Effective June1, 2009, these Official Rules govern Box Tops for Education and its Web site,
located at www.boxtops4education.com. General Mills reserves the right to make changes to
these Official Rules at any time. Please check www.boxtops4education.com from time to time
to ensure you are aware of any updates or changes. Your participation in Box Tops for Education
indicates acceptance of these Official Rules.
Eligibility
The Box Tops for Education® program is open to any accredited public, private or parochial school,
containing any class with students from Kindergarten to 8th grade, in the United States that is
organized and primarily operated for educational purposes and to any United States military school,
containing any class with students from Kindergarten to 8th grade, worldwide. It is also available
to home school associations, containing any class with students from Kindergarten to 8th grade,
in the United States organized and operated primarily for educational purposes and have 15 or more
students.
Box Tops for Education Overview
Box Tops for Education has four separate program components – Clip, Marketplace, Reading Room, and
My Class Essentials. (1) The Clip program allows you to earn cash for your school by clipping Box Tops
for Education coupons from hundreds of participating products. (2) The Marketplace allows you to earn
cash for your school by shopping online through the Box Tops for Education website accessed at
www.boxtops4education.com/marketplace. (3) The Reading Room program allows you to earn cash for your
school by purchasing books through the Box Tops for Education Reading Room. (4)The My Class Essentials
program allows you to earn cash for your school by purchasing items from the classroom registry.
Maximum Fundraising Amount
Each eligible school participating in Box Tops for Education may earn up to, but not more than, $20,000
cash per year (June 1 — May 31) from each of the four separate Box Tops for Education program components – Clip,
Marketplace, Reading Room, and My Class Essentials – for a total maximum annual amount of $80,000 per school.
Promotions and Bonus Programs
From time to time, General Mills may run promotional programs whereby consumers and/or schools may
earn Bonus Box Tops, participate in a sweepstakes, receive coupons, special offers, or recipes. All
Bonus Box Tops earnings are counted over and above the maximum annual fundraising amount of $80,000
per school. Bonus Box Tops are issued through a printed official Bonus Box Tops certificate or automatically
credited to a school’s account. To receive payment for Bonus Box Tops, schools must be enrolled in Box Tops
for Education. General Mills reserves the right to limit the redemption of expired, invalid, or fraudulent
Bonus Box Tops.
Payments
Checks will be made payable only to schools enrolled in Box Tops for Education. Checks can be made
payable to a school PTA/PTO if previously specified. Payments made to schools are not tax-deductible
by schools, participants or purchasers. Payments will be made twice each school year, on December 15th
and April 15th. Each payment will include amounts earned by schools from Clip, Marketplace, Reading Room,
My Class Essentials and Bonus programs. The December 15th payment will reflect the amounts earned from
March 1st through the following October 31st, and the April 15th payment will reflect the amounts earned
from November 1st through February 28th. Schools that accrue total earnings of less than $20.00 from
March 1st through the following October 31st will not be issued a December 15th payment. Instead, those
earnings will carry over and a payment will be issued for the entire school year to those schools in the
April 15th payment. Allow 2 to 4 weeks for checks to arrive. Box Tops for Education will not replace checks
requested more than 18 months after the original check was issued.
School Coordinators
Each participating school must designate a school coordinator in order to be enrolled in the Box Tops for Education program.
General Mills reserves the right at its discretion to remove a coordinator from the program at any time if it determines
that the coordinator is a detriment to the Program.
Submitted Ideas, Suggestions and Information
All comments, suggestions, ideas, notes, drawings, concepts, recipes or other information disclosed or
offered to Box Tops for Education shall be deemed and shall remain the property of General Mills.
By submitting any suggestion, idea or other information, you consent to its use by General Mills,
including but not limited to its publication. You understand and acknowledge that General Mills has
both internal resources and other external resources which may have developed or may in the future
develop ideas identical to or similar to the suggestion or comments and that General Mills is only
willing to consider the suggestion on these terms. In any event, any suggestion, comment or idea is
not submitted in confidence and General Mills assumes no obligation express or implied by considering it.
