Frequently Asked Questions
The short version: anyone can put a cash prize on a specific mess in a specific place. Anyone willing can do the work, prove it, and get paid. The Referee checks the proof before money moves. Everything below is detail.
What this is
What is PlacePrize?
A prize board for the places we share. Anyone can put a cash prize on a specific mess. Anyone willing can do the work, prove it, and get paid. The Referee checks the proof before money moves.
How is this legal?
It's a public offer of a reward, accepted by performance. The same law that makes a "lost dog, $50 reward" poster enforceable.
Is this gig work? Are hunters employees?
No and no. Nobody hires, schedules, supervises, or assigns anyone. A prize is a standing offer. Take it or don't.
How is this different from reporting it to the city?
A city report goes into a queue with no promise of when, or whether. A prize is money on the table right now, for whoever's willing to do the work today. Both can be true at once.
Who runs PlacePrize, and where does it work?
PlacePrize LLC, New Haven, Connecticut. The pilot, with real seeded prize money, is running in New Haven. The board itself works on public ground anywhere in the United States: spot, fund, and hunt in your own town today, on iOS. Reach us at support@placeprize.com.
Spotting
What is a Spotter?
Someone who photographs a mess so it can be prized. The first photo in every prize's proof chain.
Do Spotters get paid?
No. Paying for reports of messes is an invitation to create messes. You spot because you want it fixed.
Can I spot without funding?
Yes. Unfunded spots sit on the board waiting for a funder. After seven days unfunded, they expire.
Can I fund my own spot?
Yes.
Why can't I hunt my own spot?
Because the proof has to start with someone who isn't paid for the cleanup. That rule is what makes every verdict trustworthy.
What happens after I submit a spot?
The Referee screens it at posting. Clear cases go up, unclear ones go to human review, ineligible ones are declined.
Funding
Why is $20 the minimum prize?
It's the smallest prize meaningful enough to claim while still covering the transaction costs of running it.
What does PlacePrize charge me?
A flat 10% service fee plus payment processing, rounded up to whole dollars. A $20 prize costs $23. The hunter gets the full $20.
Is funding a prize tax-deductible?
No. We're a company, not a 501(c)(3). You're paying for an outcome, not donating to a charity.
Where can prizes go?
Public ground only: eligible sidewalks, paths, parks, and open civic spaces that meet the Safety Rules. Never private property. Never roadways, traffic lanes, road shoulders, water, or heights.
Can a business or nonprofit fund a prize?
Yes. Same card checkout as anyone else.
Is there an age minimum for funders?
Eighteen and up, for everyone on PlacePrize.
What happens if nobody claims my prize?
You pick a clear-by date when you fund, two to seven days out. We'll remind you before it expires, and you can extend by a week, up to twice. If it expires, 90% of the prize amount comes back automatically; the service and processing fees don't, they were already spent moving the money. If we remove a spot as invalid, you get 100% back, fees included.
Can I edit or cancel a prize I funded?
No edits after funding. Until it's claimed, you can cancel for the 90% refund, or move your money to a different spot. Once a hunter claims it, it's committed.
Claiming and arriving
How long do I have after claiming?
24 hours, exclusive. Nobody can take it while it's yours. No proof by then, the claim expires and the prize returns to the board. No penalty.
How many prizes can I claim at once?
Three.
What if I change my mind?
Walk away. The claim expires on its own in 24 hours with no mark against you.
What if I arrive and it's already clean?
Report it in the app and walk away clean. The prize pays for producing the outcome, not for the trip. An honest already-clean report carries no mark against you, ever.
What if the job is bigger, different, or sketchier than the posting?
Walk away. You lose nothing but a prize, and no prize is worth an injury. Then tell us: support@placeprize.com.
Needles, glass, hazardous anything?
Don't touch it. Flag the location so it goes to the city. That's a city job, not a prize.
The work
What should I bring?
