HSH community calendar
Available for personal tributes AND business promotions! Ideal for anyone in Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland, but open to all.
Big, obnoxious notice (sorry, but we want to be very, very clear): messages & promos will be included in the HSH community calendar ONLY, not the HSH calendar or the Art calendar.
See the different calendars here.
The idea +
There will be three calendar options supporters can purchase for 2026:
The community one is where we hope to raise even MORE money for the Humane Society of Hobart this year!
Here's how. Bumpsales.
- the HSH calendar,
- the HSH community calendar, and
- the art calendar.
The community one is where we hope to raise even MORE money for the Humane Society of Hobart this year!
Here's how. Bumpsales.
- At the start of the contest (midnight on April 1, 2025), the community calendar "bumpsale" starts. Here's how it works.
- The first buyer pays $1 and can pick any day of the 2026 community calendar to place a message or promotion (personal or business—and there are terms for what's acceptable). For example, it can be a birthday message, a tribute to someone or to a lost pet, or a business promotion for a specific day or event. (Note that you have three minutes to check out or your cart is released to the next buyer.)
- The second buyer pays $2 and can pick any of the remaining available days from the 2026 community calendar to place a message or promotion.
- The third buyer pays $3, and so on.
- It continues this way until the last sale ($365).
- If we're able to sell all the spots in the 2026 HSH community calendar, we'll raise $66,795 from this portion of the contest alone! (And we still have the entries, votes, and sales!)
The goal +
Our goal is to sell all the spots in the 2026 HSH community calendar! If we do, we'll raise $66,795 from this portion of the contest alone! (And we'll still have the entries, votes, and sales to add to the total raised this year!)
What will it take to reach this?
We'll need to sell an average of twelve (12) spots per day of the contest. We can do that, right?! Come on! Think of all the cute and furry faces we could help.
What will it take to reach this?
We'll need to sell an average of twelve (12) spots per day of the contest. We can do that, right?! Come on! Think of all the cute and furry faces we could help.
How to play +
If you want a spot on the HSH community calendar, read this, be ready, and be ready to be fast!
Sales start April 1, 2025 at midnight.
1) Bumpsale (pay)
You've got three (3) minutes to check out, or your cart expires and someone else can take your spot!
2) Redirects to calendar (book your date)
Again, be fast, because someone else could be right behind you checking out, and unlike Bumpsale in the previous step, the calendar is not holding your spot!
3) Redirect or email follow-up with form for message/promo details (Submit message/promo)
You can slow down a little now. :) You'll either be redirected to a form and/or we'll send it to you via email. Just have this form sent to us in time for print (we'll let you know when we need it via email and/or text). The only important thing to know here is this: If you don't get it back to us (or back to us in time), we'll put the following message on your day: "Sponsored by [your name]" or "Special thanks to [your name] for sponsoring this day!" (something like that).
Sales start April 1, 2025 at midnight.
1) Bumpsale (pay)
You've got three (3) minutes to check out, or your cart expires and someone else can take your spot!
2) Redirects to calendar (book your date)
Again, be fast, because someone else could be right behind you checking out, and unlike Bumpsale in the previous step, the calendar is not holding your spot!
3) Redirect or email follow-up with form for message/promo details (Submit message/promo)
You can slow down a little now. :) You'll either be redirected to a form and/or we'll send it to you via email. Just have this form sent to us in time for print (we'll let you know when we need it via email and/or text). The only important thing to know here is this: If you don't get it back to us (or back to us in time), we'll put the following message on your day: "Sponsored by [your name]" or "Special thanks to [your name] for sponsoring this day!" (something like that).
Terms +
#1 This is for the HSH community calendar ONLY; messages and promotions will not be added to the HSH calendar or the art calendar.
#2 No refunds (all sales are final).
#3 Dates are booked on a first-come, first-serve basis in buyer order and are based on remaining availability at the time of booking.
#4 You have three minutes to check out, and then your cart may go to the next buyer. It is recommended to pay quickly and then proceed to the calendar to book your date quickly.
#5 There are rules for what we will publish (see below), and we reserve the right to approve, reject, or modify any submission at our discretion.
What you can submit:
*Note: If you use ALL 150 characters, there will be NO SPACE for an image. If you want an image AND text, we recommend staying somewhere around 60-70 characters.
Image requirements:
What’s not allowed:
#6 No cheating or manipulating of the sales or booking system
If you are caught cheating or in any way manipulating the sales or booking system for the community calendar, you will lose your spot within the community calendar without refund.