Without limitation, General Mills shall exclusively own all now known or hereafter existing rights to the
suggestions of every kind and nature throughout the Universe and shall be entitled to unrestricted use of
the comments for any purpose whatsoever, commercial or otherwise without compensation to the provider of
the suggestions.
Program Changes
General Mills reserves the right to cancel or alter the terms of the Box Tops for Education program at any time.
Rules for Clipping Box Tops Coupons
All submissions become the property of Box Tops. Reproduction, purchase, sale or trade of any Box Tops coupon,
Super Box Top or Bonus certificate is prohibited. Box Tops for Education is not responsible for late, lost or
misdirected mail. Box Tops for Education reserves the right to return boxes or envelopes mailed without sufficient
postage.
Collect, Send and Earn
Clip Box Tops coupons from hundreds of participating products. Send your collected Box Tops coupons to an enrolled
school of your choice. Your school coordinator will submit collected Box Tops coupons to General Mills for processing
and verification. Each Box Tops coupon is worth 10 cents.
Qualifying Box Tops
Qualifying Box Tops coupons can be found on packages of participating General Mills Big G cereals, Betty Crocker®
products including Betty Crocker® fruit flavored snacks, Yoplait® yogurt multipacks, Yoplait® Go-GURT® yogurt,
Gold Medal® flour, Green Giant® frozen meal kits and frozen sides, Old El Paso® products, Totino’s® frozen snacks,
Pillsbury® refrigerated and frozen products, Chex Mix® snack mixes, Cascadian Farm® cereals, Avery®, NESTLÉ®, Hefty ®,
S.C. Johnson Ziploc® and Kimberly-Clark products. Qualifying products are subject to change. For a complete list of
participating products visit www.boxtops4education.com.
Redemptions and Program Deadline
To redeem qualifying Box Tops for Education coupons for cash, a school coordinator must complete an official Box Tops
Submission Form and enclose the form with each shipment of qualifying Box Tops coupons. Submissions must be postmarked
by October 31st for earnings to be included on December 15th checks and by February 28th to be included on April 15th checks.
Schools that accrue total earnings of less than $20.00 from April 1st through the following October 31st will not be issued a
December 15th payment. Instead, those earnings will carry over and a payment will be issued for the entire school year to those
schools in the April 15th payment. All submissions are subject to verification.
Unacceptable Submissions
Box Tops coupons that have been defaced, mutilated, forged or in any way altered will not be accepted, nor will any UPC symbols.
Expired Box Tops
Box Tops coupons submitted after their printed expiration date are considered void and will not be honored.
Payments to Schools
Payments to schools resulting from eligible Box Tops coupon submissions will be made twice each school year,
on December 15th and April 15th. The December 15th payment will reflect confirmed earnings from shipments
postmarked between April 1st through the following October 31st, and the April 15th payment will reflect
confirmed earnings from shipments postmarked between November 1st through February 28. Schools that accrue
total earnings of less than $20.00 from April 1st through the following October 31st will not be issued a
December 15th payment. Instead, those earnings will carry over and a payment will be issued for the entire
school year to those schools in the April 15th payment. Schools can earn a maximum of $20,000 each school
year from the Clip program. Allow 2 to 4 weeks for checks to arrive.
Shipping Charges
All postage and shipping charges are the responsibility of the sender.
Rules for Shopping at the Box Tops MarketplaceSM
Through www.boxtops4education.com, General Mills operates an interactive online marketplace program that
enables you to access the Web sites of third-party merchants and purchase various goods or services from
these merchants’ sites. The Box Tops for Education Marketplace allows you to designate a school to which
a portion of your qualifying online purchase will be paid as the result of a commission payment earned
from that merchant. (Your designated school must already be enrolled in Box Tops for Education.) The Box
Tops Marketplace is active 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.
