I. General Questions
How many people are racing?
There are 524,644 people in the Race.

When did the fifth Race start? When does it end?
The fifth Race for the Rain Forest started on October 19, 2001. The Race will end when racers save 1,500 acres of rain forest. To view results from the fourth Race, click here.

Why is it a race?
Rather than just click to donate and save rain forest, you can track your impact and compete with others to save the most land. By inviting a little friendly competition, you can encourage friends to participate in a great cause.

May I add a link to The Race from my website / newsletter?
Yes! We'd love to have your help! This is a race everyone wins. Click here for Race buttons and banners.

Do I need to re-register for other Care2 Races?
No! You can use the same member name and password for all of Care2's Races.

What is the Race's privacy and spam policy?
When you use our online invitation form to invite a friend to enter the Race, only one email will be sent to that person. Your friend's email address will not be added to any list of any kind. If your friend decides to enter the Race, too, and clicks on the Race address in the invitation, s/he will be given the opportunity to register for the Race. If s/he opts to sign up, s/he will receive an update on the race every week, via email. This update can be disabled using the "My Settings" link found under "Race Stats" on the left hand column menu on every Race page. If your friend does not sign up, s/he will receive no additional emails from Care2.com.

What are the prizes for the winners?
Fame and Fortune! (Well, at least some fame!) We'll announce the names of the top 100 racers on Care2.com, visited by a million people each month. (Hey, this is an altruistic race for a good cause! It's a race we all win.)

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II. How Am I Helping?

Will I actually save rain forest?
Yes! You generate revenue to save the rain forest when you click the "Save the Rain Forest" button. This money goes directly to The Nature Conservancy's Adopt-An-Acre Program. You can click the "Save the Rain Forest" button once per day. And, remember to invite all your friends to come to the site daily to click the "Save the Rain Forest" button so that your team of friends maximizes your cumulative impact.

Do I really make a difference?
Certainly! Let's say you start the Race for the Rain Forest on day one and tell 3 people each day for the first 5 days, and all of the people you invite to the Race also invite 3 new people every day until the end of the race. The cumulative result of your actions will help protect 534 acres of rain forest -- that's approximately 534 football fields in size. So, yes! Your actions do make a difference. To truly appreciate the impact you can have, visit the leader board and click on the leader's name to see how many people s/he has involved in the Race.

How do I know how much land has been saved?
After you click the "Save the Rain Forest" button, you will see a running total of the number of rain forest, prairie, and wetland square feet saved. Click the links found on the left hand column for more information. You must be logged in to track how much land you personally have saved over time.

Where does the money come from to protect rain forest land?
Our sponsors pay for it. So, please thank our sponsors for their donations by clicking on the Sponsor banners at the bottom of the Race pages and consider buying items from our sponsors. More visits by you to our sponsors' web pages results in happy sponsors who are more likely to continue supporting the Race(s), which means more acres protected through the Race.

Where exactly is the land I am protecting?
Each year, The Nature Conservancy's Adopt-An-Acre program focuses on 2 - 3 imperiled rain forest sites that critically need protection. Currently, the program is working with it's long-time Bolivian partner, PROMETA, to create a Tariquia-Baritu ecological corridor. To learn more, click here. TNC protects prairie and wetlands in the Cosumnes River Preserve in California and other locations around the United States. In only 10 years time, old rice and bean fields along the Cosumnes River have been transformed into oak savannas and wetlands. More than 1,500 acres of new wetlands invite thousands of wintering waterfowl by recent count, more than 79,000 birds of 150 different species. In addition, an organic rice farm has finished its third year of operations on the Preserve and has returned a better profit than traditional rice farms in the area. This confirms the economic viability of organic farming and sustainable agricultural practices, including the flooding of rice fields after harvest which provides valuable forage for waterfowl.

How successful have past Adopt-An-Acre programs been?
Very! The Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, one of the Adopt-An-Acre's first projects,contains Central America's largest cloud forest. The Sierra's mountainous terrain and 63 rivers harbor over 885 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles, and 70% of the species reported in the whole country. In 1996, the 60,000-acre Bocas del Polochic wetland region, one of Guatemala's few remaining wetlands, was added to the reserve. Through the Adopt-An-Acre program, The Nature Conservancy helped Defensores de la Naturaleza, a local conservation organization establish a permanent conservation presence in the reserve's core area by purchasing over 40,000 acres of threatened wild lands. Defensores gained management authority for the reserve in 1992, giving them responsibility for training park guards, constructing on-site facilities, monitoring ecosystem changes, and working with local communities to conserve the natural resources found in Sierra de las Minas.

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III. Logging in / Getting Credit

How can I change the settings for my email updates (reminders)?

1. Login to the Rain Forest Race.
2. Click on the "My Settings" link found on the left-hand side of the page under "My Race Stats".
3. Change your reminder settings.
4. Scroll down the page and click on the "Submit" button to save your settings.

