Make-A-Wish Foundation of Vermont

“The executive committee shall be composed of the chair, vice-chair, secretary, chair of the wish granting committee, treasurer and, if available, the immediate past chair of this corporation. This committee shall have and exercise all of the authority and power of the board of directors as allowed by law to act for the board of directors on all matters which the chair determines cannot be held over until the next meeting of the board, and may do so without the requirement of meeting together. The chair will report actions taken by the executive committee to the board of directors at the next meeting of the board subsequent to the executive committee meeting. In addition to meeting on matters the urgency of which cannot wait until the next meeting of the board of directors, the executive committee shall meet as frequently as is necessary on all other matters of the corporation, such meetings authorized by correspondence. The board of directors shall be advised at their next meeting of the executive committee deliberations.”

“Changes in the bylaws include the principal office location has been updated to chittenden county in vermont, and the purposes now include granting wishes to children between 2-1/2 and 18 years of age. The board of directors will now consist of 13-17 members, with directors serving up to three consecutive three-year terms. Officers now include a chair, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer, elected for two-year terms. The board has standing committees such as executive and finance, with non-directors serving but without binding authority. The foundation indemnifies directors, officers, employees, and volunteers to the maximum extent permitted by vermont law. Upon dissolution, assets will be disposed of for the foundation's purposes or transferred to tax-exempt organizations. Amendments to the bylaws require a written notice of at least thirty days and a two-thirds vote of the board.”

“The foundation works with an independent public accounting firm engaged to prepare the return. The draft return prepared by the accounting firm will be reviewed by the foundation's president & ceo. A complete copy of the final return will be provided to all voting members of the governing board prior to filing with the internal revenue service.”

“The foundation maintains a conflict of interest and ethics statement as provided by the make-a-wish foundation of america for each officer, employee, board member, and volunteer. Such statements must be signed upon date of hire, election or commencement of volunteer service, and at least annually thereafter. The signed statements are then submitted to and reviewed by the director of volunteer services if they are from volunteers, and the president & ceo if they are from staff and board members. Review of the statements is monitored by the president & ceo. The procedures for addressing any conflicts of interest of which the president & ceo becomes aware includes but are not limited to the following (1) determining the nature of the conflict via verbal or written communication with the interested person, (2) fully disclosing conflicting interests to the board, (3) the conflicted person recuses himself/herself from deliberations and decisions regarding the transaction, and (4) taking appropriate actions warranted by the conflict as recommended by the board up to and including termination of service.”

“The president & ceo's compensation is determined by the board of directors, consisting of independent persons. It is reviewed against national benchmarking salary studies, surveys done every few years by the make-a-wish foundation of america, and by local salary surveys conducted by state organizations and by national benchmarking organizations. The board's discussion and decisions are contemporaneously documented. Documentation includes the terms of the transaction and the date it was approved, the members present during deliberations and those who voted on it, and the comparability data relied upon and how it was obtained. The foundation does not have other officers who are compensated and has no employees who meet the definition of key employees. The same process listed above is used for other staff members, using the same instruments. Salaries for staff, other than the president & ceo, are decided by the president & ceo in consultation with the employee's immediate supervisor within limits set by the board-approved budget. All salary increases are based on metrics from performance reviews. The process was last undertaken in 2024.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available upon request.”

“It is the founding principle of our vision to grant the wish of every eligible child, between the ages of 2 1/2 and 18. For wish kids, just the act of making their wish come true can give them the courage to comply with their medical treatments. With our wish making process we strive to bring a sense of excitement and hope during extremely difficult times and deliver a joyful life changing experience whether the wish is a princess party, swim with the dolphins, or the countless other possibilities dreamed up by the magical mind of a child. The make-a-wish foundation of vermont granted 29 life changing wishes in the fiscal year ending august 31, 2024. The total cost of wishes granted for the fiscal year was $933,853. Of this amount, $87,899 was contributed by various vendors who provided in-kind contributions such as travel and travel services, transportation, lodging, and other services and use of facilities to complete a child's wish. For financial statement purposes, these amounts are included as contribution revenue and granted wish expense. For form 990, however, the irs requires this amount be excluded from both revenue and expense.”