted an entry in the Contest is not the owner of the corresponding Small Business, such proof of eligibility will include written authorization from the Small Business owner permitting such individual to enter the underlying Small Business in the Contest. This Contest is void outside the Eligibility Area and where prohibited by law. 

Further, in order to be eligible, Entrant must not (a) commit or have committed any act which brings Small Business or Gusto into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, or ridicule, or which reflects unfavorably upon the reputation of Gusto, (b) take or have taken any action against Gusto or make/made any statements in derogation of Gusto and/or its products or services, and such statements are made known to the general public, or (c) be or have been charged with a felony or a crime of moral turpitude (collectively, “Unbecoming Conduct”). By entering or authorizing someone to enter the Small Business into this Contest, Entrant understands and agrees that, if Entrant’s Small Business is determined to be a potential Contest finalist, Entrant will be required to consent to a background check on him/her/themselves personally to verify eligibility; and, failure to sign such consents and authorizations and/or to furnish all required information within 24 hours of request may result in disqualification. In addition, Gusto reserves the right in its sole discretion, to disqualify a potential winner if the results of such background check reveal that such Entrant is not eligible to participate in the Contest or has engaged in Unbecoming Conduct, as determined by Gusto in its sole discretion.

3. Contest Entry Period. The Contest begins at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (“PT”) on October 15, 2024 and ends at 4:00 p.m. PT on November 20, 2024 (“Contest Entry Period”). In order for an Entry to be considered for a Prize, submissions must be entered within the Contest Entry Period. Gusto’s computer is the official clock for this Contest.

4. How to Enter. Entrants may enter the Contest during the Contest Entry Period as follows: During the Contest Entry Period, (a) navigate the Internet to https://gusto.com/impact-award-contest (the “Website”), (b) submit all required information on the Website entry form, including a short essay of 300 words or less that describes the mission of Your Small Business, the impact it makes on Your local community and how winning would impact Your business, team and local community (the “Essay”). Your Essay must be solely Your original work that is both created and owned by You. 

Along with the Essay, You must also submit (a) the following information: Your full name, work email address and confirmation that You are 18 years of age or older; (b) Small Business name; (c) Small Business website link; (d) whether or not You are the owner of the Small Business and, if not, Your position at Small Business; (e) Small Business location (city, state/province and zip code/postal code); and (f) number of employees in the Small Business as of time of entry, (collectively “the Entry”).

BY SUBMITTING AN ENTRY YOU ARE SIGNIFYING THAT YOU AGREE TO THE GUSTO  PRIVACY POLICY, AGREE TO RECEIVE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS FROM GUSTO, THAT YOU MEET THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES YOUR SMALL BUSINESS WILL NOT BE ENTERED IN THE CONTEST AND WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN A PRIZE.

Incomplete submissions will not be accepted. To submit your Entry, click the “Submit” button on the entry form. You will automatically receive an email to the email address You provided in Your submission thanking You for Your submission.

Limit one (1) Entry per Small Business during the Contest Entry Period, regardless of the number of email addresses a Small Business may have. Without limitation, only one (1) person may submit an Entry on behalf of a given Small Business.

Use of automated, or similar quick entry devices or programs, or entries by third parties are prohibited and will result in disqualification. Entries that do not conform to or that violate these Official Rules or are submitted in any manner other than stated in these Official Rules will be disqualified. Gusto will not be responsible for late, lost, inaccessible/blocked, incomplete or misdirected entries. Proof of submission of Entry does not constitute proof of receipt of the same. All Entries must be submitted via the Website in their entirety prior to expiration of the Contest Entry Period. 

5. Entry Restrictions. By submitting an Entry, Entrant represents and warrants that he or she has read, understands, agrees to and will follow the Official Rules. Entries (1) must be suitable for a general audience; (2) must be original and must be created for the sole purpose of this Contest; (3) cannot contain any sexually explicit, disparaging, libelous or other inappropriate content (all as determined in the sole discretion of Gusto); (4) cannot contain any commercial content that promotes any product(s) or service(s) other than Entrant’s Small Business; (5) cannot contain any trademarks, copyrighted works or other intellectual property (other than works and intellectual property that You own, or for which You have obtained royalty-free rights for Gusto to use in connection with this Contest) (collectively, “Authorized Assets”). Any elements appearing in Your entry must be entirely original, created by You, be in the public domain, or be an Authorized Asset. Use of any materials that are not original to You, not in the public domain, or that are not an Authorized Asset may result in disqualification. Gusto reserves the right to disqualify any entry that violates the foregoing restrictions, as determined by Gusto in its sole discretion.