#7 By contributing to the community calendar, you agree to the above terms and to the following.
#2 No refunds (all sales are final).
#3 Dates are booked on a first-come, first-serve basis in buyer order and are based on remaining availability at the time of booking.
#4 You have three minutes to check out, and then your cart may go to the next buyer. It is recommended to pay quickly and then proceed to the calendar to book your date quickly.
#5 There are rules for what we will publish (see below), and we reserve the right to approve, reject, or modify any submission at our discretion.
What you can submit:
- Messages (max 150 characters*)
- Photos (pet-focused, but people can be included)
- Business promotions (logo, QR code, or simple text)
*Note: If you use ALL 150 characters, there will be NO SPACE for an image. If you want an image AND text, we recommend staying somewhere around 60-70 characters.
Image requirements:
- Recommend square PNG format (minimum 1000 x 1000 px for quality)
- Clear, well-lit images (not too dark or too bright)
- Bougie Pet Pawtography reserves the right to crop images for best display.
- If an image is not in the correct format, we may exclude it without notice. (Please follow the guidelines!)
What’s not allowed:
- Anything inappropriate, offensive, or unrelated to the spirit of the calendar
- Low-quality, blurry, or unreadable images
- Any content we deem unfit for a family-friendly, pet-focused calendar (at the discretion of Bougie Pet Pawtography)
#6 No cheating or manipulating of the sales or booking system
If you are caught cheating or in any way manipulating the sales or booking system for the community calendar, you will lose your spot within the community calendar without refund.
#7 By contributing to the community calendar, you agree to the above terms and to the following.
- You grant Bougie Pet Pawtography and the Humane Society of Hobart a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, distribute, reproduce, edit, and display the content you submit in connection with the HSH community calendar. This license includes, but is not limited to, the right to incorporate the content into the HSH community calendar and related promotional materials; publish the content; edit the content for clarity, length, or presentation while preserving its intended message;
- You retain ownership of all intellectual property rights to your content.
- You represent and warrant that you are the sole creator and owner of the content or that you have obtained all necessary rights and permissions to submit it and that it does not infringe on any third party's intellectual property rights, privacy, or other legal rights. You also represent and warrant that the content does not contain unlawful, offensive, or defamatory material.
- Submission of your content is voluntary, and no compensation will be provided for its use in the HSH community calendar.
FAQ +
What's the difference between the HSH calendar and the HSH community calendar?
Can I request a specific date?
If you buy early enough, maybe. Buyer #1 has the best shot (but even then only by checking out quickly and IMMEDIATELY hurrying to book his/her/their preferred date before Buyer #2 is finished checkout out!). The Bumpsale feature "holds" the buyer's cart for three minutes (whoever has it currently), but once that person checks out, they're redirected to the calendar for booking. The calendar feature DOES NOT hold anything (dates, spot in the queue, etc.).
Basically, the short of it, BE FAST if you want a specific date. The earlier you are, the better your chances at getting the date you want.
What if I want to buy multiple days?
Go for it! Each day must be purchased separately, so there's always the chance that you won't get back-to-back days, if you're aiming for that (say for businesses hoping for a promotion over a particular timeframe). Our only recommendation that we'll say on repeat a lot throughout this contest is to BE FAST. Get here early.
Can businesses participate?
Absolutely! This is a fun and affordable way to promote your business while supporting a great cause. We thought about doing separate sponsorships, but we thought this was more fun and treated everyone as one big community supporting the same effort. We hope a lot of businesses will take part and get in on the action! Spread the word. Oh, and one more thing, we CAN add QR codes to your dates (people and businesses), so that's important intel!
What's a bumpsale?
It means the price goes up with each sale. The first sale goes for $1, the next goes for $2, and so on.
Where does the money go?
100% of proceeds from everything (contest entries, votes, calendar sales, community calendar messages and promos) go to the Humane Society of Hobart! There are fees for the vendors and apps we use to process payments and deliver the goods, but all the net profits go to HSH.
What if I forget to submit my message in time?
As soon as you book your date, you'll either be redirected to a form for your message/promo and/or we'll send it to you via email. Just have this form sent to us in time for print (we'll let you know when we need it via email and/or text).
If you don't get it back to us (or back to us in time), we'll put the following message on your day: "Sponsored by [your name]" or "Special thanks to [your name] for sponsoring this day!" (something like that).
There will (hopefully!) be 365 separate messages to handle for the community calendar, so we will not be chasing anyone down for messages, promos, images, etc. If you do not submit it in time, your spot will have the generic message above. Please submit your message/promo on time.
