Make-A-Wish Foundation of Alaska &

“The executive committee shall, at a minimum, consist of the board chair, who shall be its chair, vice chair(s), treasurer and secretary. The immediate past board chair and immediate past treasurer shall serve as ex-officio members of the executive committee for the year following their board chairperson-ship and treasurer-ship, provided they are both still members of the board. The executive committee may act on behalf of the foundation in day-to-day business operations when the board is not in session, reporting actions to the board at the next succeeding board meeting for ratification. The executive committee shall be charged with submitting to the board for consideration resolutions concerning unusual or extraordinary matters affecting the operation of the foundation.”

“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 president and ceo. The draft was then presented to the finance committee for their review. Subsequent to the committee's approval, a complete copy of the final form 990 was provided to all voting board members prior to filing with the irs. 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 rescues 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 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 process for determing compensation for employees other than the president/ceo is reviewed by the president/ceo. It is reviewed against national bench-marking salary studies, surveys done every few years by make-a-wish foundation of america, and by local salary surveys conducted by national bench-marking organizations. For the staff members who aren't officers, the review of salary is determined by the president/ceo, and reviewed by the governance and executive leadership team.”

“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 makeawish foundation of alaska & washington granted 419 life changing wishes in the fiscal year ending august 31, 2024. The total cost of wishes granted for the fiscal year was $7,327,453. Of this amount, $978,397 was contributed by various vendors who provided inkind 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.”