Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee

“There exists an executive committee which shall have and exercise the authority of the board of directors in the management of the corporation, except no such committee may exercise the authority of the board of directors in reference to the following matters: (i) filling vacancies on, or increasing or decreasing the members of, the board of directors or any committee of the board of directors; (ii) adoption, amendment or repeal of these bylaws or the articles of incorporation; or (iii) any matters prohibited by law.”

“The foundation works closely with an independent public accounting firm engaged to prepare the form 990. The draft form 990 prepared by the accounting firm is reviewed by the organization's president/ceo. The return is then presented to the audit committee for their review. Subsequent to the committee approval, a complete copy of the form 990 is provided to all voting members of the board prior to filing with the irs.”

“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.”

“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 make-a-wish foundation of america, and by local salary surveys conducted by state organizations and by national benchmarking organizations. The boards 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. This process was last completed in 2023. The same process listed above is used for other staff, using the same instruments. Salaries for staff other than the president/ceo are decided by the president/ceo in consultation with the employees' immediate supervisor within limits set by the board-approved salary budget. All salary increases are based on metrics from performance reviews. This process was last completed in 2023.”

“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 middle tennessee granted 150 life changing wishes in the fiscal year ending august 31, 2023. This was a record number of wishes granted in a single fiscal year. The total cost of wishes granted for the fiscal year was $2,735,268. Of this amount, $954,790 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. The program expense ratio was 83% in fiscal year ending august 31, 2023.”