Give Kids The World

What Give Kids The World does

Give Kids The World Village is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1986 by Holocaust survivor and philanthropist Henri Landwirth and headquartered on an 89-acre storybook-themed resort at 210 South Bass Road, Kissimmee, Florida. Its core service is delivering week-long, cost-free wish vacations to children ages 3–18 with life-threatening illnesses — as certified by a medical doctor, regardless of family income — and their immediate families. Since founding, the organization states it has hosted more than 205,000 families from all 50 US states and 77 countries, with current leadership held by President & CEO Pamela Landwirth.

The operational product is the Village resort itself: accessible two-bedroom villas sleeping seven plus an infant, all meals, nightly entertainment, airport greeter service, and complimentary multi-park ticket bundles (Walt Disney World 3-day park-hopper, Universal Orlando 2-day park-to-park, SeaWorld 1-day) provided under long-standing strategic partnerships. Supporting technology consists of three web portals — a Village Portal for the 200+ wish-granting organization partners to manage reservations, a Family Pre-Arrival Portal, and an Alumni Family Portal — plus a searchable WGO database and a Memory Market e-commerce store at givekidstheworldstore.org. There is no AI/ML capability, mobile app, or third-party-facing API disclosed.

The revenue model is a diversified nonprofit support stack: tax-deductible individual donations, corporate partnerships (cause marketing, employee engagement, workplace giving, matching gifts), fundraising events, and online store sales. Distribution is exclusively referral-based through a network of 200+ wish-granting organizations led by Make-A-Wish chapters and Dream Factory; families cannot self-refer. The organization also operates a post-trip engagement layer (Welcome Back Family program, Alumni Club, World Passport for Kids via IAAPA's 100+ member facilities) that extends lifetime donor and community value beyond the initial wish trip.

Name

Give Kids The World

Legal name

Give Kids the World, Inc.

Website

https://gktw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Give Kids The World Village is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating an 89-acre resort in Kissimmee, Florida that provides week-long, cost-free vacations to children ages 3–18 with critical illnesses and their families, funded through donations, corporate partnerships, and fundraising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Wish-Granting Resort Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (624110), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Kid-Friendly All-Inclusive Resorts (THAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family & Kid-Friendly Homes (THAMAAAK), Family-Oriented Full-Service Hotels (THAGAAAF)

Keywords

• Nonprofit resort services
• Wish vacations hospitality
• Charitable family lodging
• Wish-granting partnerships
• Illness family respite

Headquarters

HQ city

Kissimmee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: Individual donors contribute tax-deductible donations to support the cost-free vacations for wish families. The organization is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Cause marketing partnerships, employee engagement programs, workplace giving campaigns, and matching gift programs generate support from corporate partners.
3. Fundraising Events: Various fundraising events and promotions generate community engagement and financial support.
4. Online Store Sales: The Memory Market gift shop and online store (givekidstheworldstore.org) sells Village memorabilia and gifts, with proceeds benefiting the organization.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Give Kids The World Village is an 89-acre nonprofit "storybook" resort in Kissimmee, Florida, that provides weeklong, cost-free vacations to children ages 3-18 with critical illnesses and their immediate families. The all-inclusive experience includes accessible two-bedroom villa accommodations, meals, nightly entertainment, tickets to Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld, plus airport greeter service. Access is exclusively through referral by recognized wish-granting organizations such as Make-A-Wish.