By submitting an Entry, Entrant grants Gusto and its licensees, successors, assigns and designees a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, sub-licensable, non-exclusive right and license (herein, “License”) to use Entrant’s Entry, including all text and materials included therein, in whole or in part, in any manner and on any media and through any means now known or hereafter devised, including, without limitation, online, and to otherwise use Entrant’s Entry, and to create derivative works based thereon, without compensation to Entrant in accordance with the requirements of this Contest, as well as in the advertising, promotion, and publicity of the Contest, Gusto’s products and services, and otherwise. Further, potential winners agree to confirm such License in writing upon Gusto’s request, and thus, potential winners agree to timely complete, sign and deliver any and all necessary documents, including, without limitation, documents setting forth any licenses, releases and indemnities that Gusto in its sole discretion may require, without condition or compensation of any kind. 

Potential winner’s failure to provide all required documentation to Gusto within the prescribed time frame, in each instance as required by Gusto in its sole discretion, may result in the disqualification of such potential winner’s Entry and will result in an alternate potential finalist/winner being determined, which shall be the next highest scoring Entry in the finalist Round based on the Judging Criteria (as defined below). Entrants agree that Gusto shall have sole discretion in determining the extent and manner of use of Entries and Gusto is not obligated to use any Entry. Entrants agree that all Entries will not be returned. For avoidance of doubt, neither Gusto, nor its agents, shall be responsible for return or preservation of the Entries submitted.

If You opt to access the Website via Your wireless mobile device, data rates may apply for each message sent or received from Your wireless device according to the terms and conditions of Your service agreement with Your wireless carrier. Other charges may apply (such as normal airtime and carrier charges as well as charges for wireless Internet access) and may appear on Your mobile phone bill or be deducted from Your prepaid account balance. Wireless carriers’ rate plans may vary, and You should contact Your wireless carrier for more information on messaging rate plans and charges relating to Your participation in this Contest. Mobile device service may not be available in all areas. Check Your phone’s capabilities for specific instructions.

Entrant acknowledges and agrees that all Entries become the property of the Gusto upon submission. Entries are not being submitted in confidence or in trust to Gusto and that no confidential or fiduciary relationship is intended or created. Each Entrant acknowledges that Gusto and other Entrants may have created ideas and concepts contained in their Entries that may have familiarities or similarities or may be identical in theme, idea, format or other respects to his/her own Entry, and that he/she will not be entitled to any compensation or right to negotiate with Gusto because of these familiarities or similarities. Notwithstanding any custom and practice in the industry to pay an individual for an idea (if any), nothing herein shall create an implied or express contract to compensate Entrants for their Entries and there is no obligation for Gusto  to pay or otherwise compensate Entrants for any of their ideas or materials in any communications with Gusto, whatsoever. Entrants waive any and all claims that Entrants may have had, may have, and/or may have in the future, that any Entry and/or other works accepted, reviewed and/or used by the Gusto may be similar to his/her Entry, or that any compensation is due to Entrant in connection with such Entry or other works used by Gusto. Entries are not confidential and Gusto’s only obligations to entrants regarding Entries are as specifically set forth in these Official Rules. The decisions of Gusto are final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest, including interpretation and application of these Official Rules. Gusto reserves the right to request from Entrant at any time proof that Entrant maintains all necessary rights in their Entry in order to grant Gusto the rights required herein in a form acceptable to Gusto. Failure to provide such proof may lead to, among other things, the Entrant being disqualified from the Contest.

6. Content Guidelines. In addition to complying with all other requirements of these Official Rules; each Entry must comply with the following content guidelines (“Content Guidelines”). Any Entry that Gusto in its sole discretion, determines is in violation of any Content Guideline may be disqualified from the Contest. Each Entry:

  • Must be truthful and not exaggerated;
  • Must not include any information that is confidential, proprietary or trade secret of the Small Business or any other individual or entity;
  • Must relate to the Contest theme of why the Small Business should win the Prize;
  • Must not contain unauthorized content that violates or infringes any third-party rights of any kind, including, without limitation, any third-party privacy, publicity, trade secret and/or intellectual property rights, including third party registered and/or common law copyrights and trademarks;
  • Must not disparage any individual or entity, including Gusto (or any other person who endorses their products/services), any other person or entity affiliated with the Contest or products, services or entities that are competitive with any of the foregoing;
  • Must not contain brand names, trademarks or logos of any third party other than the relevant Small Business and the Gusto Content, subject to the limited license granted by Gusto above and solely in accordance with the terms of these Official Rules (including these Content Guidelines);
  • Must not contain content or other creative elements not created by and original to Entrant;
  • Must not contain content or other material that is misleading, inappropriate, indecent, obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit hateful, tortious, defamatory, slanderous or libelous;
  • Must not contain content or other material that includes explicit language or content, images of violence, or promotion of illegal activities tobacco, alcohol, drugs or other controlled substances, dangerous stunts, real weapons of any kind including, but not limited to, guns, knives or projectiles or relates to lotteries or gambling.
  • Must not contain content or other material that reflects, advocates or promotes bigotry, racism, hatred, harm or exploitation of or against any class, group or individual, discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age, or actions or activities that are restricted, prohibited, illegal or unlawful;
  • Must not contain content, images or other material that is unlawful or in violation of or contrary to any applicable federal or state/provincial laws or regulations;
  • Must not have been previously submitted in a promotion of any kind, or published, posted, exhibited or displayed publicly for commercial use by any means and in any form or media.

