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1. Entry Form: Competition entrants must complete an entry form to participate in the 2023 Downtown Trenton NPP Business Plan Competition.

2. Age: All applicants, whether individuals or members of a team, must be 18 years of age or older to win a cash prize.

3. Location: The business proposed in the entry form must operate in the Downtown Trenton NPP area (see map below).

4. Residency: All individual applicants and team members must be legal residents or U.S. citizens. Documentation will be required of the finalists.

5. Start-Ups Only: All businesses must have ideas or business models in the start-up phase. Operating businesses that have earned more than $10,000 in revenue are not eligible to enter the competition.

6. For-Profit Businesses Only: This is a business plan competition for for-profit businesses. Non-profits are not eligible to enter.

7. Entry Form: Entry forms must be submitted in order to participate.

8. Meet with a Business Advisor: Each applicant must meet at least once with an SBDC business advisor or other business improvement program by August 31, 2023. Once entry form is submitted, the Business Plan Competition team will email the applicant further instructions on meeting with a business advisor.

9. Business Plan Deadline: Your Business Plan must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM on September 5, 2023.

10. Winners will be notified by October 31, 2023.

11. Judging Criteria: Applicants must read and become familiar with the Judging Criteria and Elements of a Business Plan template.

12. Ineligibility: Employees or their family members from either Isles or the NPP team are not eligible to enter individually or as any part of a team.

13. Disbursement of Funds: Each month, the winners will receive a direct payment of the disbursed funds to cover their monthly rental invoice. They will continue to receive monthly payments until their total awarded amount of $5,000 has been disbursed.

Please note that the awards are taxable and the winners must submit a W9 before a check can be issued.

1. All decisions of the judges are final.

2. Confidentiality By submitting your Business Plan, you understand and agree that a short description of your Business Plan will be considered a “public summary” of your plan and may be used in public documentation related to the competition. Isles will provide a copy of your business plan to competition staff and judges and will inform them that no additional copies are to be made. 

3. Disqualification Violation of any one or multiple rules for eligibility will result in disqualification at any point.

Please Note: Interpretation and enforcement of these regulations are at the sole discretion of Downtown Trenton NPP, and the judges' decisions are final.