Be the trusted adult.
The kids who are most likely to enter are the ones a counselor, a librarian, a coach, a neighbor, or a parent forwarded the link to. You don’t need to run a program. You just need to be the person who said “you should do this.”
Pick one of the ways below. All of them help.
Ways to champion
If you’re an educator, you also have your own track.
The Educator Challenge runs parallel to the student track — same prompt, same rubric, same prize structure. Educator is self-defined: teachers, principals, counselors, coaches, club and community leaders. You can champion students and submit your own idea.
Share it
Send the link to a kid you think should try this, forward it to a colleague, post it in a parent newsletter, drop it in a club chat. The kids we most want to reach often hear about this kind of thing through one trusted adult — that’s you.
Hi, Thought you might know a student — or an educator — who should see this. The North Carolina Idea Challenge is a statewide idea contest for students in grades 5–12 and NC educators. Winning ideas get $1,000 to start, and up to $10,000 more for making real progress. The bar to enter is "you have an idea." Getting started is quick. https://ideachallengenc.org Thanks,
Share a link with your name on it and every entry that starts from it is counted to you. Email us anytime and we’ll tell you how many kids came through your link.
If a parent or guardian asks…
Short, honest answers you can give on the spot — or hand them this list.
Yes. The North Carolina Idea Challenge is convened by Exponential Scholars, a North Carolina nonprofit. Cash prizes are real and paid out via check or ACH to a parent or guardian co-signer (for students) or directly to the entrant (for educators).
No. There's no AI in the way — support comes from real people, like a free coaching call. The final submission is a 1–2 minute video of the kid on camera, in their own words. The rubric does not reward polish, vocabulary, or adult-sounding phrasing.
We collect a small amount of information: a nickname, student age, and the community they represent. A parent email is collected only if the kid finalizes their entry. No third-party tracking, no ads, no data selling.
Within 10 days. Every submission gets a yes or no within 10 days. Submit any day between July 15 and October 4, 2026.
Host a session
One class period, one club meeting, or one library afternoon is enough to get a roomful of students from “I don’t have an idea” to a recorded video submission. Here’s the run-of-show.
Read aloud: 'What's your idea to help your community?' Take three minutes for kids to write down anything that bugs them about their school, neighborhood, or town. No judging. Anything counts.
Give kids 10 minutes to think through who their idea helps and one small step they could take. They can talk it out with a partner or jot it down solo.
Each kid writes quick notes for their video: the problem, who it helps, their idea, and why it matters to them. Bullet points are fine. No polish.
Each kid opens /submit, hits Enable Camera, records a 1–2 minute video. Phones are fine — there's an upload fallback if the school blocks browser camera.
Each kid hits Submit. Done. They walk out with a video and a real entry.
- One device per kid (Chromebook, tablet, or phone)
- Wi-Fi
- A relatively quiet space for recording (one corner is enough)
- You. That’s it.
Want the slide deck? Email hello@ideachallengenc.org with your name, role, community or school, approximate date, and number of kids. We’ll send slides + a kid handout within 48 hours.
A printable 1-pager
For your bulletin board, a staff meeting, or a parent night. Plain language, big type, fits one page.
Find ambassadors
One or two students in a school, club, or neighborhood can do more for reach than any newsletter blast. An ambassador is a student who shares the Challenge with friends and classmates, runs a small workshop with people they already know, and helps make sure students who’d otherwise hear about this from no one hear about it from someone they trust.
Ambassadors get co-branded materials and recognition on the Winners page.
Know a student who could do this? Email hello@ideachallengenc.org with their first name and community.
Convene with us
The Idea Challenge is convened by Exponential Scholars with educators and youth partners across North Carolina. We’re looking for community organizations that can help us reach students we wouldn’t otherwise.
Email hello@ideachallengenc.org with a sentence about your community and how you’d want to plug in. We respond to every one.