EDUCATORS FINANCIAL GROUP’S 2025 EDUCATION HEROES CONTEST – OFFICIAL RULES AND REGULATIONS
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ONTARIO, CANADA, 18 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER CAN BE NOMINATED.
1. WHAT IS THE “EDUCATION HEROES” CONTEST? A contest designed to reward the members of the education community in Ontario who go above and beyond and exemplify the characteristics of a ‘hero’ in education. The 2025 Education Heroes Contest (the “Contest”) aims to rally people in the education community across Ontario together to nominate their education hero(es) for their hard work and dedication.
2. CONTEST PERIOD AND PHASES: Contest begins 12:00 A.M. Eastern Time (“ET”) on September 2, 2025, and continues to 11:59 P.M. ET on December 31, 2025 (the “Contest Period”). The Contest consists of four (4) phases, each (a “Phase”), as outlined in the table below.
| Phase | Start Date | End Date |
| Nomination | September 2, 2025 12:00 A.M. ET | December 31, 2025 11:59 P.M. ET |
| Judging | January 2, 2026 12:00 A.M. ET | February 28, 2026 11:59 P.M. ET |
| Winner Selection Phase | March 1, 2026 12:00 A.M. ET | April 30, 2026 11:59 P.M. ET |
| Winner Announcement | May 1, 2026 9:00 A.M. ET |
Participation in the Contest
By participating in the Contest, each individual nominating one or more individuals for this Contest and the selected winner (as applicable) each agree:
(a) to be bound by these rules and regulations and the decisions of Educators Financial Group;
(b) to release and hold harmless Educators Financial Group, Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, their affiliates, subsidiaries, and independent contractors, and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and representatives including advertising and promotion agencies, from any and all liability for any loss, harm, damages, cost or expense arising directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, out of participation in the Contest, breach of these rules and regulations, participation in any Contest-related activity or the acceptance, use, or misuse of the Prize, including but not limited to costs, injuries, losses related to personal injuries, death, damage to or loss of or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation, or portrayal in a false light, or from any and all claims of third parties arising therefrom;
(c) to the collection and use of his/her/their personal information by Educators Financial Group for Contest-related purposes (including but not limited to, contacting and announcing the winner and coordinating the provision of the Prize);
(d) to grant Educators Financial Group the rights to the nominator’s entrance submission in accordance with these Rules; and
(e) (if selected as a winner) answer a skill testing question and sign the publicity release form, as set out in Exhibit 1 to these rules and regulations, and the Standard Liability Release Form set out in Exhibit 2 to these rules and regulations, within 10 business days of the date that the winner is notified via e-mail.
Who can nominate for the Contest
3. Nomination Criteria. Nominations can be made by any individual who meets the following criteria (as determined by Educators Financial Group, acting reasonably, in accordance with applicable law):
a. Is a legal resident of Ontario, Canada;
b. Is 14 years of age or older as of September 2, 2025. For any nominators who are under the age of 18, the nominator must have their parent or legal guardian’s permission to submit the nomination. Before submitting the nomination, the nominator must read these rules with their parent or legal guardian, and if such parent or legal guardian allows the nominator to submit the nomination, the parent or legal guardian agrees that these rules apply to them;
c. Submission must be in either English or French; and
d. Is not a Deemed Non-Eligible Individual (as defined in section 4 below).
Who Isn’t Eligible to Nominate and/or Win
4. Nomination and Winner Non-Eligibility. The following individuals are not entitled to nominate or to be nominated (each a “Deemed Non-Eligible Individual”):
a. Employees, representatives or agents of Educators Financial Group;
b. Any other individual involved in the development, production, administration, or fulfillment of the Contest;
c. Members of the immediate family (brothers, sisters, children, father, mother, spouse) of the individuals outlined in 4. a. or b;
d. Household members or domiciled members of any of the of the parties listed above; and
e. Individuals who nominate themselves for the Contest.
Nomination Procedure
5. Any individual who meets the criteria in Section 3 above may nominate an individual who meets one of the 6 qualities of a hero: 1) Goodness (compassion and integrity), 2) Courage and Bravery, 3) Selflessness, 4) Perseverance, 5) Leadership or 6) Wisdom. In the nomination form, those nominating are required to indicate which one (1) of the six (6) qualities their nominated individual exemplifies and why.
6. One person can be nominated more than one time. However, more nominations do not increase the chances of winning.
7. Educators Financial Group shall have the right at any time to require proof of identity and/or eligibility to participate in the Contest. Failure to provide such proof may result in disqualification. All personal and other information requested by and supplied to Educators Financial Group for the purpose of the Contest must be truthful, complete, accurate and in no way misleading. Educators Financial Group reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify any nominated individual should such an individual (or anyone on their behalf, such as the individual who nominated them) at any stage supply information that does not meet the requirements set out in these rules and regulations.
8. All Contest entries which are incomplete, illegible, mutilated, altered, reproduced, forged, irregular or fraudulent in any way or otherwise not in compliance with these rules and regulations are automatically void. Educators Financial Group will be the sole and final reference source in validating a Prize claim.
