Dear Affiliate Network,

We all agree that FY20 was a challenging year. FY 21 pushed us and made us understand that we were running a marathon, not a 100 meter sprint. The global pandemic, the social unrest around the world, the economic crisis, and most relevant to all of us, the wishes ‘on hold’…all of this tested our resilience and pushed us to reimagine our programs and continue to stand side-by-side with the children and families that we serve.

Almost 18 months after the Covid break-out, the world remains in a very dangerous situation. More cases are reported in 2021 to date, than in the whole 2020. No Country should assume it is out of the woods, even though some are speeding up the vaccination rate and decreasing dramatically the infections and the mortality rate.

While we are hopeful for a brighter time ahead, let us not tell ourselves that things will bounce back to ‘normal’ right away. There was a lot of collateral damage - businesses were shattered, unemployment was rampant, and many other (mental/physical) health and challenges are still being tackled. But there is hope – and we know that hope heals –

We see this exemplified in our wish kids, every day. Let’s light up hope. Remember this.

The recovery period provides an opportunity to rebuild and reinvent ourselves. We got a head-start with our Think-Tanks this year, which were the source of inspiration and strategic direction for the next 3-5 years. Each Think-Tank group shared their creativity, innovation and strategic ideas at the CEO Summit. If you missed our virtual CEO Summit, it was captured on video, and you can review and comment on what was shared. It wasn’t ideal to meet virtually, but it was effective by keeping those lines of communication open and having your voices heard. There will be more to come in the next few weeks regarding the initiatives which each Think-Tank presented. Next steps are evolving, and project teams will be reaching out soon.

Even in challenging circumstances, with shortage of resources, and a conservative budget we are approaching the last quarter of the current financial year with a positive outlook and the confidence to deliver on our promise, although last part of our journey is steeper. Our SLT team has demonstrate to be able to navigate in calm as well as in rough waters.

Through the passion and dedication of our staff and volunteers, as well as our strategic partnerships with funders (corporate and individual), we strengthened our resolve that the pandemic would not destroy our mission. We came together and did more than ‘survive’, we united and grew stronger. Not only was this recognized by all of us at Make-A-Wish International, but I want to share with all of you that we just received our Charity Navigator rating…and we earned a 4-star rating! Here is a quote from the President & CEO of Charity Navigator, Michael Thatcher:

“the highest possible rating and indicates that our organization adheres to best practices and executes its mission in a financially efficient way. Attaining a 4-star rating verifies that Make-A-Wish International exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in your area of work. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets Make-A-Wish International apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness. Approximately only a quarter of rated charities have achieved this distinction!”

As we are now in our last quarter of our fiscal year, I want to thank all of you for your ongoing support, patience, innovation, participation, and determination to not only ‘survive’ during the pandemic, but to ‘thrive’ as much as possible by ‘stretching’ when we didn’t have the capacity or resources, by stepping up and sharing, by thinking of each other as family, rather than silos.

Let’s continue to re-imagine and restructure a future that is stronger and more unified. That is the only way to move forward if we want to become the ‘global benchmark children’s charity’.

Best wishes,

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to dedicate this message to all the wish children around the world, with a special mention to the almost 10,000 children who have been waiting to have their wishes granted in the past 18 months, and sadly some are no longer with us.

Wishes are the driving force behind all we do. Granting wishes are why we exist. If we cannot grant wishes, we stop being relevant. Why…because simply put, wish experiences transform lives.

While we are going through this extremely difficult period, I also want to recognize the amazing efforts of our staff and volunteers around the world who despite all the challenges, continue to find innovative ways to deliver wish journeys. Your ingenuity and creativity is unrivaled, and we are ever grateful for your passion and commitment to the Make-A-Wish vision.

Thank you,

Welcome Our Newest Team Member!

I am Jigisha Vora. I was born and raised in Mumbai, India. Currently living in Netherlands with my husband and toddler son. I studied Engineering in Electronics and then an MBA in Finance. I started my career with Business Development moving to Salesforce Functional Consulting and Salesforce Admin Roles across different industry verticals. Total work experience of 13 years. In my free time I enjoy Biking, Cooking, Dancing and Gardening. I am excited to join Make-A-Wish and looking forward to contributing towards the organisation goals.

Additional Shout Out

Make-A-Wish Portugal, Make-A-Wish Hong Kong and Make-A-Wish Malaysia have advanced their investment in the global platform by continuing to utilize additional features and ramp up on new functionalities.

Feel free to contact Carly Galli at cgalli@worldwish.org or programservices@worldwish.org for any questions regarding the Make-A-Wish Cloud or other technical services.

ROBERT HALF – 24h Global Employee Fundraising Event

We are pleased to share that this month we have secured a new global collaboration with the recruitment company Robert Half for a multi-country employee fundraising initiative which will take place in September 2021!

The event will be an employee 24hr active challenge across 17 locations including Chile, Brazil, Canada, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Germany, UAE, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand.

We are in the midst of finalizing the details, so, to the Affiliates concerned, watch this space as more communications about the project kick off & support plan will be coming your way soon.

This opportunity would not have been possible without Katrina Shaw from Make-A-Wish UK who has connected us to Robert Half’s team and therefore made this project possible – thank you, Katrina!

If you have any questions, please contact Aliénor Descours de Guernon, Corporate Alliances, New Business – alienor@worldwish.org

APPLE – Global Network of Business Accounts

More good news for this month: we have managed to secure support from the Apple Business team for the set-up of a network of Business Accounts across all Make-A-Wish Affiliates for collective discounts!

A Business Account at Apple provides an Affiliate with a special discount based on the yearly rate of Apple purchases. But when we connect all the Business Accounts across the different Affiliates, we create a network within which discounts are automatically mirrored and instead based on the rate of the Affiliate with the most products bought per year. The group is therefore automatically bumped up to higher tiers of discounts.

The objective will be to connect the existing Business Accounts at Affiliate level and create new ones for those who do not have one. Each Affiliate onboarded will then be given a direct contact with a local Apple Business Account manager for tech-related wishes support and potential volunteering in local wish realisation events.

It will be done country by country and we will connect with your team accordingly – so watch this space!

We would also like to give special thanks to Holli Lawless from Make-A-Wish UK who has brought this contact to us and made this project possible - thank you, Holli!

If you have any questions, please contact Aliénor Descours de Guernon, Corporate Alliances, New Business – alienor@worldwish.org

Quarterly Distribution

As per our reporting schedule, the next Affiliate distribution is planned for this month (June), so you should receive the distribution reports in a couple of weeks.

Airbnb Refunds

Although we no longer have access to the Airbnb accommodation credits, we do have a cash donation from Airbnb which we use to reimburse accommodations for wishes. Please be sure to follow the specific process when you book an accommodation so we will be able to reimburse you.

C-Fund

We still have funds available if you are still having difficult times dues to Covid-19. All information to apply can be found HERE.

FY 2020 Audited Financials

Please do not forget to share with us your FY 2020 annual report audited financials. If you need any assistance during your audit process, please feel free to contact the Make-A-Wish International Finance team.

Do not hesitate to reach out directly to Silvia or Lena for any questions.