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Video Scholarship

$750 Available to Two Winners

Respond to this prompt in the form of a PSA video:
  • How we can protect our democracy from becoming a theocracy and unite our country against religious bigotry?
Available to many students in the United States (see below).

About Our 2024 Video Scholarship

California Freethought Day believes that secular rights, science, social justice, civic engagement, and the First Amendment should be celebrated, and wants to support students as they continue their education.
To further that goal, we've launched a social media scholarship contest for middle school, high school, trade school, and college students anywhere in the United States.
We are awarding $750 each to our two favorite entries (as tweets, reels, etc) create a video in the form of a public service announcement (PSA) that reflects on our theme:
How can we protect our democracy from becoming a theocracy and unite our country against religious bigotry?
To qualify, applicants must create a public post that responds to the above prompt and share it on either Threads, X (Twitter), Instagram, or TikTok, tagging us (@FreethoughtDay) and using the hashtag #ScholarshipPSA. The entry must be in the form of a video (live-action or animated) between 30-60 seconds in length.
Content must be shared by September 10, 11:59 PM PT, of the current year to qualify.
Applicants may offer only one entry.

Who are we Looking For?

To be eligible, an applicant must:
  • currently attend a middle school (grades 7-8), high school (grades 9-12), college (any level), or trade school
  • be a resident of the United States
  • plan to pursue (or currently pursuing) postsecondary education at a community college, four-year college, trade school, or vocational school.
If this sounds like you, you should apply!

Judging

Our judges will favor entries that creatively integrate various elements such as live action, animation, graphics, and music.
  • Live Action: Incorporate real-life footage that tells a compelling story or provides a strong visual narrative.
  • Animation: Use animation to enhance your story, illustrate concepts, or add a dynamic visual appeal.
  • Graphics: Integrate high-quality graphics to support your message and make your video more engaging.
  • Editing: Demonstrate your editing skills by ensuring smooth transitions, syncing audio and visuals effectively, and maintaining a coherent flow throughout the video.
  • Background Music: Include background music that complements your video's tone and enhances the emotional impact on the viewer. Make sure the music is royalty-free or properly licensed to avoid any copyright issues.
We're looking for entries that evoke emotions, whether it's through a heartwarming story, inspiring message, or thought-provoking content. Your goal should be to captivate and move the audience, leaving a lasting impression.
Shortly after the deadline, members of the California Freethought Day Scholarship Committee will review the submissions. We’ll select the scholarship winners based on the originality, creativity, and quality of the submitted work.

Winning

We’ll notify the winner by the last day of September.
The winner, and their family, will be invited (but not required) to attend California Freethought Day in October, held in Sacramento. We may also ask the winner to record a video reflecting upon their winning work for our use in social media and at events.

Additional Rules and Conditions

In addition to the text above, the following rules and conditions apply.
Current Board members, Committee members, and agents of California Freethought Day and their immediate family members (defined as spouse, parents, siblings, and children) are not eligible to win.
Limit one (1) submission per person.
Responses that are obscene, pornographic, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable will be disqualified.
All applications and submissions become the property of California Freethought Day and will not be returned.
California Freethought Day assumes no responsibility for lost, late, misdirected, or unintelligible entries.
All submissions must consist of entirely original material and no portion may be generated through the use of artificial intelligence.
If music, images, or other video are used in an entry, the applicant must either 1) be the owner of such content, 2) have written permission from the owner to use such content, or 3) must be able to prove that the content exists within the public domain.
Should the winner decide to attend any California Freethought Day event, the winner will be responsible for travel and lodging expenses and must abide by our Code of Conduct.
The winner will receive a check to be used toward their education expenses.
The judges’ decision is final.
By submitting an application and submission, applicant (or, if a minor, their parent or legal guardian) agrees that California Freethought Day may, without any limitation or further compensation or notice, use their name, voice and/or likeness in any and all media, worldwide, for the purpose of advertising and promoting the website, California Freethought Day, the scholarship program, or any other promotion, contest, or sweepstakes of California Freethought Day.
The name of the scholarship prize recipient and their winning submission may be posted on any or all of California Freethought Day’s websites and social media channels.
By submitting an application and submission, applicant (or, if a minor, their parent or legal guardian) grants to California Freethought Day a worldwide perpetual non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, distribute and exploit the material submitted, including the worldwide copyright and any extensions, renewals, revivals, reversions and restorations thereof, for any educational, promotional, or other purpose. Applicant further agrees that California Freethought Day and its designees may edit and modify the submission and all elements of it in any and all media now known or not currently known, throughout the world in perpetuity without compensation, permission, or notification to applicant or any third party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, applicant shall be entitled to terminate the license granted to California Freethought Day hereunder upon written notice to California Freethought Day after a period of five years from the date applicant submits the application and submission.
Each person who enters this scholarship program represents and warrants to California Freethought Day as follows: (i) the application and full submission, including any written content, are the applicant’s own original, previously unpublished, and previously unproduced work; (ii) the application and submission, including any written content, neither infringes upon nor violates the intellectual property rights or other rights of any other person or entity; (iii) the application and submission, including any written content, does not and will not violate any applicable laws, and meets the official rules set forth herein. Each applicant hereby agrees to indemnify and hold California Freethought Day harmless from and against any and all third party claims, actions, or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses relating to or arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties, representations or agreements of applicant hereunder.
California Freethought Day shall have no obligation (express or implied) to use any winning submission, or to otherwise exploit a winning submission or continue the development, production, distribution, or exploitation thereof, and California Freethought Day may at any time abandon the use of the winning submission for any reason, with or without legal justification or excuse, and the scholarship prize recipients shall not be entitled to any damages or other relief by reason thereof.
By submitting, you fully and unconditionally accept and agree to these official rules and the decisions of California Freethought Day, which are final and binding.

For More Information, Contact, and Questions

Questions regarding the scholarship can be directed to scholarships@FreethoughtDay.org.

Recognition

We would like to recognize Scholarship Impact for their assistance with this scholarship.