How Voting Works in a Colossal Competition
Voting in online competitions lets supporters encourage competitors, helps them advance through rounds, and builds community. Whether you're cheering on a baby in Baby of the Year, an athlete in Youth Athlete of the Year, or a pet in America's Favorite Pet, Colossal competitions are designed to make voting engaging, secure, and impactful. Here's a closer look at how the voting process works.
Community Voting Powers the Competition
In every Colossal competition, participants advance based on support from their community. Friends, family, and fans can vote for competitors to help them move through each round.
For example, in Baby of the Year, families often share their baby's competition page with loved ones near and far. Grandparents, coworkers, neighbors, and friends can all rally behind their favorite little one by casting a vote each day.
As voting progresses:
Groups update to reflect current standings.
Top competitors advance to the next stage based on each round's results.
Finalists emerge through continued community support.
This format gives supporters a meaningful way to participate while celebrating the competitors they care about.
How Free Voting Works
Every Colossal competition includes free daily voting, making it possible for anyone to support their favorite competitor.
With free voting:
Each competitor and supporter can cast one free vote every 24 hours.
Every vote contributes to a competitor's standing.
Free voting keeps competitions accessible and encourages consistent community engagement.
Families and competitors remind supporters to return each day for their free vote by creating unique posts, QR codes, and other creative means of spreading the word, creating excitement throughout the competition.
Why Facebook Verification Is Required
To help ensure fair and authentic voting, free votes require Facebook verification. This extra step helps confirm each vote comes from a real person rather than an automated system or duplicate account.
Facebook verification helps:
Prevent spam and automated voting.
Limit duplicate or fraudulent votes.
Maintain a fair experience for every competitor.
These safeguards allow competitions to remain fair while keeping free voting available to genuine supporters.
How Voting by Donation Works
In addition to free votes, supporters can cast votes by donation. This gives supporters another way to encourage their favorite competitor while helping raise funds to support important charitable causes.
For example, someone supporting a Baby of the Year competitor may choose to donate, earning additional votes while helping generate funds that ultimately support Baby2Baby through Colossal's grantmaking process.
Votes by donation are tax-deductible where permitted by law and may be cast at any time while voting is open.
Where the Money Goes
One of the defining features of every Colossal competition is its charitable impact.
Funds raised through votes by donation go to one of Colossal's grantmaking partners—DTCare or Action Initiative Team (AIT)—which then distributes grants to the designated nonprofit associated with that competition after it concludes.
For example:
Baby of the Year raises funds to support Baby2Baby.
Youth Athlete of the Year raises funds to support the Why Not You Foundation.
Other competitions support organizations making an impact in healthcare, education, conservation, hunger relief, the arts, and more.
This means every vote by donation contributes to something much larger than the competition itself.
For more information about the donation and grant process, visit colossal.org or the Rules page for the specific competition.
Safeguards for Fair Voting
Maintaining fair competition is a top priority. Colossal uses monitoring tools and security systems to detect irregular activity and attempts to manipulate voting.
These systems help identify:
Suspicious voting patterns
Automated voting attempts
Duplicate or fraudulent accounts
Competitors attempting to vote by donation for themselves (which is prohibited under the Competition Rules)
Every competition undergoes ongoing monitoring to help ensure a level playing field for all participants.
Why Community Voting Matters
Community voting transforms each competition into a shared experience. Families competing in Baby of the Year, for example, often find themselves reconnecting with old friends, meeting other participating parents, and celebrating milestones together throughout the competition. What begins as voting for a favorite competitor frequently grows into a supportive online community.
Community voting creates:
Increased engagement among supporters
Shared excitement throughout the competition
Stronger community connections
Opportunities to celebrate meaningful causes together
For many competitors, the relationships and encouragement they receive become one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.
Transparency Through Clear Competition Rules
Every Colossal competition includes comprehensive rules explaining:
How voting works
How competitors advance
How free votes and votes by donation are counted
Competition eligibility and important guidelines
Before participating any Colossal competition, we encourage competitors and supporters to review the Rules page. Understanding the process upfront helps everyone enjoy the competition with confidence while ensuring a fair experience for all.