Gloves, bags, and ideally a bucket and a grabber. The grabber keeps your hands off the trash, and one lined five-gallon bucket is our rough unit of work, about a $20 prize's worth. Nothing sharp, powered, or digging. If the job needs real tools, it's not eligible.
Do I have to take the trash away?
Yes. Bagging is not finishing. The job is done when the site is clear, the bags leave with you, and you dispose of them lawfully. Leaving tied bags at the site, beside a can, or at someone's curb is not completion, it's a new mess with your name on it.
Why do the bags appear in the final photo?
They prove the trash was collected, not shoved out of frame. The photo isn't the end of the job; removal and lawful disposal are.
Who verifies disposal?
The Referee verifies what the camera can see: a cleared site and a collected haul. Lawful disposal is your obligation and your word, and you certify it, on the record, before you can submit. The community can report bags left behind, and we act on those reports.
Can I upload a photo from my camera roll? An edited or AI image?
No and no. Proof is captured live in the app, at the spot, GPS-attached. Anything else isn't evidence.
Getting paid
If the prize says $40, do I really get $40?
Yes. All fees are the funder's. The advertised prize is the hunter's, whole.
Can the funder refuse to pay after I finish?
No. The money is committed when the prize posts, and the Referee's verdict releases it. You never negotiate satisfaction with a stranger after the work is done.
How fast do I get paid?
Every payout is human-reviewed before it moves, so it's not instant. It also means a person checks every one.
Why do I onboard with Stripe to get paid?
Payouts move through Stripe, using the payout method offered in our Stripe onboarding. PlacePrize never holds your money and can't mail a check.
Why is there a $1,999 annual prize limit?
Federal rules for 2026 generally require 1099-MISC reporting when prizes and awards reach $2,000. We hold the launch cap just under that line to keep things simple while PlacePrize is small. Winnings below the cap aren't automatically tax-free; taxes are your business, reporting thresholds are ours.
What if I disagree with a verdict?
Request human review. We treat a wrongly denied claim as a serious error.
When something goes wrong
What if someone leaves the bags behind or lies about completing a prize?
Report it to support@placeprize.com, with a photo if you have one. We investigate, we can deny a prize where the rules allow, and repeat or deliberate offenders lose access. There's no public shaming system; review is private and human.
What if I see a prize that shouldn't exist?
Same address. We pull prizes that break the rules.
What if someone gets hurt?
Emergencies: 911, always, first. The work is voluntary and at your own risk, which is exactly why every safety rule says walk away from anything doubtful.
Privacy
Why does PlacePrize need my location?
Proof only works if it's provably from the right place. GPS is captured when you photograph, not in the background.
Are the photos public?
Before-and-after photos are the public record of the prize. That's the point: visible proof.
What if a person is in my shot?
Don't photograph people. Prizes target trash and surfaces, never people, homes, belongings, or memorials, and published images never contain identifiable people.
What's public about me?
Nothing by name. Funders and hunters are anonymous on the board.
The bigger questions
Why should I pay to clean a public place when I already pay taxes?
Taxes fund a system with a queue. A prize funds this spot, today. Both can be true at once.
Why not just clean it myself?
Please do, that's the spirit of the thing. PlacePrize is for the messes you can't get to, where your money can stand in for your hands.
Isn't this rich people paying poor people to pick up trash?
It's neighbors putting money where their care is, and anyone willing being paid fairly, in full, for real, verified work. Different people bring different resources to a shared place: money, time, labor, attention. They don't have to share motives to share a park.
Couldn't the board become a map of "dirty" neighborhoods?
Every pin on this board is someone paying to fix something, not someone complaining about it. A prize isn't an accusation. It's a commitment.
The fine print
Your use of PlacePrize is governed by our Terms of Service, which include the Contest Rules and Safety Rules, and our Privacy Policy. Where this FAQ and those documents differ, the documents control. Apple Inc. is not a sponsor of, and is not involved in any way with, any contest or prize on PlacePrize.
Put a prize on a place. Leave it proud.