Did you know that First Nations Schools across Canada receive 30-50% less funding per student than other schools? Jenn Harper, founder of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics INC started her business with the intention of donating 10% of all sales to First Nations Family & Caring Society of Canada to help support and empower Canada’s Indigenous youth.

Last year Cheekbone was able to donate $790 to this organization and these funds were matched by a local school board in Niagara Falls. Not many people outside the Indigenous community are aware of the state of the First Nations schools and just how little funding they receive.

The idea for Cheekbone came to Jenn in a dream. In January of 2015, she dreamt of a little Native girl wearing lip gloss and her dreams of a cosmetics company and a charitable foundation built from there. She hopes to start a foundation in her grandmother’s name and give scholarships to Indigenous children, but at the moment she has her hands full with Cheekbone.

The name Cheekbone comes from three ideas, according to Jenn. The first is that a predominant feature of Indigenous women is usually their cheekbones. The second is that she had always been attracted to people’s cheekbones. The third is that high cheekbones typically convey a trustworthy character in a person.

Jenn states that some of her biggest challenge where finding the money to start and finding the time to do the work. She still has a full-time job that she keeps to help support her family and the work for Cheekbone is an extra full-time job. During the year she business planning, Jenn was able to take part in an Indigenous women’s entrepreneurship program where the women were paired with mentors and had regular meetings. During a conference at the end of the program, the women participating were given $500 checks for their business. This check was the only funding Jenn received for building her business.

Jenn also believes that your greatest obstacle is often yourself, which is why she takes time to reflect on herself and work on her spiritual and emotional connection with herself. Starting a business can be hard but Jenn firmly believes that you can do anything if you find a way.

Everything she does goes back into the business, to empower young Indigenous youth and provide a reason for them to love education. Cheekbone has never been about profit and it never will be, it has always been 100% for others. Due to this, Jenn would absolutely consider herself a social entrepreneur.

Cheekbone’s products are Canadian made, animal cruelty-free, vegan, paraben free, and safe for sensitive skin. To match today’s makeup trends, the products feature a range of long-lasting liquid lipsticks, lip glosses, a contour kit, a highlighter kit and a brow filler. You can find these products as well as additional information at cheekbonebeauty.ca.