To earn cash for your school by shopping at the Box Tops for Education Marketplace, you must choose a link
from www.boxtops4education.com to a participating merchant’s site, make a purchase, accept delivery, and
pay the merchant for the purchase. (If you access a participating merchant’s site in any manner other than
by linking directly from the Box Tops for Education Marketplace, your purchase WILL NOT result in a donation
to your school.) The merchant must then send the correct commission payment to General Mills’ fulfillment
center for processing and payment to your designated school. The amount of the donation to the school varies
depending on the merchant and depending on the item or service purchased. The donation amount for each merchant
in effect at the time of purchase will be posted throughout the Box Tops Marketplace. Please note that certain
merchants place restrictions on the types of products that will earn donations or have a maximum donation amount
per purchase. Visit www.boxtops4education.com and click on “Questions” for more details. General Mills is not
liable or responsible in any way for inaccuracies that may be displayed on www.boxtops4education.com relating
to payment amounts or percentages, whether as a result of human or mechanical error or otherwise.
Shipping and Handling Costs
Sales taxes, shipping costs, gift certificates, packaging or handling fees, gift-wrapping services, governmental fees,
and certain other charges may not be included in the calculation of the school donation amount.
Returns, Refunds and Cancellations
School donations are subject to adjustment if you later return purchased item(s), cancel your purchase,
or obtain a refund from the merchant.
Qualifying Purchases
Purchases must be made from approved merchants and by users who have properly registered at, and linked
from www.boxtops4education.com. No other purchases will qualify for inclusion in the Box Tops for Education
Marketplace program, and no donations will be made to a school for non-qualifying or fraudulent purchases.
Purchases made by users who have not properly designated a school to receive payments will support the general
Box Tops for Education program.
Cookies
The use of “cookies” is necessary to accurately track your purchases from participating merchants. If you
set your Internet browser to disable or reject cookies, we will not be able to track and confirm your
purchases and make the proper donation to your school.
Payments by Merchants
Online purchases made through the Box Tops Marketplace from affiliated merchants will earn a percentage of that
purchase for a designated school, or, if a shopper is unregistered, for the general Box Tops for Education program.
Donation amounts appear throughout the Box Tops Marketplace site. Payments to schools will only be made once the
commission payment has been received from the participating merchant. Commission payments from merchants are normally
received by General Mills on a monthly or quarterly basis, but in some cases payments may not be received for up to
six months from the date of purchase. If a participating merchant fails to provide payment of the proper amount for
any reason (including, but not limited to, bankruptcy or a cessation of business operations), no donation – or only
a partial donation – will be made to the designated school.
Payments to Schools
Payments to schools resulting from eligible purchases at Box Tops Marketplace merchants will be made twice each school year,
on December 15th and April 15th. The December 15th payment will reflect confirmed earnings from March 1st through the following
October 31st, and the April 15th payment will reflect confirmed earnings from November 1st through February 28th. Schools that
accrue total earnings of less than $20.00 from March 1st through the following October 31st will not be issued a December 15th
payment. Instead, those earnings will carry over and a payment will be issued for the entire school year to those schools in the
April 15th payment. Schools can earn a maximum of $20,000 each school year from the Marketplace program. Allow 2 to 4 weeks for
checks to arrive.
Your Account
You can access a record of the donations you have earned for your school through the Marketplace program in the “Progress”
section of the Box Tops for Education Website. Your account will be updated on the 15th of each month to reflect the
activity from two months prior. (For example, a January statement of accounts will post on March 15th.)
Please note that it may take six to eight weeks for some merchants to report your purchases to General Mills. Additionally,
it is not possible to track purchases at an individual user level at certain merchants. (Earnings from these merchants will
be tracked at the school level, however, and will be included in your school’s total program earnings.)
If you have made a purchase and do not see it reflected on your account, please wait at least six to eight weeks before
contacting General Mills. Due to the way some merchants report data, it may take this long for General Mills to post information
to your account. If after six to eight weeks a transaction still has not posted, please go to www.boxtops4education.com and
click on “Questions” to learn how to report the error so that we can investigate. Please keep all records of your purchases from participating merchants for at least six months just in case there is a problem with the merchant or your account.
