Congratulations to the winners!

Grand Prize:

$5,000 + trip to D.C. 

Second Place:

$3,000

Third Place:

$1,000

Honorable Mentions: $500 per student and $250 per teacher

Congratulations to the following teachers who encouraged the most students to enter this contest: $150 per teacher

Enter your email here to be notified of future contests.

Submissions accepted September 16, 2016 – December 15, 2016.

Winners announced January 15, 2017.

Roots of Liberty National Essay Contest

Rules and Information

Contest entries accepted September 16, 2016 through December 15, 2016.

Deadline: December 15, 2016

Section 1. General Rules

From September 16, 2016 through December 15, 2016. The Cornerstone Project LLC will conduct an essay contest in the United States of America.  To enter, eligible students must visit the contest website RootsofLiberty.org and submit an entry that follows the Submission Guidelines as detailed in Section 3. We will not accept or consider entries that are submitted outside the website.  Entrants agree to accept and be bound by all terms of these Official Rules and to accept and be bound by the decisions of The Cornerstone Project LLC, whose decisions are final with respect to all matters of the Contest.

Only one entry per student is permitted. Entries that are incomplete, are submitted late, do not answer all required questions, or otherwise do not comply with these Official Rules and Regulations will not be accepted. By entering the Essay Contest, entrants agree that the The Cornerstone Project LLC will own and administer 100% of the copyright in all entries submitted, with the perpetual right to use such entries and that said entries are solely the work of the entrant for whom they are submitting an entry. The Cornerstone Project LLC may edit for grammar, modify for style only, and distribute the submitted entries with no additional notification or permission of the entrant. Entries will only be used to further the educational mission and goals of the The Cornerstone Project LLC (please see Section 4 for a Privacy Statement).  Contest is void where prohibited by law.

Section 2. Eligibility

The Contest is open to all United States citizens or legal residents who are students no older than 19 years of age and no younger than 14 years of age as of December 15, 2016 who attend school in the United States, one of its territories or districts, or an American Armed Forces School Abroad, and who are in grades 9-12 attending public, private, religious, or charter schools, or are enrolled in a GED or correspondence school program, or are attending a homeschool program.  

Section 3. Submission Guidelines

Submissions should fully answer the question and all sub-parts. Each submission must adhere to the character limit and must be submitted by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on December 15, 2016 . Only online submissions from RootsofLiberty.org will be accepted for the contest. Only one entry per student will be accepted.

Section 4. Judging and Timing

After December 15, 2016, the judges selected by the The Cornerstone Project LLC will review and select finalists from the eligible entries received. The judges will then select the prize-winners. Entries will be evaluated based upon the following criteria: adherence to the Submission Guidelines (as stated in Section 3), originality, organization, writing style, and depth of analysis. Winners will be announced on the contest site on or before January 15, 2016.

The The Cornerstone Project LLC reserves the right in their sole administration of the Contest to disqualify any individual they find or believe to be tampering with the entry process or the administration of the Contest, be acting in violation of these Official Rules and Regulations, or plagiarizing or otherwise submitting work not their own as original.

The selection of the judges is within the sole and absolute discretion of the The Cornerstone Project LLC. The judges who are selected by the The Cornerstone Project LLC will not have knowledge of the student who has submitted the entry or be in a position to affect the objectivity and impartiality of any judge with respect to a submission.  

Section 5. Awards

Winners will be announced on the contest site on or before January 15, 2016. Winners must provide publicity photos and information as well as Social Security numbers in order to receive prize money. The The Cornerstone Project LLC will not sell, nor use student Social Security numbers for any reason other than required reporting for tax compliance purposes. Winners will receive the following prizes based upon the judges’ evaluations as outlined in Section IV.

Prizes for Students in the Roots of Liberty National Essay Contest

National Grand Prize – $5,000 plus airfare & hotel accomodations for the winner and one parent or guardian to visit the National Capital Area

Second Prize – $3,000

Third Prize – $1,000

Honorable Mention – three awards of $500 each

Cash prizes for Teachers of winning students

Teachers of Winners of the Grand Prize, Second Prize, or Third prize – $1,000 each.  

Teachers of Winners of Honorable Mentions – $250 each.

Eight- $150 awards will be given to the teachers with the most student submissions, solely determined by The Cornerstone Project LLC.  If fewer than eight teachers have multiple submissions, the number of awards will be limited to the number of teachers with multiple submissions.

Prizes will be awarded within 90 days of Roots of Liberty receiving all information from winning contestants/teachers required for disbursement.  Prizes not claimed within 180 days of the check date or the end of the Contest will be void. The Cornerstone Project LLC will make its best effort to mail the prize to the winner and is not responsible for any incorrect address or other information provided by the contestant. The Grand Prize trip to the National Capital Area must be awarded to the student, or parent or guardian 21 years of age or older.  If no parent or guardian is available, The Cornerstone Project LLC may at its sole discretion void this part of the grand prize, or provide a substitution.  All entrants are solely responsible for understanding and complying with any and all federal, state, and local laws, codes, regulations, and ordinances that may apply to the entrants and the activities or business in which such entrants may engage. There may be tax consequences associated with the prizes and income received by a Contest winner, which may include, without limitation, an obligation to report as income and to pay taxes on such income to federal, state, or local authorities. Each Contest winner is responsible to determine the tax consequences of the income received and to comply with all applicable laws in all respects. All prize-winning teachers are solely responsible for understanding and complying with any and all federal, state, and local laws, codes, regulations, and ordinances, as well as school policies which may apply.

Section 6. Privacy Statement

Upon submission of an entry, the submission becomes the property of The Cornerstone Project LLC. By entering the Contest, entrants and their submitting teachers grant the The Cornerstone Project LLC the right, unless prohibited by law, to use their names, cities and states of residence, pictures, and likenesses without compensation, for the express purpose of advertising and publicity for the The Cornerstone Project LLC and the Contest in any and all media, now or after. Entrants also grant the The Cornerstone Project LLC permission to use their name and entry to further its educational mission. The Privacy Policy of the The Cornerstone Project LLC also applies to this Contest.

Section 7. Availability Disclaimer

The administration of the Contest, including, without limitation, determining the eligibility of a student or entry, selection of a judge, evaluation of any submitted entry, and awarding of the prizes, is within the sole and absolute discretion of the The Cornerstone Project LLC. No student or teacher, or person or organization related thereto, has a right to appeal, contest, dispute, or otherwise challenge any aspect of the administration of the Contest, and any decision of the The Cornerstone Project LLC is final in all respects.

No responsibility is assumed for incorrect or inaccurate entry information whether caused by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized by this contest or by any human error which may occur in the processing of entries into this Contest. The The Cornerstone Project LLC is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, or delayed entries or any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of players on account of technical problems, or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or combination thereof.

If, for any reason, the Contest can not be conducted as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the The Cornerstone Project LLC, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this contest or for any reason the The Cornerstone Project LLC deems it necessary, the The Cornerstone Project LLC reserves the right to cancel, modify, or delay the Contest.