RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. The entry period is now open for the CO-OP THINK Prize 14, with entrants having until Oct. 15 to complete their round one application and become eligible for the $10,000 grand prize sponsored by MasterCard.
“The purpose of the CO-OP THINK Prize competition is to inspire innovative solutions to issues facing the credit union movement,” said Stan Hollen, president and CEO, CO-OP Financial Services. “We encourage everyone to consider entering, for their own professional development, to make their credit unions better, to help our industry, and perhaps to win a nice sum of money.”
The solutions put forward in the competition can take any form such as an innovative application of technology, a new process for back office efficiency or a fresh approach to industry advertising and marketing. Though the ideas can vary widely, the judging criteria for entries are based on four main standards impact, creativity, aggregation (the application of the idea across the industry) and implementation (the ability to be adopted).
For CO-OP THINK Prize 14, red letter dates are:
Oct. 15, 2013 Deadline to complete an online entry application.
Nov. 15, 2013 Semi-finalists will be notified, and invited to produce a detailed business plan, on or about this date.
Dec. 18, 2013 Semi-finalist business plans are due.
Feb. 15, 2014 A total of three finalists will be notified on or about this date.
May 19-22, 2014 The CO-OP THINK Prize 14 winner is announced at the THINK 14 Conference in New Orleans.
The CO-OP THINK Prize winner is awarded $10,000. The money goes to the individual entrant, who may use it toward executing his or her idea, though the winner is not obligated to do so.
The 25 semi-finalists and then the three finalists are selected by judges from CO-OP Financial Services and an industry panel.
CO-OP THINK Prize 14 contestants can find complete details and apply here:
