OFFICIAL RULES

1) Eligibility: The Black History Month Essay Contest (the “Contest”) is open to legal residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who are (a) twelve – eighteen years of age or at the time of entry and (b) are enrolled in, or are the parent or legal guardian of a child who, as of January 12, 2026, is enrolled in school

grades six (6) through twelve (12) (“Student”).

2) Entry Period: The Contest entry period begins January 12, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends February 27, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET (hereafter “Entry Period”). Administrator’s computer is the official time keeping device for this Contest.

3) Students, or the parent or guardian of a Student under the age of 18 (each, an “Entrant”) may enter the Contest by uploading the Submission as a Word or PDF attachment along with the Student’s full name, date of birth, school and grade, Entrant’s full name, email address, phone number and mailing address to: info@pbmf.org. Submissions must be in the English language, (6 th -8 th grade) between 250-500 words and (9 th -12 th grade) between 750-1000 words, and originals works of the Student. Submissions submitted without all required information or after the Entry Period will be disregarded. Limit one (1) entry per person/email address/household, regardless of method of entry. In case of multiple

entries received from any person or email address, only the first entry received from such person or email

address will be considered.

Students must not include any of the following content (the “Content Restrictions”) in any Submission: pornography, adult-oriented content or any other sexually-explicit material; (ii) materials relating to lotteries or gambling; (iii) explicit language or content, images of violence, or promotion of illegal activities;

• (iv) content in violation of intellectual property rights or laws; (v) libelous, defamatory, disparaging, tortious or slanderous materials;
• (vii) tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol or drugs;
• (viii) dangerous stunts;
• (ix) real weapons of any kind including, but not limited to, guns, knives or projectiles;
• (x) material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, age or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation; (xi) individuals under legal age of majority without providing a signed release from parent or legal guardian; (xii) audio and/or visual content owned by any third party (e.g., recorded music; pre-produced video, etc.); and (xiii) material that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations in any state where the Submission is created. Any Submission that does not comply with the foregoing, in the sole discretion of Sponsor, will be disqualified and eliminated from consideration.

4) Winner Selection: Based on the criteria outlined below, all eligible Submissions received during the Entry Period will be evaluated by a panel consisting of PBMF Officers based on the judging criteria outlined on the cover page. On February 27, 2026, the most compelling Submissions as determined by the Panel from the Submissions from Students in grades 6-8 (each, a “Middle School Winning Submission”) and the most compelling Submissions from students in grades 9-12 (each, a “High School Winning Submission”) will, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules, be declared winners of the Contest. The Middle School Winning Submission with the highest point total will be deemed the Middle

School Grand Prize Winner, and the High School Winning Submission with the highest point total will be deemed the High School Grand Prize Winner. The Middle School Winning Submission with the second highest point total will be deemed the Middle School Runner-up Winner, and the High School Winning Submission with the second highest point total will be deemed the High School Runner-up Prize Winner. In the event of a tie for any prize, the score for “most touching piece (0-5 pts)” will be used as a tie breaker. Each potential winner will be notified by email and phone call. If a potential winner cannot be contacted; is ineligible according to these Official Rules; fails to return the required documents within the specified time period; if prize notification is returned as undeliverable; if a potential winner decides to decline his/her prize for any reason whatsoever; or if a potential winner otherwise fails to fully comply with these Official Rules, he/she will forfeit his/her prize and the prize may be awarded to an alternate winner from among all remaining eligible Submissions received, in the Sponsors’ (PBMF) sole discretion.

5) Prizes: Each of the Middle School Grand Prize Winner and the High School Grand Prize Winner will

receive:

Grand Prize (2 total: 1 High School, 1 Middle School Winner):

• $150 (High School)
• $75 (Middle School)

Runner-Up (Two total: 1 High School, 1 Middle School Winner):

• $100 (High School)
• $50 (Middle School)

6) Prize Restrictions: No transfer, assignment, sale, duplication, cash redemption or substitution of Prize (or portion of Prize) is permitted, except by Sponsors (PBMF) which reserve the right to substitute a Prize (or applicable portion of Prize) with one of comparable or greater value, as determined by Sponsors. Sponsors are not responsible for and will not replace a lost or stolen Prize or any component thereof. All Prize details are at Sponsors’ sole and absolute discretion. Non-compliance with these Official Rules may result in disqualification and, at Sponsors’ sole discretion, the awarding of Prize to an alternate winner.

7) Verification of Potential Winners: ALL PRIZE WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION BY SPONSORS, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTEST.

8) Publicity, Limitations of Liability and Releases: BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS CONTEST, EACH ENTRANT AND STUDENT (THE “RELEASING PARTIES”) AGREE THAT RELEASED PARTIES WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR, AND SHALL BE HELD HARMLESS BY RELEASING PARTIES AGAINST, ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY INJURIES, LOSSES OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND TO PERSONS. THE RELEASED PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE IF ANY PRIZE CANNOT BE AWARDED DUE TO CANCELLATIONS, DELAYS, OR INTERRUPTIONS. BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS CONTEST, RELEASING PARTIES AGREE THAT THE RELEASED PARTIES WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY INJURIES, DAMAGES, OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES TO PERSONS. EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW, PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST CONSTITUTES EACH PRIZE WINNER’S GRANT TO SPONSORS (WHICH GRANT WILL BE CONFIRMED IN WRITING ON REQUEST OF EITHER SPONSOR), AND THE RELEASED PARTIES THE RIGHT AND PERMISSION TO PRINT, PUBLISH, BROADCAST, AND USE, WORLDWIDE IN ANY MEDIA NOW KNOWN OR HEREAFTER DEVELOPED WITHOUT ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION, COMPENSATION, PERMISSION, OR NOTIFICATION. SPONSORS SHALL BE FREE TO EDIT, EXPLOIT, MODIFY, PUBLISH, REPRODUCE, USE, DISCLOSE, DISSEMINATE AND DISTRIBUTE THE SUBMISSIONS TO OTHERS WITHOUT LIMITATION IN ANY AND ALL MEDIA NOW KNOWN OR NOT CURRENTLY KNOWN, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IN PERPETUITY FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT COMPENSATION, PERMISSION OR NOTIFICATION TO ENTRANT OR ANY THIRD-PARTY.

10) General Conditions: Released Parties are not responsible for late, lost, stolen, incomplete, misdirected, delayed, garbled, damaged, illegible, inaccurate, postage due or undelivered entries or mail, or for telephonic, human or computer failures. Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to void any entries of entrants whom Sponsors believe have attempted to tamper with or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play of this Contest or is in violation of these Official Rules.

11) Agreement to Official Rules: By participating in the Contest, Releasing Parties agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsors. By participating in the Contest, each Entrant waives any right to claim ambiguity in these Official Rules.

13) Privacy: By entering the Contest, each entrant agrees that his or her entry and any other personally identifiable information collected in connection with the Contest may be used by Sponsors. Unless you opt- in for future communication, the information you provide will only be used for Contest purposes.