Official Rules for the AARP Foundation Annual Calendar Contest

Entry Terms and Conditions: The aim of the Contest is to obtain original photographs with a caption related to the contest theme from amateur artists who are AARP members to be published in the AARP Foundation’s 2026 calendar. The calendar will showcase the talent of AARP members and build awareness of the AARP Foundation’s charitable work. There is no fee to enter.

The theme for the 2026 calendar will be "Beauty in Motion" and will echo AARP Foundation’s new brand campaign showing how AARP Foundation helps people regain finding joy and looking to a brighter future. Artists are requested to submit one to three images with original captions that depict the contest theme. You must take the following steps to enter the Contest.

1.    Take or select a previously taken photograph that depicts "Beauty in Motion" and include a written description.

2.    Fill out the online entry form:  Between March 1, 2025 – April 19, 2025, visit contestform.aarp.org to complete the entry form and to upload and your Calendar Contest photo entry (ies). 

Note: Each photograph you submit in the Contest must be your own original work and must have not been previously published in any format, and you must be the sole owner of all rights in, or otherwise have the right to license the Photograph to AARP Foundation.

3.    Submit your completed official Contest entry form. All entries must be submitted through the calendar contest online entry form by 11:59 pm Eastern Time, April 19, 2025.

Note: Each photo entered requires a separate entry form, limited to three (3) per entrant.

Due to an expected high volume of entries, Sponsor will not be able to return any entry materials. Sponsor will not be responsible for incomplete, illegible, unviewable, lost, or late entries, all of which will be disqualified. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entries by persons determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion to be tampering with or abusing any aspect of the Contest, or determined to be ineligible for any reason.  Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any entry that is alleged to infringe on any third-party’s intellectual property or other rights, or that Sponsor deems to be, in its sole discretion, obscene, offensive or otherwise inappropriate for viewing by a general audience. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received and the judges' scoring of those entries.

Contest Prizes

Contest Prizes: Depending on the final design of AARP Foundation 2026 calendar, Sponsor will select a minimum of fifteen (15) and a maximum of seventeen (17) winners in the Contest. Each individual entrant may have only one (1) photograph selected for the calendar.  A photograph of each winner’s submission will be published in AARP Foundation 2026 Calendar.  Winners will not receive any cash or other prizes in this Contest except for the publication of their winning entries as described in these Official Rules.

Photograph Specifications and Permission to Use Entry

Photograph specifications: Each photograph must be in digital format between 8 - 20 megapixels (minimum 2550 x 3300 pixels). No print or film submissions will be accepted for entry into this Contest.  All photographs must be high resolution (300dpi - 600dpi) JPEG or .jpg.  Please note that photographs need not be taken with a digital camera: scans of negatives or transparencies are acceptable. Photographs that fail to meet these specifications will automatically be disqualified.

Permission to Use Entry Photography:  By entering the Contest, each contestant agrees that Sponsor and its licensees may publish his or her captioned photograph in the AARP Foundation 2026 calendar and exhibit, copy, publish, make derivative works from or otherwise use his or her entry photograph and other entry materials for any purpose, in any media, in perpetuity, without limitation or additional permission or compensation, except where prohibited by law. Each contestant also agrees that Sponsor may crop, resize, or otherwise alter the photograph to fit the media necessary to produce the calendar, at Sponsor’s discretion.  These rights include exclusive first worldwide publication rights in and to all entries for the period up to publication of the AARP Foundation 2026 Calendar.

Judging

Judging: On or about April 22, 2025, all eligible Contest entries will be judged by a panel of judges with expertise in visual arts. All decisions of the Contest judges will be final and binding in all respects. The judging will be based on the following criteria: (50%) artistic quality, and (50%) relationship of the photographs subject to the Contest theme. In the event of a tie, the photograph with the higher artistic quality score will win.  Winners will be notified via email on or about April 30, 2025. Sponsor’s inability to contact a winner may result in that winner’s disqualification and the selection of a substitute winner from among all remaining eligible entries.

Prize Claim

Prize Claim: Except where prohibited, as a condition of being declared a winner in the Contest, each winner will be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability, Publicity and Copyright Release and return these documents to Sponsor within 14 days of notification. Failure to return this documentation by the deadline may result in the disqualification of the winner and the selection of a substitute winner from all remaining entries.

General Conditions

General Conditions: Your entry in this Contest constitutes your consent to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor and the contest judges, and to the use of your entry information and your photography in accordance with these Official rules and the terms and conditions stated on the official Contest entry form. By entering the Contest, you agree to Sponsor’s and its licensees’ use of your name, likeness, and biographical information in any media for any commercial, advertising or trade purpose without limitation or further compensation, unless prohibited by law. By entering the Contest, you further agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, and promotional agencies, and all of their respective directors, officers, employees and agents, from any and all liability, claims, injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising from or in connection with your participation in the Contest. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to suspend, modify or terminate this Contest if it determines in its sole discretion that tampering, fraud, or any other cause beyond the reasonable control of Sponsor has corrupted, compromised or impaired the security, integrity, fairness or proper operation of the Contest. All personal information received through your entry into this contest will be governed by Sponsor’s privacy policy.

Limitations of Liability. By entering the Contest, entrants agree to release Sponsor and its employees, agents, affiliated companies, and advertising agencies (“Released Entities”) from any and all liability arising from: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by writer, printing, typographical or other errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Contest; (4) printing, typographical, technical, computer, network or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest, the announcement in any Contest-related materials; (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrants’ participation in the Contest.; or (6) any  third-party claims of intellectual property infringement. Entrants further agree to release Released Entities from any and all liability arising from malfunctions of computer systems, servers, providers, hardware/software, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission or any combination thereof.

Winner’s List and Officials

Winner’s List: 2025 Calendar Contest winners.

Sponsor: AARP Foundation