Eligibility & Criteria

Who's Eligible to Participate?

The Alaska Marketplace competition is open to all residents of Alaska regardless of age. Participants can submit only one Business Idea Application per year.

• Applicants must be a resident of Alaska. Verification of residency: State of Alaska Driver' s License State of Alaska State I.D. Permanent Fund Dividend Registered voter
• Participants must certify that they have no judgments against them that would require surrendering all or a portion of the award to a third party.
• All projects must benefit rural Alaska.
  

  For purposes of this competition, rural Alaska does not include Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Palmer, Wasilla, Kenai, Soldotna and Homer.

  Residents from these communities may submit a Innovative Idea Application and demonstrate within the proposal how the project benefits rural Alaska.

• Previous awardees are not eligible to apply.
  

Competition Criteria

The competition criteria listed below are applicable to the Alaska Marketplace theme of Innovations for Thriving Communities. Your proposal must answer the criteria questions by which all applications will be judged.

1. Cultural Heritage - Your Innovative Idea must exemplify traditional and practices of Alaska Native cultures in rural Alaska.

2. Benefit to Rural Alaska Communities - Depending on your organizational structure, please address only ONE of the following:

• Business Idea - Economic Stimulation/Job Creation - Your Innovative Idea must contribute towards economic stimulation and job creation in the targeted community.
• Not-For-Profit Idea - Your Innovative Not-For-Profit Idea must show how your community or social structure will benefit by the proposed innovation and how the idea can be replicated and/or applied to other communities.

3. Innovation - Your Innovative Idea must present non-conventional approaches to the theme/goal of the project. Applicants seeking to expand existing initiatives are eligible, provided that they exhibit new elements in design or implementation not found in the original initiatives which are creative and new.

4. Sustainability/Profitability - Your Innovative Idea must show how your innovation can continue to operate and benefit the targeted community beyond the period of the award. Business Ideas (only) must show how they can be profitable beyond the period of the award.

All Alaska Marketplace Awardees must agree to the following:

1. Applicants must agree to participate in evaluation activities and to receive mentoring and/or technical assistance during the award year.
2. Award winners will fill out the appropriate federal forms that will be provided to (winner) in my own name or on half of the organization or company I am representing.
3. Award funds are not transferable to another individual or party.
4. As an Award winner will report to the Internal Revenue Service as taxable income, and as such the Award funds will be reported to IRS.