Make-A-Wish Wisconsin

Name

Make-A-Wish Wisconsin

Legal name

Make-A-Wish Foundation of America

Website

https://wish.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Wish-Granting Charitable Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Rare Disease & Special Needs Support Organizations (BPAGACAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

Keywords

• Children's wish granting
• Nonprofit charity services
• Critical illness support
• Charitable fundraising programs
• Wish fulfillment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Wauwatosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Contributions: Financial contributions from individual donors, the primary funding source for wish granting
2. Corporate Donations: Corporate sponsorships and donations from business partners such as Chase, Fanatics, Disney, and other corporate partners
3. Foundation Grants: Grants from private foundations supporting wish-granting activities
4. Planned Gifts: Legacy gifts, bequests, and planned giving programs for long-term support
5. Special Events: Revenue from fundraising events such as Walk for Wishes, galas, and peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns
6. In-Kind Contributions: Non-cash donations including frequent flyer miles, hotel points, products, and services that help reduce operational costs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Make-A-Wish Wisconsin grants wishes to children diagnosed with critical illnesses, providing individualized wish experiences at no cost to the child's family. The chapter is part of the national Make-A-Wish America network and sustains wish-granting through fundraising programs, donations, sponsorships, and volunteer-driven community engagement across Wisconsin.

Product overview

Make-A-Wish is a nonprofit organization that operates as a wish-granting organization for children with critical illnesses. The core offering is the Wish Granting program, which provides fully-funded wishes to children ages 2½ to 18. The organization supports its mission through multiple fundraising programs including the Make-A-Wish Fundraising App (mobile application with health data platform integrations), Wish Your Way (peer-to-peer fundraising), Walk for Wishes, Kids for Wish Kids, Wishmakers at Work (workplace giving), Wishmakers on Campus (collegiate fundraising), and Stream for The Wishes (charity streaming). Additional giving programs include the Online Donation Platform, Mail-in Donation, Car Donation Program, and Airline Miles Donation. The organization also sells branded products including Holiday Cards and Giving Good Cards. Financial transactions are processed through Blackbaud Merchant Services. The organization has 57 chapters across the U.S. and serves children in nearly 50 countries and territories on six continents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wishmakers At Work: Workplace giving program that enables employees to plan and coordinate fundraising programs
• Kids For Wish Kids
• Wishmakers on Campus
• Walk for Wishes
• Starblazer Awards
• Wish Your Way
• Trailblaze Challenge
• Stream For The Wishes

