THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Allégorie Design - A small-batch accessory line based in NYC whose bags and accessories are made from discarded fruits, and are designed to elevate everyday style. They search for high quality, eco-friendly alternatives to animal and PVC leather, otherwise known as "vegan leather," and look for meanings in objects that we all use everyday. In the case of Allégorie bag, every piece they make reduces food waste and GHG emissions, and symbolizes a much more sustainable, circular way forward for fashion.

ABOUT FUND HER FUTURE: One annual grand prize winner receives a $50,000 grant, and four runners-up receive $12,500 each; all five also receive expert assistance with everything from their small business taxes, an analysis of their business structure, and bookkeeping and payroll guidance through Block Advisors.

Be sure to check out this Business Insider video for a sense of tone and style.

Building a business is no easy task. No matter how great a company strives to be in its early gestation, there are always Sisyphean obstacles, both logistically and financially, that a small company must constantly contend with as they grow. Block Advisors by H&R Block exists to help small business owners handle these hurdles and grow their businesses with year-round services for tax prep, bookkeeping, payroll, business formation, and reporting compliance – all crucial components to survival, especially for micro and small businesses. Resources like these can be just as important as seed funding for small businesses to survive, and that's even truer for female-presenting small business owners, who are one of the fastest-growing segments but often lack access to this support at the same level as their male peers. This is where Fund Her Future, in its inaugural year in 2024, comes into play. Through this new grant program, Block Advisors provides $100,000 in grant funding and a year of small business services, to a few deserving female-presenting US-based small business owners through the Fund Her Future initiative.  H&R Block wants to help celebrate 2024's winner and runners-up with some video and photo content to help support and promote their businesses, show the impact of Block Advisors' year-round small business services on their success, and elevate the visibility of the Fund Her Future program. 

We're looking for a creative team that can produce docu-style video content and still photography about this year's Fund Her Future grand prize winner, based in New York City, while also overseeing satellite photographers capturing candid 'day-in-the-life'-style photography with 4 runners up. You can read more about the grand prize winner in the Background, and the four runners up in this project. You'll be responsible for production and post-production for the shoot in New York City, as well as any post-production or retouching work on the photo stills from the satellite shoots. The satellite shoots themselves will be conducted by other photographers around the country, working with separate budgets, although you'll need to collaborate with them to ensure consistent tone and style for the campaign. 

Your video content will include a 3+ minute interview-based hero video, along with some short cutdowns, all for social platforms, and your photo stills will need to include a portrait-style headshot, as well as 10 candid stills of the winner within her business. All shoots should be lower-touch and nimble docu-style productions – think a bounce vs a full lighting package – and they should feel stylistically similar. Content should highlight each winner or runner up's journey as a small business owner. H&R Block will work with you in pre-production to align on questions for your interview with the grand prize winner, ensuring you highlight the professional journey of her business and how the Fund Her Future grant has been a source of growth and support. Above all, the video and stills should all be relatable to the audience, illustrating the ups and downs of small business ownership – but also how Block Advisors is the best resource for small business owners to grow their businesses and build confidence for long-term success. 

Please note you do NOT need to be based in New York City to pitch on this project, but there is no additional travel budget available, and any crew travel or lodging should be covered under your production budget. Your budget should also account for a limited amount of color grading and retouching for the photo stills that will be sourced in the satellite photo shoots. If you think you're able to handle the photo shoots for any of the runners-up, you're welcome to raise your hand, but the expectation is that those will be handled by other local teams.

Check out more information in the Background, and for any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.

DELIVERABLES: There will be 5 total video assets a 55 total photo stills:

• One 3-4 minute hero video (16x9) 
• One :90 cutdown (16x9, 9x16) 
• One :30 cutdown (16x9, 9x16)
• Fifty Five Stills  (11 from your shoot; 44 from the other shoots). For each shoot, we expect:
  • One portrait-style headshot (16x9, but croppable for all formats/sizes)
  • Ten candid 'day-in-the-life'-style shots (16x9, but croppable for all formats/sizes)

EXPECTED TIMELINE: HERE

EXPOSURE: We expect content will be used on the platforms below, but if casting talent, be sure they review our required Talent Release before they're cast, as it is NOT limited to these platforms. You should also review our Music providers in the Project Requirements, as well as the platform best practices.