Merchants are Responsible for Their Own Products
General Mills is not responsible for and does not control the products and services
offered by participating merchants in the Box Tops for Education Marketplace . Merchants
accessed through the Sites are responsible for all aspects
of their order processing, order fulfillment, shipping and handling, billing, and
customer service. General Mills is not a party to the transactions entered into
between you and the merchants with which you choose to do business. If you buy products
or services from merchants through the Box Tops Marketplace or the Box Tops Reading
Room, you become a customer of those merchants and therefore should direct any comments,
complaints or inquiries regarding your purchases to those merchants, and not to
General Mills.
Rules for the Box Tops for Education Reading Room SM
Through www.boxtops4education.com, General Mills operates an interactive online marketplace program that
enables you to access the Web Site of Barnes & Noble (www.bn.com) and purchase various goods or services
from this merchant’s site. The Box Tops for Education Reading Room allows you to designate a school to
which a portion of your qualifying online purchase will be paid as the result of a commission payment earned
from that merchant. (Your designated school must already be enrolled in Box Tops for Education.) The Box Tops
Reading Room is active 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.To earn cash for your school by shopping at the Box Tops
for Education Reading Room, you must choose the Barnes & Noble link from www.boxtops4education.com , make a purchase,
accept delivery, and pay Barnes & Noble for the purchase. (If you access Barnes & Noble’s site in any manner
other than by linking directly from the Box Tops for Education Marketplace, your purchase WILL NOT result in a
donation to your school.) Barnes & Noble must then send the correct commission payment to General Mills’ fulfillment
center for processing and payment to your designated school. The amount of the donation to the school varies depending
on the item or service purchased. The donation amount at the time of purchase will be posted throughout the Box Tops
Reading Room. Please note that Barnes & Noble may place restrictions on the types of products that will earn donations
or have a maximum donation amount per purchase. Visit www.boxtops4education.com and click on “Questions” for more details.
General Mills is not liable or responsible in any way for inaccuracies that may be displayed on www.boxtops4education.com
relating to payment amounts or percentages, whether as a result of human or mechanical error or otherwise.
Shipping and Handling Costs
Sales taxes, shipping costs, gift certificates, packaging or handling fees, gift-wrapping services, governmental fees,
and certain other charges may not be included in the calculation of the school donation amount.
Returns, Refunds and Cancellations
School donations are subject to adjustment if you later return purchased item(s), cancel your purchase,
or obtain a refund from the merchant.
Qualifying Purchases
Purchases must be made from Barnes & Noble and by users who have properly registered at, and linked
from www.boxtops4education.com. No other purchases will qualify for inclusion in the Box Tops for Education
Reading Room program, and no donations will be made to a school for non-qualifying or fraudulent purchases.
Purchases made by users who have not properly designated a school to receive payments will support the general
Box Tops for Education program.
Cookies
The use of “cookies” is necessary to accurately track your purchases from participating merchants. If you set your
Internet browser to disable or reject cookies, we will not be able to track and confirm your purchases and make the
proper donation to your school.
Payments by Barnes & Noble
Online purchases made through the Box Tops Reading Room will earn a percentage of that purchase for a designated school,
or, if a shopper is unregistered, for the general Box Tops for Education program. Donation amounts appear throughout the
Box Tops Reading Room site. Payments to schools will only be made once the commission payment has been received from the
participating merchant. Commission payments from merchants are normally received by General Mills on a monthly or quarterly
basis, but in some cases payments may not be received for up to six months from the date of purchase. If Barnes & Noble fails
to provide payment of the proper amount for any reason (including, but not limited to, bankruptcy or a cessation of business operations),
no donation — or only a partial donation – will be made to the designated school.
Payments to Schools
Payments to schools resulting from eligible purchases at Box Tops Reading Room will be made twice each school year,
on December 15th and April 15th. The December 15th payment will reflect confirmed earnings from March 1st through
the following October 31st, and the April 15th payment will reflect confirmed earnings from November 1st through
February 28th. Schools that accrue total earnings of less than $20.00 from March 1st through the following October 31st
will not be issued a December 15th payment. Instead, those earnings will carry over and a payment will be issued for the
entire school year to those schools in the April 15th payment. Schools can earn a maximum of $20,000 each school year
from the Reading Room program. Allow 2 to 4 weeks for checks to arrive.
