Make a Wish

Market

With unmatched depth and quality of services, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® stands alone as the world’s premier wish-granting organization. It is the largest such charity in the world, with 75 chapters in the United States and its territories and 27 international affiliates on five continents. Every U.S. community is served by a local Make-A-Wish® chapter.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, based in Phoenix, Arizona, provides operational, financial, training, marketing, and developmental guidance and support to its U.S. chapters. Its sister organization, Make-A-Wish Foundation International, serves its worldwide affiliates outside the United States in a similar fashion.

Any child between the ages of 21/2 and 18 with a life-threatening medical condition may be eligible for a wish. Each year, approximately 25,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition that potentially qualifies them for a wish. At the end of its last fiscal year, the Foundation granted 11,538 wishes, bringing the national organization’s wish-granting market reach to more than 46 percent; 6,140 additional wishes were pending.

Achievements

The Make-A-Wish experience has blossomed into a global phenomenon that has reached more than 127,000 children worldwide since the organization’s humble beginnings. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America has since become one of the nation’s first recipients of the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Wise Giving Alliance Seal, signifying the Foundation’s adherence to the Alliance’s strict, comprehensive standards for charitable accountability. With unprecedented growth in wishes and revenue over the past five years, the Foundation is also among the top 100 in the nonprofit industry’s leading charitable listings (Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “Philanthropy 400,” NonProfit Times 100).

History

The Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded in 1980 after a little boy with leukemia, Chris Greicius, realized his heartfelt wish to become a police officer. Chris rode in a police helicopter, had his own uniform custom-made, and is still the only honorary state trooper in Arizona history. Chris’ dream meant more than anything to him, but even he couldn’t have known that his wish would serve as the inspiration for a special group of volunteers, who formed an organization to provide such magical experiences for other kids in need.

The Foundation hasn’t stopped providing magical moments since. Since 1980, delivery of the Foundation’s mission — to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions, and thus to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy — has been supported by a growing legion of fully trained volunteers that now exceeds 25,000 nationwide, giving the Foundation an approximate 38:1 volunteer-to-staff ratio that is vital in its day-to-day service delivery. In that time, services have also reflected the life-changing impact that a Make-A-Wish experience has on children, families, referral sources, donors, sponsors, and entire communities. The Foundation’s ultimate vision is that, some day, people everywhere will share the power of a wish®.

Product

After a child is referred to the organization, the Foundation contacts the child’s treating physician to determine if the child is medically eligible for a wish. Beyond meeting medical and age criteria (over 21/2 and under the age of 18 at the time of referral), the only other qualifier for Make-A-Wish service is that the child cannot have received a wish from another wish-granting organization.

Upon final confirmation of eligibility, the Foundation assigns a volunteer wish team to coordinate the wish-granting process. This two-person wish team visits with the child and asks a simple question: “If you could have one wish, what would it be?” As the child lists his or her preferences, they typically fall into one of four categories:

To go to a favorite destination
To fulfill a special role
To meet a celebrity or other person who bears special significance to a child
To have a gift item or an experience that will provide gift items

Once a chapter approves the child’s wish, the wish team works directly with Foundation staff to make it come true . . . to create a magical wish experience for the child that will last a lifetime. Every effort is made to include the immediate family in the child’s wish.

The wish experience often touches dozens —sometimes hundreds — of people who either help coordinate or are directly involved in the wish. Some recent examples include:

Six-year-old Michael, who wished to be a superhero. During his wish, “Beetle Boy” rescued the city of Pittsburgh from the Green Goblin while Spider-Man was on vacation. He donned his yellow and red costume equipped with a shell, mask, boots, gloves, and antennae, and set out to stop the dastardly Green Goblin and bring safety and peace back to his city. Beetle Boy rescued a damsel in distress at the Pittsburgh Zoo, saved the University of Pittsburgh’s Panther mascot from certain doom, and restored the city’s water supply. Hundreds cheered as the mayor of Pittsburgh presented Pittsburgh’s favorite superhero with a key to the city and declared the day “Beetle Boy Day.”
Twelve-year-old Hope selflessly set aside traditional requests and, when asked her one true wish, responded with a simple question of her own: “How many other children are waiting for their wishes?” When told that 155 children in central and western North Carolina had wishes pending, Hope expressed her wish to help her local chapter raise enough funds (more than $1 million) to make those children’s wishes come true. Sadly, Hope passed away before her wish was realized, but not before inspiring thousands in her community to rally behind the cause and ultimately raise more than $1.3 million to make Hope’s dream a reality.