Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeastern California and Northern Nevada

“The executive committee shall be chaired by the chairperson. It shall be empowered to exercise all of the power of the board of directors at times when the board is not in session. It may execute the policy of the board in routine matters during intervals between board meetings. It shall be comprised of the chairperson, vice chair, secretary and treasurer. It must follow the general directions of the board, must act by a quorum unless other provisions are expressly made and may not delegate its powers.”

“The bylaws were amended to update the counties the organization operates in, change the minimum number of annual meetings to 4, remove proxy voting language and remove language related to the ceo's spending authority.”

“The foundation worked closely with an independent public accounting firm engaged to prepare the return. The draft return prepared by the accounting firm was reviewed by the foundation's 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 final return was provided to all voting members of the board prior to filing with the internal revenue service. The minutes of any committee and/or board meeting reflect the review process.”

“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.”

“For 2021 compensation, the president & ceo's compensation was determined by the board of directors, consisting of independent persons. It was 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 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. The same process listed above is used for other officers and 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 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 northeastern & central california and northern nevada granted 304 life changing wishes in the fiscal year ending august 31, 2022. The total cost of wishes granted for the fiscal year was $2,622,434. Of this amount, $466,837 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. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, on march 10, 2020, in conjunction with the make-a-wish national medical advisory council, make-a-wish foundation of america issued instructions to pause travel and large gathering wishes until it was deemed medically safe for our vulnerable population and their families. Prior to fiscal 2020, travel wishes had been 77% of the wishes granted and the number of granted wishes averaged approximately 408. In addition, the program expense ratio was impacted due to the foundation's inability to grant travel wishes. The program expense ratio was 73% in the pre-pandemic fiscal year ending august 31, 2019. Toward the end of fiscal year 2022, the foundation began to emerge from pandemic operating conditions and national wish travel was resumed. National efforts are underway to return to pre-pandemic wish granting and fundraising efforts.”

“Change in beneficial interest in assets held by national -35,826.”

“The process for overseeing and selecting an independent accountant has not changed from the prior year.”