Beauty Queen Makes Memories for Sick Kids

Written by Stephanie Taylor Christensen Friday, November 04 2011

Snapshot: Jenna Edwards, founder, For a Day
Beauty pageants are often the subject of criticism for their portrayal of women and the example that such events set for young girls. But former beauty queen Jenna Edwards is one member of the pageant community that has turned that stereotype on its ear. Leveraging her experiences in pageants as inspiration to provide pediatric cancer patients the opportunity to feel special, celebrated, and revered, Edwards founded The For a Day Foundation, a national nonprofit organization launched more than 10 years ago that has grown to include 20 local chapters. Womenetics caught up with Edwards to understand how her foundation was born, the lessons she’s learned, and her plans for its future.

Womenetics: How did you go about the initial process of holding that very first “For a Day” event?
Jenna Edwards: I was 18 and Miss Teen All American. Growing up in Mississippi, I saw beauty queens in the community and wanted to do the same. While interning at the local TV station, I met a 7-year-old brain tumor patient and thought she might like one of my tiaras from my childhood pageant competitions. As soon as she put the tiara on she began to glow (so did I.) After that, I hosted a tea party at the local children's hospital and brought the rest of my tiaras, make-up, nail polish, and a queen's robe.

About six months later I received a life-changing message about one of our first queens, Jalisa. Jalisa rolled into the room riding her IV pole like a chariot, her face already beaming in excitement. She chose bright cherry red lipstick and kissed us all on the cheek, leaving little lip marks. Then she paraded up and down the hall in her queen's robe, leaving her IV pole for the nurse to escort. Her bald brown head donned one of my tiaras. I found out a few months later that she passed away at 8 years old. She was particular about what she hung on her wall, but made sure to hang her picture from her “Queen for a Day” experience. I wondered if that was the last thing she saw before she passed away. That thought motivated me to do more because I was giving more than just a make-over and tiara. I was giving a memory that lasted forever.

Womenetics: At what point did you realize that the foundation could grow into a multichapter effort?
Edwards: In preparation for the first event, I reached out to the pageant community asking other girls to donate their tiaras. The response was overwhelming, and others wanted to know the process for doing it in their area. My mother had the foresight to immediately structure the program with incorporation and agreements for these other areas. Within four months we had three other chapters. It took another year and a national award for someone else to point out the viability for multi-location growth.

Being in People magazine and on Oprah jump-started the growth in a matter of weeks. For several years, I only operated enough to meet the organizational needs, but I now plan and budget for growth.

Womenetics: How did you secure funding and operational support to grow “For a Day?”
Edwards: I am self-taught in most operational policies, fundraising strategies, and basic marketing/PR. The more exposure I received as Miss Florida, Miss Florida USA, and as a model in NYC, the more it allowed me to meet people who have generously donated resources, guidance, and introductions.

Our funding sources have grown beyond primarily local fundraisers to national grants and major individual donors in the past three years, though I'd still like to improve our corporate relationships, social media campaigns, and mobile donations.

Womenetics: How do you keep the momentum of the nonprofit going in these challenging economic times when many donors have been forced to scale down giving?
Edwards: We have a very strong track record of success over 10 years and can make powerfully persuasive proposals to maintain income. We are also fortunate that we can scale our supplies based on budget. There are many things we can do with a full budget -- but we also have a fully functioning bare-bones budget in a worst-case scenario.

We market that a small amount makes a big difference. Between 2009 and 2010, when charitable giving grew 3.8 percent in a struggling economy, our individual donations and grants grew 61 percent and 37 percent, respectively. Our fundraising events brought in significantly less, so our overall income was down for 2010. But it showed us to focus on low-cost campaigns and to be more creative with our “ask.”

Womenetics: Did you have support in the form of a mentor or consultant in growing the foundation? What are some of the most important “business” aspects of running a nonprofit that you learned?
Edwards: I have a mentor in a 74-year-old man, Frank Sweeney, who ran the Miss Teen All American pageant. Frank is a keen businessman and taught me about people and business in general. I also observed other mission-oriented organizations and tried to learn from their mistakes. From that, I learned that volunteer motivations vary, and a savvy volunteer manager will discover those motivations. Most volunteers just want to feel appreciated for their effort and no act of gratitude is too small.

I am gradually finding that my volunteers are attracted to the organization for more than just the activity. I am now training my volunteers to be mini-entrepreneurs with their chapters, sharing other chapters’ activity and successes, and encouraging their individual strengths.

Womenetics: What advice would you give a person considering establishing her own nonprofit?
Edwards: I advise that person to research the need she is trying to meet. Is there already one doing what you're doing? If so, why would your approach be different, and can you collaborate instead of compete? There is a lot of administration in nonprofit, even those with the simplest of missions. Only invest in all the setup if you can commit to a five plus-year plan of action and funding.

Edwards: My vision is to become a household name like Make-A-Wish or St. Jude. I want enough stability to increase our audience to include pediatric HIV/AIDs patients.

Womenetics: What are your most pressing needs for the foundation today?
Edwards: Support related to fulfilling financial goals is a great need. We are searching for strategic corporate partners, cause-related products and marketing, and female board members. We are expanding our national board of directors in 2012 and prioritizing responsibilities by fundraising commitment and strategic experience.

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Stephanie Taylor Christensen has more than a decade of experience in marketing communications and writes regularly on personal finance, consumer interest, lifestyle, and business news for clients like Mint, Investopedia, Minyanville, and SheKnows. She is the founder of the "Wellness On Less" blog, and she appears monthly on FOX 28 GoodDay Columbus! in Columbus, Ohio.