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Technical Communication Competition

Information for Entrants

Competition Home • Entrants Information • Entry Rules • Entry Forms & Instructions • Categories
Schedule • Fees & Payment • Delivery Instructions • Final Packaging Checklist • Contacts • FAQs

Deadline: 7 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday, 18 November 2011

On this page:

Fees and Payment

What Are the Fees Per Entry?

The fees for the 2011-2012 STC WDC-MB Summit Competition are

STC WDC-MB Member: $100 per entry
STC Member of another community: $125 per entry
Nonmember: $150 per entry
Student: $50 per entry

If the submitter or any of the contributors are a member of STC, you pay the STC member rate for your entries.

All fees are in U.S. funds.

What Methods of Payment Do You Accept?

PayPal Verified Seal The STC Washington, DC - Metro Baltimore Chapter is a PayPal Verified account. You may use PayPal to make a secure online payment using your credit card, debit card, bank account, or by paying money from a funded PayPal account. For all STC WDC-MB payments through PayPal, creating a PayPal account is not required to complete a purchase. Use the following instructions to make a secure online payment through PayPal.

Payments must be in U.S. funds. Enter the amount in U.S. funds. PayPal will accept payment in sixteen currencies and make the currency conversion for you from:

Australian Dollar
Canadian Dollar
Czech Koruna
Danish Kroner
Euro
Hong Kong Dollar
Hungarian Forint
New Zealand Dollar
Norwegian Kroner
Polish Zloty
Pound Sterling
Singapore Dollar
Swedish Kronor
Swiss Franc
Yen

Purchase orders are not accepted. Submissions without payment will not be accepted or returned.

How Do I Pay the Fees?

Paying by Check

If you are paying by check, simply attach the check to the original copy of your entry form, include it in your entry package, and send it to the entries address given in the Deadlines and Delivery Instructions page. Make your check payable to STC Washington, DC - Metro Baltimore Chapter.

Federal Tax ID for the Chapter: 52-1296396.

Federal Tax ID for the Society: 31-4424296.

Paying through PayPal

Use the following instructions for paying through our PayPal page. Attach a copy of your PayPal receipt to your original entry form, include it in your entry package, and send it to the entries address given in the Deadlines and Delivery Instructions page.

Note: You may combine fees for multiple entries into one PayPal payment.

Click on the PayPal Payments button below to open a separate browser window that takes you to our secure transaction payment form. Payment for multiple entries may be made in one lump sum.

The following fields are pre-filled; do not change them:
- Pay To: shows STC Washington, DC - Metro Baltimore Chapter.
- Payment For: shows Competition fee payment.
- Quantity shows the number 1, which indicates that there is one payment being made; one charge to your credit card. Note: You may combine fees for multiple entries into one PayPal payment.
- Currency: shows U.S. Dollars.
In the Amount: field, enter the total fee amount for your entry or entries.
Shipping & Handling: shows $0.00.
If you are a first time PayPal user or you are not paying from an established funded source (registered your credit / debit card or bank account with PayPal) or from an established PayPal account, take the following steps:
- On the line asking "If you do not currently have a PayPal account", click the Click Here button.
- Select a shipping preference: click the first bullet for "No shipping required" (you are paying for a service).
- Then click Continue Checkout.
- Fill in your Billing information and follow the instructions on the site to continue checking out.
If you are paying from a registered funded source (credit / debit card or bank account) or an established PayPal account, take the following steps:
- Enter your log-in details.
- Click Continue.
- Verify the payment details or click on the "More Funding Options" link to change credit or debit card or bank account preferences.
- Click Pay.
If you would like to sign up for a free PayPal account, you may do so at the end of the checkout process. An account is recommended to speed you through the payment process for future payments to the chapter. For more information about PayPal accounts, see the PayPal FAQ page.

Note: If someone else has signed up with PayPal on your computer, you may need to go through the PayPal home page's SIGN UP button to create your own account if your browser already has a PayPal cookie with the other user's information. Additional information about accounts is available from PayPal.

What Do I Get in Return?

In return for the entry fees, you receive comprehensive written evaluations for each entry from two to three professional technical communicators, regardless of whether the entry won an award. You also have the opportunity to earn Merit, Excellence, or Distinguished Technical Communication (DTC) awards.

All Distinguished Technical Communication and Excellence awards proceed on to the STC International competition in 2012. The $50 (Students), $125 (STC members), $200 (non-STC members) entry fee and shipping of your entry to the International competition is paid by the WDC-MB chapter. There is no additional charge to you for submitting your entry to the International competition.

If your entry receives an award at the chapter level, then you receive up to three (3) free award certificates, one for each contributor for the entry. If you have more than three contributors, extra chapter-level certificates are available for purchase for $15.00 USD each. (Make sure you download and submit the Additional Contributors form (.doc), PDF format (.pdf) with your entry.)

There are also free award emblems available in several file formats to identify your entry as award-winning. For details, see STC WDC-MB Competition Award Ribbons.

If your entry receives a chapter-level Best of Show (BOS), then each contributor (up to three) receives a free engraved memento in addition to an award certificate. If you have more than three contributors, extra BOS awards are available for purchase for $75.00 USD each. (Make sure you download and submit the Additional Contributors form (.doc), PDF format (.pdf) with your entry.)

All net proceeds for the WDC-MB chapter-level competition go into our operating expenses and award funds.

Note: If your entry receives an international-level award, the Society office orders one plaque for each winning entry. Best of Show plaques are awarded at the annual conference. The plaques for international-level Distinguished Technical Communication, Excellence, and Merit are sent from the manufacturer to the submitters in mid-summer. Submitters may order additional plaques for each contributor, clients, or corporate copies at their own expense. An order form is included with the plaque.

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