The Tournament

1. Every March, Brackets For Good hosts a single-elimination, bracket-style fundraising tournaments across the country that raise much-needed funds and awareness for nonprofit organizations of all sizes.
2. Nonprofits wishing to participate in upcoming tournaments must register by December 31st at https://stlouis.bfg.org/nonprofits/registration. All registered nonprofits will go through the annual Brackets For Good selection process. More on the selection process is available at https://stlouis.bfg.org/selection_process.
3. Brackets For Good hosts a pre-tournament Pep Rally, where selected nonprofits will learn key strategies and developments to set themselves up for a successful tournament run.
4. Participating nonprofits retain the donations raised and all donor information during the tournament, regardless of advancement. The tournament champion in each city will also receive a grand prize donation from the title sponsor.
5. The six-round tournament takes place over five weeks beginning on the first Friday in March, with each of the first four rounds lasting a full week and the semifinal and championship round each lasting three days.
6. The tournament begins with 64 charities, each paired in a competitive match-up against an opponent. Charities advance through the rounds by rallying enthusiastic donors to scoring more points than their opponent. Every $1 donated through https://bfg.org/ equals 1 point scored for the chosen charity. At the end of each round, the nonprofit with the most points in the individual match-up advances to the next round, the points are reset, and the fundraising continues until a champion is crowned.
7. Until the Philanthropic Four round, nonprofits compete alongside similarly-sized organizations within one of four tournament divisions.

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Participating nonprofits can expect and benefit from:

• EXPECT - Time Commitment: the extent to which each nonprofit participates depends on the strategy crafted; many successful organizations have produced unique videos, held contests, segmented their donor base, and delivered targeted social media campaigns. Success depends on actively engaging with the tournament, donors and effectively communicating the value your organization adds to the community.
• EXPECT - Marketing Support: participating nonprofits have access to a behind-the-scenes ‘Locker Room’, containing key marketing support such as sample promotional messages for email and web-placement as well as access to trackable graphics, BFG-sponsored media run schedules, and suggested social posts.
• BENEFIT - Share Your Story: organizations have the ability to share a highlighted story, volunteer and funding needs, photos, videos, and mission with the Nonprofit Spotlight feature as well as provide links to social media accounts and organization website.
• BENEFIT - Gather Valuable Data: nonprofits will have access to donor data from donors who have allowed their information to be shared. This will enable nonprofits to reach out and send customizable thank you notifications to their supporters as well as gain insight about new supporters reached. An optional memo line is also available at time of donation for nonprofits to track specific donation drives.
• BENEFIT - Promotional Support: through the promotion of Brackets For Good, which includes paid and earned media, social media, and sponsor-led promotion, nonprofits earn increased exposure and attract an average of 60% new donors*.
• BENEFIT - More Donations, Less Paperwork: All donations are handled through the Brackets For Good website. Donors receive instant, individual tax-receipts from bfg.org and nonprofits will receive a single check for their total raised at the conclusion of their tournament run.