The winner of this year's Miss Arab USA Pageant will receive a $10,000 conditional cash prize! How does that work?

Once the 20 final contestants are announced, there will be a six-week period before the pageant for each contestant to prepare herself. We ask that the 20 finalists also use this time to contact businesses and friends in their communities to ask for monetary sponsors for themselves. You are not required to do this. However, the point of this activity is to assess your involvement in the community and help support the charity cause of the Arab American Organization “AAO” (AAO is the organizer of the Miss Arab Pageant).

Your participation in this fundraising program will only minimally affect your final score in the pageant, and the points will depend ONLY on the effort you make, NOT the amount of money you raise. For example, Contestant A talks to many businesses and people in her community, but none are interested in donating money. Contestants B and C do the same thing: Contestant B raises $20, and Contestant C raises $7,000. Contestants A, B, and C will all earn the same amount of points to be added to their final score.

The money raised will go towards making the pageant a success, but at the end, the winner of the pageant will receive a $10,000 cash prize with a condition of raising a minimum of $1000 or ALL the money she personally raised as a cash prize. Therefore the amount of money you can receive as a cash prize for winning depends on you.

Example 1: Contestant “D” receives a donation of $10 from her uncle, $300 from her local supermarket, and $1,000 from an Arab American law firm. If she wins, she will receive $10,000 because she successfully raised $1,310 ($310 over the minimum required to receive the $10,000 cash prize).

Example 2: Contestant “G” receives a donation of $3,000 from her uncle, $5,300 from her local supermarket, and $8,000 from an Arab American law firm. If she wins, she will receive $16,300 because as mentioned above, you will receive all the funds you raised if you win.

Example 3: Contestant “M” receives a donation of $150 from her uncle, $200 from her local supermarket, and $500 from an Arab American law firm. If she wins, she will receive $850 because she did not successfully raise the $1,000 minimum funds required to receive the $10,000 cash prize.

It is absolutely possible to win the pageant without raising any money and without participating in this at all, but you will receive no cash prize when you win.

Tips for getting sponsors:

• Start with the people you know: friends, family, and local businesses you are familiar with.
• Emphasize that the Arab American Organization is a charity non-profit 501-c3 organization, and all donations are tax-deductible.
• Personalize your request: tell your friends and family that, if you win, all the money they donate will go directly back to you.
• Emphasize the role of the Miss Arab USA Pageant in promoting community involvement and supporting young women.
• Emphasize the importance of community support and your previous efforts to help the community.

Businesses and individuals wanting to donate will write checks to the Miss Arab USA and write in the comments line "in sponsorship of (contestant's name)."

Again, the purpose of this is to encourage contestants to connect with their local communities and fundraise for the AAO. It is not mandatory. You will NOT lose your chance at winning if you choose not to participate. The points received from this activity depend only on the EFFORT, not on the amount of money raised.