7. Contest Judging. Each of the submitted eligible Contest Entries will be judged according to the Judging Criteria (defined below) by one (1) or more panels of selected judges (the “Judges”). The Entrant with the highest total score in the opinion of the Judges will be declared the potential Gusto Impact Award winner of the Contest. If a potential finalist or Gusto Impact Award winner is deemed ineligible or subject to disqualification for any reason in accordance with these Official Rules, such Contest Entrant will be disqualified and the eligible Contest Entry, if any, that garnered the next highest score (in the opinion of the Judges) will be declared the new potential finalist or Gusto Impact Award winner (as applicable). The new Contest Entrant selectee, if any, will need to meet all eligibility requirements and otherwise be in compliance with these Official Rules in order for such Contest Entrant to be declared a finalist or the potential Gusto Impact Award winner (as applicable). Should the pool of Contest Entrants be deemed ineligible or otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules, Gusto may at its own discretion decide there are no finalists or no Gusto Impact Award winner.  Gusto’s decisions in all matters relating to this Contest will be final and binding.

As stated above, each eligible Contest Entry will be judged in accordance with the following equally weighted criteria, which will be averaged among participating Judges (the “Judging Criteria”):

Overview of Business And Its Purpose, Strength of Story0-33 points
Community Impact0-33 points
Impact of Winning on Business, Team and Community0-33 points

8. Gusto Impact Award Winner Notification. The Contest Entrant declared to be the potential Gusto Impact Award and Additional Prize winners will be notified by Gusto via email and/or phone.  Potential Gusto Impact Award winner will be required to respond back to Gusto within seventy-two (72) hours of notification issuance, verifying eligibility in the Contest, and willingness to accept the Gusto Impact Award as detailed herein. Failure to respond within this seventy-two (72) hour deadline or comply in any way with the stated requirements may result in forfeiture of Gusto Impact Award at the sole discretion of Gusto.  

If, at the time of attempted notification, the potential Gusto Impact Award winner cannot be reached within a reasonable period (as determined by Gusto) and after a few reasonable attempts, and/or if the potential Gusto Impact Award winner is found not to meet the eligibility requirements or is otherwise found not to be in compliance with these Official Rules, or if any notification is returned as undeliverable for any reason, the potential Gusto Impact Award winner may at Gusto’s sole discretion be disqualified and, time permitting, as determined by Gusto in its sole and exclusive discretion, the Entry that received the next highest score in the opinion of the Judges (as described above) will be deemed the potential Gusto Impact Award winner.  

If the new potential Gusto Impact Award winner is found not to meet all the eligibility requirements set forth in these Official Rules, Gusto may, in its sole and exclusive discretion, determine that there is no winner of the Gusto Impact Award or, time permitting, as determined by Gusto in its sole and exclusive discretion, continue this process and seek to determine a new potential Gusto Impact Award winner from the remaining Entries. Any new potential Gusto Impact Award winner, if any, will have to meet all eligibility requirements and otherwise be in compliance with these Official Rules in order to be declared the official Gusto Impact Award winner.

In order for the potential Gusto Impact Award winner to be declared the official Gusto Impact Award winner and to be able to redeem her Prize, the potential Gusto Impact Award winner will be required to sign a Publicity Release and return it to Gusto within ten (10) calendar days of issuance.  In addition, to be able to redeem a Prize, the potential Gusto Impact Award winner will need to complete an IRS Form W-9.  Failure of a potential Gusto Impact Award winner to return the Publicity Release and/or IRS Form W-9 correctly completed and executed, within the required time period, may result in forfeiture of the Prize, to be determined at Gusto’s sole discretion. 

9. Prizes and Approximate Retail Values (“ARV”). The Gusto Impact Award and Additional Prizes are collectively referred to herein as “Prizes” or the “Prize”. Prize elements are in Gusto’s sole discretion and subject to change and Winners may need to sign additional documents related to additional components. 

Gusto Impact Award. The “Gusto Impact Award” is available to one Entrant per metropolitan area within the Eligibility Area and includes: ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) awarded in the name of the Small Business named in winning Entry paid via ACH (or other payment method, as may be determined in the sole decision of Gusto), one ad spotlight package consisting of Gusto-specified advertising (ARV: approximately forty thousand dollars [$40,000]), one year of free payroll from Gusto (ARV: approximately one thousand five hundred dollars [$1,500]). The total Gusto Impact Award ARV is approximately fifty one thousand five hundred dollars $51,500. The Gusto Impact Award will also include an initial consultation with Gusto’s creative team to design one advertisement featuring the Small Business named in the winning Entry, with up to two rounds of creative revisions.  Winner understands and agrees that Gusto shall have final creative control over any advertisements. 

