Dear Friends of the Make-A-Wish Family,

At the half way point of 2019, I’d like to give you an update on your Board’s activities and reflect on our progress towards our Vision to transform Make-A-Wish International into the premier global children’s charity.

We’ve talked about this Vision for some time during our many global meetings and interactions, and I have no doubt about our commitment to accomplishing this Vision; yet the number of Wishes granted each year has stagnated, most of our Affiliates, as well as Make-A-Wish International, are facing financial challenges, CEO turnover remains high in most countries and Affiliate Board engagement is inconsistent.

In 2018, and after the Toronto Wishleader Conference, your Board embarked on an ambitious path to accelerate our trajectory towards the accomplishment of our Vision and addressing the challenges above. We realize the changes might have an impact for all of us, however by learning from the past, we will build a sustainable future. In the first instance, this resulted in the appointment of our new CEO, Michel Rudolphie, and the decision to move the International Headquarters from Phoenix to Amsterdam. Beyond that, there was consensus that we need a major focus on Fundraising, attracting and retaining the best people, ongoing training and support of our staff and volunteers, Board Governance and ­– above all ­­– embracing and adopting the key values of collaboration, openness and mutual respect.

Under the leadership of our new CEO, we are making good progress on many of these areas, as he will be reporting shortly in his quarterly message.

At the International Board, we are actively engaged in supporting Michel and his team and any affiliate as we are needed, while at the same time continuing to meet our fiduciary and legal obligations. Of particular emphasis is Fundraising, Affiliate Relations, revitalizing the Medical Advisory Committee function as well as filling vacancies for three “at large” Board members. Gilli Sinclair, Chair of the Nominating Committee is leading this effort and has been in contact with you, requesting nominations.

In May, the International Board visited Bogota, Colombia for our Spring meeting and to meet with the members of the LATAM Roundtable. The Colombian Affiliate under the leadership of Camila Ramirez, did an outstanding job of hosting the Board and also organized a very successful reception at the residence of the Ambassador of the United States, where we met several major current and prospective sponsors, as well as members of the Colombian Affiliate Board. We were very impressed with the progress and growth of this relatively new Affiliate and what they’ve been able to accomplish with limited resources.

I’ll close by repeating what I’ve said many times before; the International Board is “open for business”. In addition to fulfilling our primary function to oversee the activities of Make-A-Wish International and to be the stewards of the Make-A-Wish Brand, we are also available to assist Affiliate Boards and CEO’s in any way that we can. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us, if we can be of assistance.

It’s about the children....it’s always about the children.