• H&R Block sites, including Block Advisors and Fund Her Future; owned social, including YouTube, Instagram, Linkedin, etc.

TARGET AUDIENCE: Small business owners, especially females

TONE/FEEL:  Warm, inspiring, relatable 

EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES: 

• Please do NOT contact grand prize winner Allégorie Design during the Pitch Phase. Any filmmakers infringing on this will be removed from consideration.
• You should feature the business owner's branding, but avoid any third-party logos or mentions of H&R Block competitors
• Must be able to oversee four satellite photographers, including setting a consistent tone/style in pre-production and handling post and revisions on their 11 stills (1 portrait-style headshot + 10 candid 'day-in-the-life'-style shots of them at work at their business)

By participating in this project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a submission. Though most projects do move forward, we'll notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any submissions via the Project Forum. Regardless of the result, all submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the Sponsor and project team.

In order to be considered, include the below materials in your submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery. All Pitches remain private, even after a Pitch is selected, and Tongal strives to have Pitch selections made by the end of the Evaluation period, but additional time may be required by the Sponsor, depending on any number of factors.

• TEXT (REQUIRED): Up to 500 characters synopsizing how you plan to approach and produce the content listed in the Deliverables.
  
  
• TREATMENT (REQUIRED): A more detailed and specific description of how you propose to execute all of the content listed out in the Deliverables. Explain what we can expect to see, and how you'll make it. If it's helpful, we've provided a treatment template HERE.
  
  
• LINKS (REQUIRED): To your previous video work. Please specify your role (producer, director, editor, artist, etc.) but do not include links to your showreel. Please link to individual videos.
  
  
• PITCH VIDEO (Optional): This is your opportunity to be face-to-face with the Sponsor and show what you're capable of. Consider a video in which you tell the Sponsor what they can expect, or consider test videos, proof-of-concept edits, animatics, etc. For examples of effective Pitch videos, check out this gallery.
  
  
• APPRENTICESHIP ADVISOR (Optional): The Tongal On-Set Apprenticeship Program is an opportunity to support new & emerging talent in production positions with hands-on on-set experience. Please indicate on the pitch submission form if you would be interested in overseeing an apprentice on your production; your answer will neither increase nor decrease the likelihood of your pitch being greenlit.The Tongal On-Set Apprenticeship Program is an opportunity to support new & emerging talent in production positions with hands-on on-set experience. Please indicate on the pitch submission form if you would be interested in overseeing an apprentice on your production; your answer will neither increase nor decrease the likelihood of your pitch being greenlit. Tongal will cover the apprentice's day rate outside of your project budget, and if you are matched with an apprentice, your Tongal producer will reach out with more information. To learn more about the On-Set Apprenticeship Program and the responsibilities of an advisor, please click HERE.

1. In addition to the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment, greenlit Video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, Music (or other) Releases for all assets appearing in their Videos, as well as a photograph/headshot OR copy of a photo ID for all On-camera Talent releases. You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec to claim your earnings. Tongal also reserves the right to request all raw files associated with the project.
   
   
2. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.
   
   
3. In the event you utilize any third-party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider not provided by Tongal, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third-party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.
   
   
4. The Sponsor will be entitled to reasonable revisions on the finished Videos without providing additional compensation. Remember it's easier to re-edit than re-shoot so try to get as much coverage as possible.
   
   
5. Preferred format for upload to the Tongal website is HD 720p and formatted for the aspect ratios listed in the Deliverables (e.g. 16x9). Acceptable file formats are .mov, .avi, .mp4, .wmv. Acceptable codecs are H.264 (MP4), MPEG-4, H.263, MPGV, WMV, DivX. Should your submission be greenlit, you will also be required to provide a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec.
   
   
6. BY SUBMITTING A VIDEO ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES THE SOLE PROPERTY OF TONGAL OR ITS ASSIGNEES - SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEBSITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.
   
   
7. You may not contact any employees or members of the Sponsor's organization, their affiliates, or any of their partners. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification of your entry in the project.
   
   
8. In addition to the judging criteria stated in the OFFICIAL RULES, Pitches will also be evaluated on that member's ability to execute the final Video based on their prior work and experience as a creator.
   
   
9. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.
   
   
10. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor, nor can Submissions contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.
    
    
11. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.
    
    
12. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest.
    
    
13. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.