Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central & South Texas

“The foundation worked closely with an independent public accounting firm that was engaged to prepare the form 990. The draft form 990 prepared by the accounting firm was reviewed and approved by the foundation's treasurer and president/ceo. 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 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 by 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.”

“For 2017 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 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: the foundation does not have other officers who are compensated and has no employees who meet the definition of key employees.”

“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 its audited financial statements and form 990 available upon request and on its website. Governing documents and conflict of interest policies are also available upon request with inspection at an office of the organization.”

“The make-a-wish foundation of central & south texas creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.”

“The staff of the make-a-wish foundation of central & south texas ("cstx chapter", organization") is proud of their many accomplishments. Working with 303 incredible volunteers, we granted a total of 309 wishes to the deserving children throughout our 40 county territory this past fiscal year. Dedicated volunteers in austin, san antonio, laredo and surrounding cities, help to create powerful memories and bring healing to these extraordinary children. We are proud of our wish-granting program and the volunteers who give their time and their talents to make dreams come true. Granting wishes can be costly and the program staff keeps those costs at a minimum by securing in-kind donation from airlines, hotels, restaurants, retailers and other organizations. The total value of in-kind services and goods that we have received is $2,015,646; of that, $1,781,821 is for wish-related services and goods. The cstx chapter excels at acquiring and leveraging in-kind airline trips, but for form 990 purposes, the irs requires that airline flights and other services ($659,099) are excluded because they are not considered goods. The cstx chapter has been successful in controlling increases in wish costs. We have greatly streamlined our operations by leading the country in the implementation of salesforce for programs, operations, and now development. Process efficiencies have enabled redirection of resources; we now allocate about 83% of our funds to wish-granting v. 74% five years ago. The majority of our staff come from underrepresented communities and are competent in addressing cultural differences. We have strived to increase our board diversity, and now draw 20% from underrepresented populations. Thirty percent of our board are women, thereby better serving our diverse clientele. Lastly, the program staff has worked hard to create a highly regarded internship program, utilizing talented students from local colleges. We are always thrilled to have so many students who have a passion for our mission. We pride ourselves on the fact that our interns benefit not only from the hands-on experience we offer in working with our wish kids and their families to create magical experiences, but also from learning the inner-workings of a non-profit in all areas; fundraising, event planning, public relations and marketing.”