Make-A-Wish
Legal name: Make-a-wish Foundation of America
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 860481941
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Jul 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
- Phone
- 6022799474
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $136,767,956
- Expenses
- $137,816,534
- Assets
- $125,508,364
- Liabilities
- $40,033,358
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
45 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LESLIE MOTTER (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- LESLIE MOTTER (PRESIDENT & CEO): $739,620 total reported compensation
- LUANN BOTT (CRPSO (FORMER)): $368,756 total reported compensation
- JARED PERRY (CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER): $347,550 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Your Gift Grants Wishes
What it reported doing in 2024
The foundation performs activities which promote the development and handling of resources used to grant the wishes of children with critical illnesses and supports affiliated 501(c)(3) organizations (chapters) in the administration of their wish programs. The foundation distributed $66,649,595 in cash and in-kinds to the chapters to grant wishes during the fiscal year ending august 31, 2025. As of august 31, 2025, the foundation has 57 active chartered chapters.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 73% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 62
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 93
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.7%; rating input score 68
- Program expense ratio: 66.7%; rating input score 67
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Pass
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -0.8%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.91; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 67.7% of revenue deployed · 66.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 24 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $92M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $740K · 45 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $18.8M reported
- Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 139 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 59 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.