Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater

“Executive committee: the purpose of the executive committee is to lead the board of directors of make-a-wish greater virginia in the orderly and fair governance of make-a-wish greater virginia by, among other things, acting on behalf of the board within the scope of the committee's authority and overseeing the functions, operations, and activities of the board and its committees. The executive committee shall be composed of the board chair, the vice-chair(s), the immediate past-chair, the secretary and treasurer of the corporation. The board may also appoint one or more additional directors to serve as at-large members of the executive committee in its discretion and for such term or terms as the board shall deem appropriate. The president/ceo shall be a non-voting ex officio member of the committee, and shall be invited to attend all committee meetings except those where her/his position or compensation is under discussion. The board chair shall serve as the chair of the executive committee. When the full board is not in session, the executive committee shall have and exercise the power and authority of the board to transact all regular business of the corporation, subject to any prior limitations imposed by the board, the articles of incorporation, these bylaws, or applicable law.”

“The foundation worked closely with an independent public accounting firm engaged to prepare the form 990. The draft form 990 prepared by the accounting firm was reviewed and approved by the foundation's president/ceo. The return was then presented to the executive committee of the board, composed of financial professionals, for their review. Subsequent to the committee's approval, a complete copy of the form 990 was provided to all voting members of the board prior to filing with the internal revenue service.”

“The organization adopted a "statement of values, code of ethics and conflict of interest policy" with which all officers, directors, employees and volunteers are required to comply and acknowledge by signing, upon their initial involvement with the organization and annually thereafter, an "annual conflict of interest and ethics assurance statement" (the "coi statement"). The coi statement requires officers, directors and key employees to disclose the existence of any family and/or business relationships they may have with other officers, directors or key employees of the organization. The secretary of the board is charged with ensuring the coi statement and addendum are signed each year by directors, while the organization's human resources department is charged with ensuring those documents are signed by officers and key employees. If any covered person discloses a potential or actual conflict, the following procedure is followed (1) the conflicting interest is fully disclosed to the board, (2) the covered person responds to any factual questions from the board related to the disclosed conflict, and (3) the board, without the covered person, discusses the conflict and approves or disapproves the proposed transaction.”

“The president/ceo's compensation was determined by the executive committee, consisting of independent persons. It was reviewed against national benchmarking salary studies, surveys done every few years by make-a-wish foundation of america, and by local salary surveys conducted by state organizations and by national benchmarking organizations. The discussions and decisions were 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. Form 990, part vi, section b, line 15b the foundation does not have other officers who are compensated and has no employees who meet the definition of key employees besides the president & ceo.”

“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 greater virginia granted 193 life changing wishes in the fiscal year ending august 31, 2024. The total cost of wishes granted for the fiscal year was $2,824,000. Of this amount, $278,278 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.”