NFPW and NPW will continue the process of hosting an online contest. And the contest website is live, so start getting your entries ready. All the rules and categories are on the NFPW website at http://nfpw.org/communicationsContest.cfm The page also provides links for easy navigation to the information that will make entering easy for NFPW members and non-members alike.
Deadline for hard copy entries is Feb. 2; deadline for all other entries is Feb. 9.
Once you are on the contest Welcome (login) page, click the white REGISTER link in the upper left corner of the contest site, you will get an entrant form that prompts entrants to select “member” or “non-member” status and the name of the affiliate (including at-large) whose contest they are entering. Those selections will put you into the correct affiliate contest. All directions needed to enter the contest are contained in the pages of the contest site. But if you have questions or need help entering, click the FAQ or Contact Us tabs on the contest navigation bar.
The member/non-member and affiliate name choices also will ensure that each entrant will be asked to pay entry fees at the rates specified by each affiliate. Nebraska’s fees are the same as last year: $10 for the first entry and $5 for each subsequent entry.
If you have questions, the guide, “Steps for Easy Entry into the NFPW Affiliate Communications Contest” can be found below.
Just a few quick notes:
- Members who work at weekly newspapers that don’t have pagination may need to scan articles or pages in order to produce a digital file. In the case of full-page entries, if you can’t scan a full page, take a photo and send a .jpg file. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
- All categories have the same deadline. The only exception to the online contest is that people entering books or publication editing may mail their book, newspaper or magazine to the affiliate contest director if they don’t have a digital file. Entrants should just go to the website, fill out the entry form and print it in order to send a copy of the entry form with the book, newspaper or magazine. The judges are being instructed not to give preference to entries that are uploaded over the mailed entries in these categories.
- You can pay for your entries online with a credit card, or you can choose to mail a check to the contest director. When you click on Pay Now, it will show how much the entry fees are and there is a box you can check that says Pay Offline. That means you will mail your check.
- To enter the contest, your dues must be paid by Dec. 31.
- And one final request: Please double check your entries as you upload them, etc. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask. Those who entered last year did a really good job but there were a few glitches. I think we’ve got most of them worked out, but you never know what new issues may crop up.
For more information on the NPW contest, please contact Terri Hahn.
Steps for Easy Entry into the NFPW Affiliate Communications Contest
NOTE: All information about entering the NFPW contest is contained within the contest site. The LOGIN (Welcome) page and the HOME page you will access once you have a username and password are step-by-step guides to ensure that you can successfully register, enter, submit, and pay for your entries. There are steps to follow about submitting and paying for entries on the Entry Form and PAY NOW pages also.
1. Click the contest link on the NFPW website to access the LOGIN (Welcome) page of the contest.
2. Read the information on the Welcome page BEFORE beginning the registration / entry process.
3. Click the white REGISTER link (top left corner of the page), enter your email address, click SUBMIT.
4. Fill out the Entrant Form that will appear on your screen. Selection of membership status and state affiliate name will put you into the correct contest.
5. At the end of the Entrant Form, create a Username and Password. Keep them simple. They can be identical. Write that info down somewhere so that you will be able to access the contest at a later time to finish the entry process or to submit more entries.
6. Enter your work: Click ADD ENTRY on the navigation bar to get the entry form with all of your contact information already filled in. Follow the steps listed in red at the top of the Entry Form page.
TIP: Before submitting your entries if you have more than one or two, create a 2015 CONTEST folder on your hard drive. Find all files needed for each category you plan to enter; rename them by putting category number/letter and name at the beginning of the filename (e.g. 03 NEWS Near-record year for rainfall.docx; 10 REVIEW The Wolf of Wall Street.pdf). Save each to the new folder. After uploading the first file from the CONTEST folder, you will get that folder each time you click the Browse button during the entry process.
7. Once you enter the title, choose the category, and click SAVE, you will see the unique entry ID number, the title of the entry, and the Category name above the five tabs. You must click each of the other tabs (except Hard-copy Entries, which pertains only to those entering entire books, magazines, and newspapers).
8. Submit your entries through the Uploads tab (read directions on the tab). There are 2 types of entry fields.
a. Upload: click Browse, find your CONTEST folder, upload files for that entry from the folder.
b. URL: type or paste URLs into these fields (one URL to a field).
9. Click ADD ENTRY to get a new Entry Form for each new entry.
10. Click VIEW ENTRIES at any time to see, to review, to make changes to, or to “submit” any of your entries. Click the title of entry you wish to examine and you will be back on the Entry Form page and can make any needed changes. With your username and password you can reenter the contest at any time until the deadline to check over your entries, add more entries, and make payment.
11. When you have finished submitting your work, “submit” it. Go to VIEW ENTRIES, find “click here to submit” in the Status column (to the right of Titles column). Click and follow directions about requirements not met. Click the link again and click the “submit now” button. When you see “Submitted” or “Accepted” in the Status column, your entry is “official” and will be sent along for judging when that phase of the contest begins.
12. When finished (or done for the time being), you may either log out or go to PAY NOW to pay with a credit card or click Pay Offline to pay by check (to be sent to address of the person in your state, named below the Pay Offline check box, who is taking payments). Entries are not official until they have been “submitted” and paid for. Note: Once they are submitted, entries no longer can be changed.
13. It is important to read all instructions and to SAVE at each stage (i.e., before leaving a page). You will get an onscreen prompt if you try to leave a page where information will be lost if you don’t SAVE or if you haven’t filled out a required field.
14. Go to CONTACT US if you have a question or run into a problem.
15. Have fun!
