2020 12 People: Joe Daues

Q&A Date: Nov. 17

Position: CEO, Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks 
Age: 57
Education: Bachelor’s in business communications, Rockhurst University
Career: National sales manager, Sleepsana; advertising account executive, KY3 Inc.; news anchor, KSPR and KOLR; vacation planning and sales, Bluegreen Vacations; production director, Opfer Communications Inc.; communications director, Missouri Treasurer’s Office; and news reporter, KTTS
Why you need to know Joe Daues: The new nonprofit leader steers Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks into its third decade and an endowment building to $20 million.

Last edited 3:29 p.m., Jan. 15, 2020

With a career largely in media and sales, Joe Daues wasn’t looking for a leadership role in the nonprofit industry.

But a conversation over coffee in April 2019 about Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks with its executive director, Crystal Webster, set Daues on the path a few months later to become the first CEO in the organization’s 20-year history. He’s also the first male to fill the top executive spot, which underwent a name change to more accurately reflect the job duties.

Daues was selected among 160 applicants to succeed Webster, who chose to step away from BCFO after 11 years.

“I had no doubt that I could really add a good perspective and bring something new to the table for BCFO,” Daues says.

It’s the first foray into nonprofits for Daues, a former longtime journalist. He most recently was national sales manager for Sleepsana, which sells a liquid, all-natural sleep aid.

“I’m a big believer that there’s a long, crooked road that takes you right where you need to go,” he says.

At BCFO, Daues leads a staff of six and is in charge of a projected $1.4 million budget in 2020 to fund breast cancer care services in southwest Missouri and portions of Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma. His first full year at the helm will be the nonprofit’s 20th in operation. It was founded in 1999 by Mary Beth O’Reilly, who remains active as chairwoman of the board of directors.

The new decade also has significance for BCFO’s Legacy of Hope Society endowment, as Daues expects the total to hit $20 million in 2020. The endowment provides financial help to local women and families impacted by breast cancer.

Even with the endowment, Daues says the need exceeds the available help. Some of that includes financial assistance with rent or car payments, as well as free mammograms, with about 350 families receiving annual support.

One of BCFO’s 2020 goals is to retain the state license offices it manages – work officials say contributes 30%-40% of the nonprofit’s annual revenue. In its IRS 990 form for fiscal 2017, BCFO reported revenue of $3.75 million.

“We rely on the money from those contracts to pay our administrative costs,” he says.

While breast cancer affects females far more than males – 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with the disease compared with 1 in 1,000 for men, according to the American Cancer Society – Daues says the impact crosses gender.

“If you really think about it, this affects the whole family,” he says.