Make A Wish Canada
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Most recent Audited financial statements available on the charity’s website.
B+
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
Low
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
69%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 69 cents are available for programs.
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Programs
About Make A Wish Canada:
Founded in 1983, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada (Make-A-Wish Canada) creates wishes for children with critical illnesses. The charity covers all costs of a qualified child’s wish. Some of the most requested wishes include travel, entertainment centres, computer systems, and meeting celebrities. The hope is that wishes will help children feel happier and stronger than before. Make-A-Wish Canada is an affiliate of Make-A-Wish International, the largest wish-granting organization in the world. Across Canada, there are eight Make-A-Wish chapters that cover different areas.
Make-A-Wish Canada granted 655 wishes in F2018 (615 in F2017) to children across Canada with life-threatening illnesses. Across all eight Canadian Make-A-Wish chapters, the charity spent an average of $35,864 per wish granted in F2018 ($33,152 per wish in F2017). Wishes fall into one of four categories: to have, to go, to be, and to meet. Since 1983, Make-A-Wish Canada has granted 34,246 wishes.
On October 1, 2019, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada and Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada merged to form Make-A-Wish Canada.
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Results and Impact
In 2015, Make-A-Wish Israel conducted a study to measure how wishes affect medical outcomes. The results revealed wishes improved a child's physical and emotional health.
Another study in 2013 surveyed wish kids and their families. 97% of former wish recipients reported that wishes improved their mental and emotional health. 83% said that their physical health improved. Overall, 71% of former wish kids believed that their wish experience contributed to saving their life. The charity does not report the proportion of past wish kids that this survey reached.
Due to the very high cost per wish, Charity Intelligence rates Make-A-Wish Canada as Low in demonstrated impact per dollar.
Impact Rating: Low

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Finances
Make-A-Wish Canada is a medium-sized charity with total donations of $3.7m in F2019. Including donated gifts, donations increase to $6.4m. Total revenues for the eight Make-A-Wish chapters across Canada in F2018 was $24.2m. Administrative costs are 3% of revenues and fundraising costs are 28% of donations. For every dollar donated, 69 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.
Make-A-Wish has funding reserves of $4.6m that can cover 10.7 months of annual wish-granting activities.
Subsequent events: On September 30, 2019, Make-A-Wish Canada merged with Children's Wish Foundation. Operations continue under the name Make-A-Wish Canada. The financial statements for F2019 cover only a 9 month period rather than a full year.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to Make-A-Wish Canada for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on May 27, 2020 by Tenzin Shomar.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending September
|
2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|
Administrative costs as % of revenues | 3.2% | 2.9% | 3.6% |
Fundraising costs as % of donations | 27.9% | 23.4% | 21.6% |
Total overhead spending | 31.1% | 26.2% | 25.2% |
Program cost coverage (%) | 89.2% | 49.3% | 40.5% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|
Donations | 3,664 | 5,449 | 4,885 |
Goods in kind | 2,740 | 4,119 | 3,533 |
Investment income | 171 | 5 | 66 |
Total revenues | 6,576 | 9,573 | 8,483 |
Program costs | 5,118 | 7,550 | 6,741 |
Administrative costs | 205 | 275 | 299 |
Fundraising costs | 1,022 | 1,272 | 1,057 |
Total spending | 6,346 | 9,098 | 8,097 |
Cash flow from operations | 230 | 475 | 386 |
Capital spending | 178 | 213 | 189 |
Funding reserves | 4,567 | 3,723 | 2,733 |
Note: Ci excluded amortization from program, administrative and fundraising costs according to the charity's audited financial statements.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
1 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
1 |
$80k - $120k |
5 |
$40k - $80k |
3 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2018
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
The following comments were added to a previous version of this profile:
Make-A-Wish® creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We are on a quest to bring every eligible child's wish to life, because a wish is an integral part of a child's treatment journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness.
Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization, serving children in every community in Canada, and in 50 countries worldwide. Together, generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 1,100 volunteers across the country grant more than one wish per day on average. Since 1983, Make-A-Wish Canada has granted close to 7,500 wishes across the country; more than 600 last year alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish Canada, visit makeawish.ca.
Updated Feb. 5, 2018
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416-224-9474