What if I submit an image that doesn’t meet the requirements?
We encourage you to follow the guidelines! If an image isn’t the right size, too dark or too bright, we reserve the right to exclude it without notice. We won’t chase people for new images—so make sure yours is correct when submitting.
- The HSH calendar for 2026 will be similar (in content) to the first year's calendar. It will include the contest winners' photos, HSH facts, winner birthdays, and winner stories.
- The HSH community calendar is the calendar we're referencing here. It will still include the winner photos, but it will also include tributes, birthdays, business promos and sponsorships, community events, etc.—all the days sold through the bumpsale. So, for example, anyone can purchase a day in the community calendar to wish someone (a friend, family member, pet) a happy birthday. We'll be "bumpselling" all the days over the course of the contest, with the goal of raising even more money for HSH this year!
Can I request a specific date?
If you buy early enough, maybe. Buyer #1 has the best shot (but even then only by checking out quickly and IMMEDIATELY hurrying to book his/her/their preferred date before Buyer #2 is finished checkout out!). The Bumpsale feature "holds" the buyer's cart for three minutes (whoever has it currently), but once that person checks out, they're redirected to the calendar for booking. The calendar feature DOES NOT hold anything (dates, spot in the queue, etc.).
Basically, the short of it, BE FAST if you want a specific date. The earlier you are, the better your chances at getting the date you want.
What if I want to buy multiple days?
Go for it! Each day must be purchased separately, so there's always the chance that you won't get back-to-back days, if you're aiming for that (say for businesses hoping for a promotion over a particular timeframe). Our only recommendation that we'll say on repeat a lot throughout this contest is to BE FAST. Get here early.
Can businesses participate?
Absolutely! This is a fun and affordable way to promote your business while supporting a great cause. We thought about doing separate sponsorships, but we thought this was more fun and treated everyone as one big community supporting the same effort. We hope a lot of businesses will take part and get in on the action! Spread the word. Oh, and one more thing, we CAN add QR codes to your dates (people and businesses), so that's important intel!
What's a bumpsale?
It means the price goes up with each sale. The first sale goes for $1, the next goes for $2, and so on.
Where does the money go?
100% of proceeds from everything (contest entries, votes, calendar sales, community calendar messages and promos) go to the Humane Society of Hobart! There are fees for the vendors and apps we use to process payments and deliver the goods, but all the net profits go to HSH.
What if I forget to submit my message in time?
As soon as you book your date, you'll either be redirected to a form for your message/promo and/or we'll send it to you via email. Just have this form sent to us in time for print (we'll let you know when we need it via email and/or text).
If you don't get it back to us (or back to us in time), we'll put the following message on your day: "Sponsored by [your name]" or "Special thanks to [your name] for sponsoring this day!" (something like that).
There will (hopefully!) be 365 separate messages to handle for the community calendar, so we will not be chasing anyone down for messages, promos, images, etc. If you do not submit it in time, your spot will have the generic message above. Please submit your message/promo on time.
What if I submit an image that doesn’t meet the requirements?
We encourage you to follow the guidelines! If an image isn’t the right size, too dark or too bright, we reserve the right to exclude it without notice. We won’t chase people for new images—so make sure yours is correct when submitting.
Help +
Having trouble? This page will walk you through the booking process from start to finish.
Availability
This won't be the prettiest, but you'll get the idea.
Click through the calendar below to 2026 (note: you'll want to refresh this page RIGHT BEFORE you're ready to check availability for the closest estimate of what's available).
If you see something on the day (ex., Bougie Pet Pawtography and South+Jefferson), that means that day is already booked.
This is only an estimate, as people may be booking as you're reading this, so it's no guarantee of availability.
Click through the calendar below to 2026 (note: you'll want to refresh this page RIGHT BEFORE you're ready to check availability for the closest estimate of what's available).
If you see something on the day (ex., Bougie Pet Pawtography and South+Jefferson), that means that day is already booked.
This is only an estimate, as people may be booking as you're reading this, so it's no guarantee of availability.
Ready to book?
IMPORTANT NOTE: When picking your date at booking, PLEASE SELECT 12 AM as the start time. Bookings are tied to a Google calendar that reserves 24-hour slots. Selecting 12 AM ensures that your booking doesn't interfere with the next available date.
Big, obnoxious notice (sorry, but we want to be very, very clear): messages & promos will be included in the HSH community calendar ONLY, not the HSH calendar or the Art calendar.
See the different calendars here.