9. It is the sole responsibility of the nominator to notify Educators Financial Group if they or the nominee changes his or her contact information (telephone number and/or email address).
10. Entries will be accepted online using the English nomination form or the French nomination form.
Who can be nominated for the Contest
11. Any individual who meets the following criteria (as determined by Educators Financial Group, acting reasonably, in accordance with applicable law) may be nominated for the Contest:
a. Is a legal resident of Ontario, Canada;
b. Is 18 years of age or older as of September 2, 2025;
c. Is not a Deemed Non-Eligible Individual (as defined in section 4 above);
d. Works, or has worked, in Ontario’s private or publicly funded elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools. Job titles listed below may not be an exhaustive list, if your job title is not listed you still may qualify:
– Administrator
– Academic advisor
– Classroom assistant
– Instructional assistant
– Teacher
– Early childhood educator/Early childhood education assistant
– Principal
– Vice-principal
– Educational counsellor/School counselor
– Child & Youth worker
– Professor
– Associate professor
– Teaching Assistant
– Inclusive Education teacher
– Librarian
– Curriculum developer
– Education coordinator
– Dean of students
– Athletics coach/Coach
– Registrar
– Special education worker/teacher
– School bus driver
– School crossing guard
– Training and development coordinator
– School secretary
– Janitor
– Custodian
Prize Description
12. There are 50 prizes of $500 CAD to be won (each a “Winner”) during the contest period. Prize must be accepted as awarded and are not transferable or substitutable and will be awarded to the winner only.
13. All taxes for prizes, if applicable, are the sole responsibility of the respective winners.
14. Educators Financial Group reserves the right to substitute any prize with one of equal or greater value and to cancel, suspend, modify or amend the Contest without prior notice at any time and for any reason. Educators Financial Group reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with, or attempts to tamper with, the entry process or violates any of the Contest rules. Any attempt to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Educators Financial Group reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to seek damages or other remedies from any such person(s) responsible to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Criteria for Choosing the Winners
15. Winner selection criteria: Each of the 50 winners will be chosen by the judging committee based on if they exemplify any of the 6 qualities of a hero mentioned above (Goodness (compassion and integrity), Courage and Bravery, Selflessness, Perseverance, Leadership or Wisdom). Each nomination will be judged based on their relation to these qualities and stories that showcase/prove these traits.
16. The following will be chosen based on the criteria rubric below:
a. Minimum requirement for eligibility: Information is complete, no important fields are left blank missing;
b. Quality of Hero is chosen and there is an explanation of how the person nominated exemplifies that quality; and
c. The explanation field is comprehensive and talks about at least 2 factors on how this person exemplifies the chosen quality of the hero. The examples are specific and realistic. We reserve the right to disbelieve the examples.
17. An Educators Financial Group judging committee will review all the nomination forms.
18. All decisions of the judging committee are final and binding on the entrants in all matters relating to the Contest, the eligibility requirements and the selection process.
19. The odds of winning are partially dependent on the number and quality of eligible entries received by the closing date.
Additional Requirements Before Receiving a Prize
20. The winners will be contacted by email or any other method chosen by Educators Financial Group in accordance with the information received and will be subject to identity verification by Educators Financial Group.
21. Without limiting the other rules and regulations, before collecting any Prize, the winners must:
a. Respond via email or by calling 1.800.263.9541, and provide signed copies of the Publicity Release Form set out in Exhibit 1 to these rules and regulations, and the Standard Liability Release Form set out in Exhibit 2 to these rules and regulations, each within 10 business days of the date that the e-mail is sent, Educators Financial Group may (at their sole discretion) disqualify the winner (after which time, the winner will have no recourse towards Educators Financial Group), and select a replacement winner;
b. Winners will need to meet with an Educators Financial Group Financial Advisor to collect their prize and will be required to attend a half an hour in-person or virtual meeting. Following the meeting, each winner will have a choice of opening an account with Educators Financial Group and depositing the $500 in their account or taking the prize as ‘cash’ via an Electronic Funds Transfer (‘EFT’) to their own bank account;
c. Meet the eligibility requirements set out in these rules; and
d. Comply with the terms and conditions of the Contest.
General – Important Rules
22. Nominees may receive a one-time communication from Educators Financial Group for each submission received where they are nominated, however, it is the sole responsibility of the individual submitting the nomination to inform the nominee of their submission.
23. All entries become the property of Educators Financial Group. By entering the Contest, the winners consent to the use of their name and the name of their school or primary workplace in any related publicity without further compensation, and in perpetuity, in any and all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, including the Internet, in any publicity or advertising carried out by Educators Financial Group unless prohibited by law.
24. Educators Financial Group is not responsible for any entries that are lost, late, damaged, destroyed, misdirected or delayed by any computer or technical malfunctions that may occur in the processing, transmission or receipt of entries.
25. By participating in the Contest, all entrants agree to be bound by these rules and regulations and declare that the information they provided to support their entry is true and correct.
26. The Education Heroes Contest and the Contest rules will be exclusively governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the province of Ontario. Any dispute arising hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Ontario and shall be adjudicated in the applicable court in Toronto, Ontario.