About the Miss New York Scholarship Competition

For over 90 years, New York has had a state representative at the annual The Miss America Organization (MAO), a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that hosts the annual Miss America Competition and telecast. Miss America candidates working towards college or postgraduate degrees can earn scholarship awards to help further their education through the Miss America Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) entity. In March 2019, the Miss America Organization awarded our Board the opportunity to run the New York franchise of the Miss America Organization, and soon after those board members formed the Miss New York Scholarship Competition, Inc., to carry out the mission and values of the Miss America Organization, as well as the mission and values of the newly-formed Miss New York Scholarship Competition, Inc.

 The Miss New York Scholarship Competition, Inc. is organized exclusively for a charitable purpose. We consist of a board of directors whom are all unpaid volunteers and whose mission is to provide career-readiness and leadership education for young women from the state of New York through educational programming, mentorship camps, and other annual events. Unpaid volunteers spend on average 10-15 hours per week operating the Miss New York Scholarship Competition.

The Organization’s main activity is holding an annual competition to select a state titleholder who will work for one year to advance the mission of the Miss New York Organization, while also promoting her own personal charitable platform. The selection criteria include academic records, community service, public speaking ability, performing arts skill during a live talent performance, and live interviews. The teens and young women who participate in the competition will be outstanding in the criteria areas. The teen who is selected to represent the state of New York advances to compete in the national program, The Miss America’s Teen Program. (This national program is conducted by the Miss America’s Teen Program, Inc. a 501(c)(3) exempt entity.) The woman who is selected to represent the Miss division of the state of New York advances to compete in the Miss America Scholarship Program.

Approximately 60 percent of the organization’s time and efforts are spent on community service initiatives, such as raising awareness for other public interest initiatives and/or charitable organizations that share the mission of the Miss America and Miss New York Organizations. Approximately 30 percent of the organization’s time is spent organizing the program and state competition events. An additional 5 percent of the organization’s time will be expended in preparing the representative to participate in the Miss America Scholarship Competition. Additionally, another 5 percent of the organization’s time and efforts are spent conducting administrative tasks and board meetings.

The young women who participate in the program have various social impact initiatives or community service projects that they work on year round. They are often leaders in their respective communities within the state of New York, and at their high schools, colleges, or universities. The participants raise funds for 501(c)(3) organizations such as the Make a Wish Foundation, the American Cancer Society, local Humane Societies, and many more. In addition, participants and the state representatives (Miss New York and Miss New York Teen) volunteer by speaking in public school classrooms about, e. g., the importance of staying in school, drug awareness programs. They also visit nursing homes and veteran’s homes. All members of the board, as well as volunteers, assist with this effort.

On average, the women who participate at the state level (Miss New York Competition) devote upwards of 75 hours a year to community service. Through the Miss New York Scholarship Competition’s Community Outreach program, additional volunteer opportunities are communicated to all participants in case they wish to volunteer for specific state-wide projects. This volunteerism is ongoing and began at the inception of the Miss America program in 1921.

The organization intends to use its 501(c)(4) status to promote the organization’s mission of empowering young women in pursuit of their educational goals and preparing them for their careers.