Happy Productions $50,000 Video Grant: Official Rules

2026 grant cycle. Last updated October 25, 2026.

No purchase or payment is necessary to apply or to win. Applying is free. A purchase or payment does not improve an applicant's chance of winning. Void where prohibited.

1. Sponsor

The Happy Productions $50,000 Video Grant (the "Program") is sponsored by Happy Productions LLC, 260 Main Street, Ansonia, CT 06401 ("Sponsor").

2. How winners are chosen

The Program is a merit-based competition. Winners are chosen by Sponsor's review team using the judging criteria in Section 7, not by chance or random drawing.

3. Grant Regions

Sponsor awards one grant in each of the following Grant Regions. Each region has its own application page (a "Grant Page"):

4. Who can apply

The Program is open to organizations, not individuals. To be eligible, an organization must:

1. Be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in good standing with the IRS, or a fiscally sponsored project of one;
2. Be headquartered in, or run programs in, the Grant Region it applies in;
3. Meet the other eligibility requirements listed on the applicable Grant Page.

The person who submits an application must be at least 18 years old, a legal resident of the United States, and authorized to apply on the organization's behalf.

Organizations in which an officer or director is an employee of Sponsor, or an immediate family member of one, are not eligible.

5. Application period

The application period for each Grant Region begins when its Grant Page is published and ends on December 10, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Sponsor's computer is the official clock for the Program.

6. How to apply

Complete the online application on the Grant Page for your region. Limit: one application per organization per Grant Region. If an organization applies more than once in a region, Sponsor will review only the first complete application. Applications must be complete, truthful and submitted by the deadline; incomplete or false applications may be disqualified.

7. Judging

Sponsor's review team judges each eligible application on three equally weighted criteria:

1. A story only your organization can tell: emotional, relatable and made to be shared.
2. Real impact in your community: the difference the organization's work makes, at the center of the story.
3. A team ready to put the videos to work: someone on the team who will put the finished videos in front of donors, funders and the community.

Ties are broken by the score on criterion 1.

Rolling review. Applications are reviewed as they arrive. Within 7 days of applying, each applicant is told whether it has been selected as a finalist for its Grant Region. Finalists may be invited to a short conversation with Sponsor as part of judging. The winner in each Grant Region is chosen from its finalists.

8. Winners and notification

Sponsor will select one winner in each Grant Region (plus any Referral Grant under Section 10A) by December 15, 2026, provided at least one eligible application is received in that region. Winners are notified by email and/or phone and must respond within 5 business days and sign a grant acceptance and production agreement. If a winner cannot be reached, does not respond in time, is found ineligible, or declines, Sponsor may select an alternate winner from the remaining finalists in that region.

9. The grant

Each winning organization receives a video production package with an approximate retail value of $50,000, made up of:

• a professionally produced documentary film about the organization's mission, people and impact;
• a short-form social video toolkit cut from the same production; and
• strategy and distribution support for the finished videos,

as described on the Grant Page. Production is expected to begin within 2 to 4 weeks of the award and must be completed within 12 months of the award. Crew travel within the Grant Region is included.

The grant is awarded to the organization, is not transferable, and has no cash value; no cash or other substitution is available, except that Sponsor may substitute a component of equal or greater value if a component becomes unavailable. The winning organization is responsible for providing reasonable access to its people, programs and locations, for obtaining any permissions it needs, and for any taxes that may apply to the grant.

10. Partial Grants and other offers

Separately from the Program, Sponsor may offer applicants that are not selected as winners a discounted Happy Productions service package (a "Partial Grant") or other offers. Partial Grants are optional, require payment, are governed by a separate agreement, and have no effect on judging or on any applicant's chance of winning.

10A. Referral bonus

Each application form asks, optionally, whether another nonprofit referred the applicant. If the winning organization in a Grant Region names an eligible referring organization on its application, and that referring organization (1) submitted its own complete, eligible application in any Grant Region by the end of the application period and (2) was selected as a finalist under Section 7, then the referring organization also receives a grant as described in Section 9 (a "Referral Grant"). Only the referring organization named on the winning application counts, and at most one Referral Grant is awarded per Grant Region. Referring is free and is never required. No purchase, payment, social media post or share is required to apply or win, and none gives any advantage.

11. Your information

Sponsor uses the information in each application to judge and run the Program, and to contact the applicant about the Program and Sponsor's services. Sponsor does not publish the contents of an application without the applicant's permission. See Sponsor's Privacy Policy.

By accepting a grant, a winning organization agrees that Sponsor may announce its name, Grant Region and a short description of its work, except where prohibited by law.

12. Not affiliated with Meta

The Program is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Instagram or Meta Platforms, Inc. Applicants provide their information to Sponsor, not to Meta. Each applicant releases Meta Platforms, Inc. from any and all liability relating to the Program.

13. General conditions

By applying, each applicant agrees to these Official Rules and to Sponsor's decisions, which are final. Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, incomplete or misdirected applications, or for technical failures. If the Program is compromised by fraud, technical failure or any cause beyond Sponsor's control, Sponsor may modify or suspend it and award the grants from among the eligible applications received. To the extent permitted by law, applicants release Sponsor from liability for any claims arising from participation in the Program or from receiving or using a grant.

14. Governing law

These Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut.

15. Winners list

For the names of the winners, send a written request to Happy Productions LLC, Attn: Video Grant Winners, 260 Main Street, Ansonia, CT 06401, between December 15, 2026 and March 31, 2027.