Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western North Carolina Inc.

“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 by the foundation's cfo and president/ceo. The return was then presented to the finance committee for their review. Subsequent to the committee's approval, a complete copy of the form 990 was provided to all voting members 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 volunteer coordinator if they are from volunteers, and the president/ceo if 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.”

“Top official merit increases and the overall compensation for the president/ceo is approved by the executive committee. It is 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 board's 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: salaries for staff other than the top management officials are decided by the ceo in consultation with the employees' immediate supervisor within limits set by the board-approved budget. All salary increases are based on metrics from performance reviews and compared to salary ranges for similar positions at other make-a-wish chapters.”

“While federal tax laws do not mandate that the organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements be made available for public inspection, the organization makes these documents available upon request. The financial statements are also available on the foundation's website.”

“The make-a-wish foundation of central and western north carolina creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.”

“Wish granting: we grant one personal, heartfelt wish for every medically-eligible central and western north carolina child between the ages of 2.5 and 18 who has a life-threatening medical condition, as determined by the child's own physician. In fiscal year 2019-2020, we granted 238 wishes with another 510 approved and pending, in some stage of delivery, as the year ended. We also provide local planning, logistics, and support for the children who are visiting central and western north carolina from another state or country in fulfillment of a wish taking place here in north carolina. The total cost of wishes for the fiscal year was $2,047,419. Of this amount, $237,805 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 the $237,805 of contributed services and use of facilities be excluded from both revenue and expense.”