Product overview

Give Kids The World Village is a single, unified nonprofit offering — an 89-acre 'storybook' resort in Central Florida that provides weeklong, cost-free wish vacations to children with critical illnesses and their families. The core service is the Village resort experience, supported by digital portals for WGO partners (Village Portal), families (Pre-Arrival Portal, Alumni Portal), and an online store (Memory Market). Related offerings include the World Passport for Kids program, the Alumni Club community, and a Corporate Partnership Program. There is no modular platform architecture — the organization operates as a charity resort with supporting digital tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Give Kids The World Village Resort Experience Weeklong, cost-free all-inclusive vacation at the 89-acre nonprofit "storybook" resort in Kissimmee, Florida, providing children ages 3-18 with critical illnesses and their families with accessible villa accommodations, meals, nightly entertainment, and complimentary theme park tickets (Walt Disney World 3-day park hopper, Universal Studios 2-day park-to-park, SeaWorld 1-day). Eligible families must be referred through wish-granting organizations.
• World Passport for Kids Program Program provided through IAAPA that offers alumni families complimentary admission to any of the included theme parks and amusement parks for one year from the date of departure, with over 100 IAAPA member facilities participating.
• Welcome Back Family Program Program allowing alumni wish families to return to the Village for day visits up to two (2) times per calendar year, with reservations required at least 10 days in advance and scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Memory Market Online Store Online retail store at givekidstheworldstore.org selling Give Kids The World gifts and Village memorabilia, with proceeds supporting the organization's mission.
• Corporate Partnership Program Partnership program offering cause marketing, employee engagement, workplace giving, and matching gifts opportunities for corporate partners, supporting the Village's mission through multi-channel corporate engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 205,000+ families served since 1986 from all 50 states and 77 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Wyndham Grand Clearwater BeachcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWyndham Grand Clearwater Beach and Davidson Hospitality Group launched a collection of specially-designed guest rooms, with a portion of proceeds benefiting Give Kids The World Village. Hotel guests can contribute to the charity by booking stays in these themed rooms.
• Davidson Hospitality GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDavidson Hospitality Group has supported Give Kids The World for more than 35 years through various fundraising initiatives, including the Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach themed rooms partnership.
• Make-A-Wish (Various Chapters)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 200 wish-granting organizations across the US and internationally partner with Give Kids The World to refer eligible families with critically ill children. Includes Make-A-Wish chapters from all 50 states and international chapters.
• IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAAPA provides the World Passport for Kids program allowing Alumni families to visit any of the included theme parks/amusement parks for one year from their departure date. Over 100 IAAPA member facilities participate.
• Walt Disney WorldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFamilies receive 3-day park-hopper tickets to Walt Disney World parks, free parking, free stroller/wheelchair rental, and Disney Memory Maker card with free digital downloads of photos.
• Universal Orlando ResortcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFamilies receive 2-day park-to-park tickets across Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, Guest Assistance Pass, free parking, free stroller/wheelchair rental, and Colorvision Photo Connect Star Card.
• SeaWorld OrlandocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFamilies receive 1-day park tickets, free parking, and free photo voucher at SeaWorld Orlando.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• A Kid's Place of Tampa Bay: A Kid's Place is a Tampa Bay-area residential foster care and emergency shelter nonprofit, illustrating a regional social-services operating model with comparable reliance on donated capacity and volunteer infrastructure in the same Florida market.

Direct peers

• Hole in the Wall Gang Camp: Founded by Paul Newman, this Connecticut-based residential camp serves seriously ill children with cost-free experiences. Same single-site nonprofit-resort model, same beneficiary demographic, and same reliance on donated tickets, volunteer labor, and major-gift fundraising.
• Dream Factory: Dream Factory is a smaller national wish-granting organization that explicitly partners with GKTW to fulfill Central Florida vacations. It serves the same beneficiary population through the same referral-driven model.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities: RMHC provides no-cost lodging and support to families with sick children near major pediatric hospitals. It is directly comparable in mission (sick-child family support), reliance on donations, and volunteer-driven hospitality operations, though geographically distributed rather than single-site.
• Sunshine Foundation: Sunshine Foundation answers the dreams of chronically ill, physically challenged, and abused children, including Central Florida wish trips. It is a smaller but directly comparable wish-granting charity that funnels families into the GKTW Village experience.
• Children's Wish Foundation International: Children's Wish Foundation grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses and refers families internationally to GKTW. Same beneficiary, same wish-vacation model, and a documented GKTW referral partner.
• Make-A-Wish Foundation: Make-A-Wish is the largest U.S. wish-granting organization and GKTW's largest referral partner. It serves the same beneficiary population (critically ill children) and refers families directly to the Village, making it both a partner and a peer in the broader wish-fulfillment ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Compass to Care Childhood Cancer Foundation: Compass to Care provides travel support for childhood cancer treatment, intersecting with GKTW's family-travel mission but focused on medical access rather than wish vacations. Useful as a partial-overlap peer for benchmarking family-travel logistics.
• Starlight Children's Foundation: Starlight delivers programs (hospital wear, gaming, distraction technology) to seriously ill children. It overlaps in target beneficiary and mission but addresses the hospital-stay pain point rather than the wish-vacation experience GKTW provides.

Others

• Sandy Hook Promise: While serving a different mission category, Sandy Hook Promise is comparable in scale (national nonprofit, large volunteer base, donor-funded model with 4-star Charity Navigator profile) and serves as a useful operational benchmark for fundraising efficiency in the U.S. nonprofit sector.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gktwvillage
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/GiveKidsTheWorld
• Facebookfacebook.com/gktwvillage
• Instagraminstagram.com/gktwvillage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Give Kids The World