Your Account
You can access a record of the donations you have earned for your school through the Reading Room program in the “Progress”
section of the Box Tops for Education Website. Your account will be updated on the 15th of each month to reflect the activity
from two months prior. (For example, a January statement of accounts will post on March 15th.)
Please note that it may take six to eight weeks for some merchants to report your purchases to General Mills. Additionally,
it is not possible to track purchases at an individual user level at certain merchants. (Earnings from Barnes & Noble will
be tracked at the school level, however, and will be included in your school’s total program earnings.)
If you have made a purchase and do not see it reflected on your account, please wait at least six to eight weeks before
contacting General Mills. Due to the way Barnes & Noble reports data, it may take this long for General Mills to post
information to your account. If after six to eight weeks a transaction still has not posted, please go to www.boxtops4education.com
and click on “Questions” to learn how to report the error so that we can investigate. Please keep all records of your purchases
from participating merchants for at least six months just in case there is a problem with the merchant or your account.
Barnes & Noble is Responsible for Their Own Products
General Mills is not responsible for and does not control the products and services offered by Barnes & Noble in the
Box Tops for Education Reading Room. Merchants accessed through the site are responsible for all aspects of their order
processing, order fulfillment, shipping and handling, billing, and customer service. General Mills is not a party to the
transactions entered into between you and the merchants with which you choose to do business. If you buy products or
services from merchants through the Box Tops Reading Room, you become a customer of those merchants and therefore should
direct any comments, complaints or inquiries regarding your purchases to those merchants, and not to General Mills.
Rules for the My Class Essentials™ Program
Through the My Class Essentials Program, parents will be able to contribute in two ways: either by donating money to the
Piggy Bank Credit which allows the teacher to purchase items for their classroom through the Class Registry, or by making
a purchase for the classroom directly from the Class Registry to be given to your designated school and paying the merchant for the purchase.
The designated school at which the teacher works will earn a 2% donation on all products purchased.
Piggy Bank Credit use of credit:
The Piggy Bank credit must be used to purchase items from the registry. The credit may not be cashed out and credits
cannot be transferred from one registry to another. The credit stays with the registry and the creator of that registry.
Expiration of Piggy Bank Credit:
Piggy Bank cash expires 12 months from the time it is posted in the piggy bank at which time the money
transfers to the school via a Box Tops check – see check timing section for key dates.
School Earnings
The designated school must be enrolled in the Box Tops for Education Program. You can earn cash for your school by making a
purchase from the Class Registry and paying the merchant for the purchase. Purchases made through the Class Registry will
earn 2% of that purchase for a designated school, or, if a shopper has not designated a school, for the general Box Tops for
Education program.
Payment to Schools
Payment to schools resulting from purchases at Class Registry will be made twice each school year, on Dec 15th and April 15th .
There is a $20,000 maximum earnings each school year from the Class Registry program.
Shipping and Handling
Shipping costs, sales taxes, packaging or handling fees are not included in calculating the school donation amount.
School donation is calculated only on purchased products.
Returns, Refunds and Cancellations
School donations are subject to adjustment if you later return purchased item(s),
cancel your purchase, or obtain a refund from the merchant.
Return Policy:
30 day money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the merchandise for any reason contact us for an
RA # to ship the product back to us. Credit will be posted to the piggy bank or credited back to the purchasing
credit card. Shipping on the return may be the responsibility of the sender. Due to health concerns headwear
and food items cannot be returned.
Merchants are Responsible for Their Own Products
General Mills is not responsible for and does not control the products and services offered by participating merchants
in the Box Tops for Education My Class Essentials Program. Merchants accessed through the Site are responsible for all
aspects of their order processing, order fulfillment, shipping and handling, billing, and customer service. General Mills
is not a party to the transactions entered into between you and the merchants with which you choose to do business.
If you buy products or services from merchants through the Box Tops My Class Essentials website, you become a customer
of those merchants and therefore should direct any comments, complaints or inquiries regarding your purchases to those merchants,
and not to General Mills.