I am a member of Care2.com. Do I have to sign-up for the race?
No. Care2 members are already pre-registered for all Races. Simply use your normal Care2 login name and password to sign-in to the Race.

How can I change the email address for my Race account?

1. Login to the Rain Forest Race.
2. Click on the "My Settings" link found on the left-hand side of the page under "Race Stats."
3. Enter your current email address in the field provided. (Note: this will be the address that receives all reminders and updates for your race account).
4. Be sure to scroll down the page and click on the "Submit" button to save your settings.

Why can't I log in?
The most likely reason is that your web browser is not accepting cookies. If you enable your cookies and log-in again, it should work. For more help, click here.

If I do not log-in, am I still helping save rain forest?
Yes! A donation will be made each time you click the button, up to once per day. However, neither you nor the friends you invite will "get credit" toward the Race if you or they are not logged-in. This means that your clicks will not count towards your friend's Race stats.

I am not getting credit for some of my friends who are visiting. Why?
Your friend must visit the Race through a link containing your unique tracking code. Once they reach the Race and click on the "Save the Rain Forest" button, your friend must also sign up for a race account. For you to continue getting credit for Friends' visits, your friends must login to the Race when visiting. Otherwise, we have no way of knowing who your friend is and who should get credit for her/his visits. You will not receive credit for friends who have already visited the site before going through your invitation.

Do I receive credit for friends I email without going through the Race's online invitation form?
Yes, if you include your unique tracking code in the emails you send without going through our online invitation form. If you use our online invitation form, we will automatically include a unique tracking code for you.

What happens if I use the online invitation form with the wrong email address for a friend?
It will bounce back to you. Then you make the corrections and forward it. Our system will have already registered the unique invitation code for you.

I made a Care2 t-shirt or other branded product purchase to help save more acres. Why did my personal race stats not increase?
With your purchase, we or a partner merchant donates a percentage of the revenues to help rain forest. Your purchase counts only toward the total race stats, not your personal stats.

I've visited more frequently than some race leaders. Why am I not in the top 100?
You get credit not just for your visits, but also for your friends' visits, and your friends' friends, etc. So, some of the leaders have had friends who have visited many times. To truly appreciate the impact Race leaders have, visit the leader board and click on a leader's name to see how many people s/he has involved in the Race.

Can I sign-up for multiple accounts to improve my race standings?
No! To be fair to our advertising sponsors, we ask that you sign-up for only one account. We reserve the right to terminate any account that appears to be abusing the integrity of the Race. We appreciate efforts to save more rain forest, but please consider the privacy and rights of all parties involved before doing anything too "creative".

Why can I only receive statistics for "six levels" of people?
That number was chosen because it enables people to understand the wider impact they have in the world. You influence your friends, who influence their friends, etc. Check out the leader board to see how influential some Racers have been thus far.

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IV. Sponsorship Information
Where does the money come from to protect rain forest land?
Our sponsors pay for it. So, please thank our sponsors for their donations by clicking on the Sponsor banners, and consider buying items from them. More visits by you to our sponsors' web pages results in happy sponsors who are more likely to continue supporting the Race(s), which means more ocean protected through the Race.

Does all the money raised go directly to adopting acres, or, will Care2 and its sponsors make some profit, too?
100% of the donations generated go to The Nature Conservancy's Adopt-An-Acre Programs. Contributions are funded by sponsors who have agreed to pay to be featured on the Race for the Oceans. 100% of the net revenues are donated The Nature Conservancy. If during a period there are no paying sponsors, Care2 has guaranteed to make a donation of at least $1 for every 1000 clicks on the Rain Forest race. No matter what, every time you click, (up to once per day) you will be generating a donation to support ocean conservation efforts.

How much does it cost to be a sponsor?
Cost of sponsorship is $5 per 1,000 unique visitors per day. The minimum donation is $1000. Click here to be a sponsor. To donate less than $1000, click here to donate to The Nature Conservancy directly.

I have other questions!
Please contact us using our Help Form.

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V. Link To Us

To choose a Race for the Rain Forest banner and learn how to link to our site, click here! Otherwise, if you already understand how to link to us: Simply download one of these buttons, save it on your computer, load it on your server, and link to the race.    

VI. Metric Conversions

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How big is an acre?
43,560 square feet, .4 hectares, or 4,000 meters. About the size of a football field. There are 640 acres in a square mile, which is roughly 256 hectares.

You can use the table below to convert sq. feet saved into sq. metres.

Square Feet:	Square Metres:
6.4	0.6
12.9	1.2
19.3	1.8
25	2.3
50	4.6
100	9.3
200	18.6
400	37.2
800	74.3
1600	148.6
3200	297.3
6400	594.6
12,800	1,189.1
25,600	2,378.3
51,200	4,756.6

Thank you for participating!!

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