Additional Prizes. An “Additional Prize” of a five hundred dollar ($500.00) Visa gift card is available to thirty (30) Entrants per metropolitan area within the Eligibility Area for other winners as selected by Gusto in Gusto’s sole discretion. 

Note: The Gusto Impact Award winner must be available to participate on the date, time and location(s) necessary for a branded event to celebrate the winner (if held) as determined by Gusto or Gusto Impact Award may be forfeited and (time permitting as determined by Gusto) an alternate Gusto Impact Award winner determined per the process detailed above.  

All federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of Small Business winners that receive a Prize. By accepting a Prize, Entrant agrees: (i) that Entrant is responsible for all federal, state, and local income tax liability on the Prize received and all other obligations and expenses that are associated with receipt and use of the Prize regardless of the value; and (ii) to release and hold harmless Gusto and affiliates from and against any and all disputes, claims, or causes of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize. A 1099 tax statement will be filed with the IRS for the value of the Prize.

Prize winners will be required to provide Gusto with a valid tax identification number of winning Small Business before the Prize will be awarded for tax reporting purposes. An IRS Form 1099 or IRS Form W8-BEN (as the case may be) may be issued in the name of winning Small Business for the actual value of the Prize received.

Acceptance of the Prize constitutes permission (except where prohibited) for Gusto to use Prize winner’s name, Small Business name, Essays and Contest Entry, likeness, biography, statements, voice, image and any other personal characteristics, in any and all media now or hereafter known, for any purpose, including without limitation marketing, promotional and publicity purposes without additional compensation to such Prize winner and such individual hereby releases Gusto and its designee(s) from any liability with respect to such use. Gusto and its designees are not obligated to use any of the above mentioned information or materials, but may do so and may edit such information or materials, at Gusto’s sole discretion, without further obligation or compensation. Contest subject to the laws of the United States only. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

Awarding of the Prize is subject to the Prize winner’s acceptance of all requisite conditions within these Official Rules and Prize winner’s ability and agreement to grant the rights set forth in these Official Rules and required documentation.  By accepting the Prize, the Prize winner acknowledges compliance with these Official Rules. 

LIMIT: ONE (1) PRIZE PER ENTRANT. Any costs and incidentals not specified herein are the winner’s sole responsibility. If the winner declines or cannot accept any Prize element(s), no substitute Prize or compensation will be awarded. No substitution or transfer of Prize (other than cash portions of Prize) by winner except with Gusto’s permission. Gusto reserves the right to substitute a Prize or Prize component of equal or greater value should a Prize or any component of a Prize become unavailable. Unclaimed Prize(s) will be forfeited. Prizes, if legitimately claimed, will be awarded. Gusto is not responsible for and will not replace any lost, mutilated or stolen Prizes or any Prize/Prize element that is undeliverable or does not reach the winner because of an incorrect or changed address. No more than the stated number of Prizes will be awarded. All Prize details not specified in these Official Rules will be determined in Gusto’s sole and absolute discretion.

10. General Conditions. By participating in this Contest, each Entrant agrees: (a) to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Gusto (as well as all judges), which shall be final in all respects; and (b) to release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless Gusto, its advertising and promotion agencies, and each of their respective officers, directors, agents, representatives and employees, (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all actions, claims, costs (including attorneys’ fees), injury, loss or damage, including, without limitation, death and bodily injury, arising in any manner, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, out of or related to: (1) Entrants’ participation in the Contest; (2) the Released Party’s violation of rights of publicity or privacy, claims of defamation or portrayal in a false light or based on any claim of infringement of intellectual property; (3) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to, malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines, websites, network hardware or software beyond the reasonable control of Gusto; (4) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Entry process or the Contest; (5) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of Entries; (6) claims resulting from the impairment, cancellation or modification of the Contest; or (7) any acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any Prize (including, without limitation, losses, damages or injuries to Entrant’s or any other person’s equipment or other property, or to their persons or activity and any products liability claims alleging tangible property damage, bodily injury or death). Entrant releases all rights to bring any claim, action or proceeding against the Released Parties and hereby acknowledge that the Released Parties have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any Prize.

In the event Gusto is prevented from continuing with the Contest by any event beyond its control, including, but not limited to, fire, flood, epidemic, pandemic , earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, communications or equipment failure, utility or service interruptions, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared), interference with the Contest by any party, or any federal, state or local government law, order, or regulation, order of any court or jurisdiction, or other cause not reasonably within Gusto’s control (each, a “Force Majeure” event or occurrence), Gusto shall have the right to modify, suspend or terminate the Contest.