Pageants aren't the only ones who need to fundraise–contestants also need to raise money for Children's Miracle Network, as well as their own personal platform organizations.

Each year, the Miss America Organization makes more than $45 million scholarship dollars available to young women on the local, state, and national level. Fundraising is a large function of local and state pageants, as well as on the national level. But it isn't just pageants that are raising money and opening doors. Contestants at each level raise money for the Children's Miracle Network, as well as charitable groups connected to their personal platforms. Fundraising is no an easy task n this unstable economic climate, but contestants still manage to raise money. There are a variety of ways to do this, from holding special events to other promotions.

Miss Prairie Rose 2012 Cat Taylor found a fun way to raise money for her personal platform, "Be Aware It's In the Air: Weather Safety," and her community service project, "Tiaras For Tornado Safety." At large events, like the National Weather Festival, Cat sells small tiaras, mostly to young girls. She gets to education the children on emergency weather preparedness, and the girls walk away with a glamorous trinket. Cat is able to purchase the tiaras for a small price, and all of her profits enable her to provide portable weather radios to local school administrators.

"It is always fun to see the girls' happy faces when they walk past my booth as a newly crowned princess," explains Cat.

Here are some other basic fundraising ideas:

• Hold a rummage sale or carwash in your neighborhood
• Ask family, friends, and co-workers for their donations–every $5 counts!
• Coordinate an event, like a benefit concert or bowling party
• Work closely with your chosen organization, like CMN or the American Cancer Association, and see if they have any scheduled fundraisers coming up
• Volunteer to waitress at a local restaurant in exchange for donated tips or a percentage of that evening's sales. Recruit your fellow contestants to help

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Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler made a stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this week, where fourpoints writers and photographers escorted her around the city for the April/May cover story and photo shoot. Laura visited the Grand Rapids Montessori to speak at an assembly for fourth, fifth and sixth grade students, then she spent time with children in the school's afterschool program.

Students in the afterschool LOOP program showed Laura their LEGO projects that they made as part of the STEM–Science, Technology, Engineering and Math–curriculum. The Miss America Organization is focusing on enhancing awareness of educational programs like STEM, especially for girls, this year.

“Miss America, as we know, is a scholarship organization, but it’s also an organization of female empowerment, and an organization that is encouraging young people to become involved in fields related to STEM,” Laura said.

Laura was in Michigan on Tuesday and Wednesday. She flew to New York Wednesday evening.

Don’t miss the next issue of fourpoints magazine with Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler on the cover! Fourpoints is offering a special discount for this issue. Order 5 or more copies, and pay only $3 per issue* Order your extra copies today! Click here and use promo code: LAURA Not a current subscriber? Subscribe today!

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Reality TV star and Miss America 2012 judge Kris Jenner dishes on the swimsuit competition, role models, and more!

fourpoints: How do you feel about the swimsuit competition? Some previous judges have said it is unnecessary part of the pageant.
Kris Jenner: I liked the swimsuit competition. If the contestants had not looked healthy, I might have a problem with it. But you can tell by their hair, their skin–they are healthy!

fpts: Did any of your daughters ever compete in pageants?
KJ: Pageants were not a part of their lives, no. We always watch Miss America as a family. But if one of my girls had come to me and said, I want to do this, I would have said, you bet.

fpts: What were you looking for in a Miss America?
KJ: Definitely a role model. This Miss America pageant is a different game than it was fifty years ago. Today, with all the things that a contestant has to deal with–Facebook, Twitter, all of social media–she has the ability to reach even more people.

fpts: Did anything surprise you about the pageant?
KJ: What did surprise and impress me is the work ethic that all the contestants have. They look at this as a job, not just a beauty pageant, which is something I try to instill in my girls.

To read more of Kris Jenner's responses and other answers from the experts in the field, subscribe to fourpoints magazine!

Pageant training sessions go by many names: pageant boot camp, pageant prep, and pageant school, among others. Recently, a local pageant in Iowa held their own session called “Pageant School: Road to the Crown.” Ashley Brown, director of the Miss Pearl Pageant, and Kindra Plett, director of the Miss Muscatine Pageant, teamed up to create this event. From their experience, you can learn hot to organize your own pageant training session to benefit contestants in your area.

Learn how to organize your own pageant training session to benefit contestants in your area.

Recruiting keynote speakers is first on the to-do list. The Iowa pageant school formed a panel of speakers. Your speakers should have experience of their own in different aspects of pageant life. You may even want to include contestants or former contestants on your panel. Hold a Q&A session as well as a direct audience address.

“It was a great session, and it gave the audience a chance to interact with the panelists," says Ashley of the Iowa panel and Q&A session.

Putting on a pageant school is a lot of work. Ask other pageants in surrounding counties to join you in your efforts. In Iowa, two local boards coordinated the pageant school, but Ashley and Kindra were fortunate to receive support from the entire state in setting up the pageant school.

“We reached out to all the locals and the Miss Iowa state board for their help with marketing and really spreading the word across the state,” says Ashley. “The reception and support from everyone was wonderful.”

Choose a venue that will fit your budget and the size of your guest list. The venue for the pageant school was Geneva Golf and Country Club, who worked closely with Ashley and Kindra to keep overhead costs very low.

Pageant schools are an excellent resource for contestants and volunteers, and a wonderful way to introduce the community to the Miss America Organization. In its first year, Ashley and Kindra were thrilled to see the event take shape. In the future, they have hopes that it may become both educational and lucrative.

With a little advance planning and the help of your pageant family, you can have your very own pageant school event–a benefit to everyone involved.

Subscribe to read more about Iowa's Pageant School: Road to the Crown.

There's nothing like a very sweet, very public display of Valentine's Day affection, and for Kristin Black, the holiday came a little early. The Home Shopping Network was the scene for Kristin's proposal to her long-time boyfriend, Mike, who works for HSN. See the proposal here! 

Kristin is the Miss America Organization Outstanding Teen Director of Operations.

The newly crowned Laura Kaeppeler performed her first duty as Miss America by appearing on Good Morning America Tuesday. The former Miss Wisconsin flew directly from the pageant in Las Vegas, three suit cases in tow, to appear on the show.

"I couldn't be more thrilled," she says.

Laura also appeared on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning, and discussed her plans for the $50,000 scholarship awarded by Amway.

"I'm actually looking forward to going to law school after this year to really carry out the work of my platform of mentoring and advocating for children who have parents in prison...I hope to use it...to be a legal voice for children who don't have one," Laura says.

Laura rang the opening bell of NASDAQ this morning.

Photo: MAO