Products and services

• Wish Granting Core charitable service that designs and delivers a personally tailored wish experience (such as a trip, meeting, or wish item) at no cost to the family of a child diagnosed with a critical illness.
• Online Donation Platform Web-based channel that allows individuals and supporters to make one-time or recurring tax-deductible donations to fund wishes.
• Make-A-Wish Fundraising App Branded mobile application that enables supporters to fundraise and donate on behalf of Make-A-Wish Wisconsin.
• Wish Your Way Fundraising program that lets supporters host their own creative fundraising events or campaigns to raise money for wishes.
• Walk for Wishes Community walk/run fundraising event in which individuals and teams raise donations to fund wishes for Wisconsin children with critical illnesses.
• Wishmakers at Work Workplace giving program that enables employees at partner companies to donate to Make-A-Wish Wisconsin through their employer.
• Kids for Wish Kids Youth-led fundraising program in which children and student groups raise money to help grant wishes of other critically ill children.
• Wishmakers on Campus College and university student-led fundraising initiative supporting Make-A-Wish Wisconsin's wish-granting mission.
• Car Donation Program In-kind donation channel allowing supporters to donate vehicles, with proceeds supporting Make-A-Wish Wisconsin's wish-granting services.
• Airline Miles Donation Program Donation-in-kind channel that converts donated frequent-flyer miles into travel used to fulfill wishes.
• Holiday Cards Annual holiday card product line sold to supporters, with proceeds funding the chapter's wish-granting mission.
• Giving Good Cards Charitable gift cards sold as an alternative to traditional gifts, with the purchase amount directed to Make-A-Wish Wisconsin.
• Stream for The Wishes Charity-streaming fundraising program that turns online livestream content into donations in support of wish granting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% of doctors say wishes help relieve a family from traumatic stress
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FanaticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Fanatics is the Official Sports Partner of Make-A-Wish, donating $10M over three years to support sports-related wishes. Customers can join their support when shopping on Fanatics.com through Fanatics-related ventures.
• The Walt Disney CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDisney is involved in approximately half of the wishes Make-A-Wish grants. Many wishes involve travel to Disney parks and experiences.
• AllegiantminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAllegiant donates $1 from every Wingz Kid Snack Pack sold inflight to support efforts to grant wishes to children.
• AvisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSave up to 30% off base rates when booking at avis.com/wish and 5% of rental will be donated to Make-A-Wish.
• Royal Caribbean InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoyal Caribbean offers free cruises to wish kids through their Wishes at Sea program and fundraising opportunities across all ships.
• Southwest AirlinesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThrough Southwest's Points for a Purpose program, customers can donate their Rapid Rewards points to Make-A-Wish.
• United AirlinesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUnited MileagePlus members can donate their unused airline miles to help wishes take flight.
• IT'SUGARminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIT'SUGAR sells Wish-themed products including Wish Pop lollipop, Wish Gummy Bears, and Make-A-Wish Chocolate Bar with 20% of each sale donated.
• TopgolfminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTopgolf donates $1 of each Topgolf Donut Hole-In-Ones dessert item back to Make-A-Wish with a minimum guarantee of $250,000 per year.
• Dave & Buster'sminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDave & Buster's donates $1 from every Strawberry Shortcake purchase, 100% of cash donations from their 'throwback arcade' and hosts Charity Benefits silent auctions.
• Blackhawk Network (Giving Good Card)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerWith the purchase of each Make-A-Wish branded Giving Good Card, 3% of the load net value will be donated.
• Breyer HorsesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe 2024 Love & Hope collection of Breyer model horses will benefit Make-A-Wish.
• BuzzRxminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBuzzRx donates $1 when you save using their free Make-A-Wish branded Prescription Discount Card.
• Shoe CarnivalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFrom January 1 through February 28, 2026, customers can round up their purchase to benefit Make-A-Wish.
• Maggiano's Little ItalyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYear-round, customers can donate to Make-A-Wish when placing orders online at Maggiano's.
• Wheels for WishescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCar Donation Foundation operating as Wheels for Wishes, partnering with chapters nationwide to process vehicle donations.
• ARS Car Donation ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartners with chapters to provide charitable car donation services across multiple states including Wisconsin.
• Charitable Auto Resources (CARS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartners with chapters including Oklahoma and Orange County for vehicle donation processing.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• National Pediatric Cancer Foundation: Funds pediatric cancer research and family support programs. Comparable donation-dependent model and beneficiary overlap with the critically ill children served by Make-A-Wish Wisconsin.
• Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation: Focused on childhood cancer through research funding and family support; shares Make-A-Wish's donor-supported pediatric cancer constituency and reliance on community-based fundraising events.

Direct peers

• Special Wish Foundation: Small-scale wish-granting organization serving children with critical illnesses. Direct functional peer with a narrower geographic footprint but identical service model.
• Kids Wish Network: Direct wish-granting nonprofit serving children with life-threatening illnesses. Competes for the same donor pool and serves a partially overlapping beneficiary population, with a similar referral-via-medical-professional pipeline.
• Sunshine Foundation: Grants wishes to chronically and critically ill children. Smaller national reach than Make-A-Wish but with the same core service model and donor-funded wish delivery.
• Make-A-Wish America: National parent organization of Make-A-Wish Wisconsin; operates the same wish-granting model across 57 U.S. chapters with shared brand, partners, and donor base. Most directly comparable as the umbrella under which the Wisconsin chapter operates.
• Starlight Children's Foundation: Delivers programs and wish-like experiences to seriously ill children, including hospital-based distraction and wish-granting-adjacent offerings. Overlaps in target beneficiaries and donor-funded pediatric mission.

Broad incumbents

• Ronald McDonald House Charities: Serves families of critically ill children with lodging and support during treatment. Operates a national chapter network funded by donations and corporate partnerships, and shares the donor-funded pediatric-illness support mission.
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: Major pediatric catastrophic-illness nonprofit that, like Make-A-Wish, depends on mass donor participation to serve children with cancer and critical illnesses. Comparable in donor base, brand trust, and reliance on corporate partnerships, but delivers research and treatment rather than wish experiences.
• Children's Miracle Network Hospitals: Raises funds for children's hospitals through corporate partner campaigns (e.g., grocery and retail pin-pad round-ups). Closely analogous in donation-funded pediatric-illness mission and cause-marketing partnerships, though funds are distributed to hospitals rather than wishes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/MakeAWish_WY
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MakeAWishFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/makeawish
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/make-a-wish-wisconsin
• Instagraminstagram.com/makeawishamerica

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 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 Make-A-Wish Wisconsin