Make-A-Wish® Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and Southern West Virginia

Event Kit

Make-A-Wish General Information
Sponsorship & Promotion
Pre-Planned Event Resources
Financial Forms

Getting Started

Hosting a fundraising event is a great way to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois while building camaraderie, spirit and enthusiasm among members of your organization. Your involvement helps to increase awareness of the Make-A-Wish Foundation's mission and helps to directly fund wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Our goal this year is to more than 700 wishes in Illinois, and with your help, we will reach that aggressive milestone. By all joining to share the power of a wish^®, every eligible child will experience a life-changing dream come true.

There are many different types of events including dances, auctions, bowling parties, holiday celebrations and much more. This Fundraising Event Kit offers detailed planning guides for hosting five successful events: FORE Wishes Golf Outing, Walk-A-Thon, Adopt-A-Wish Challenge and Rock Paper Scissors Tournament. In addition to those events, we have provided a general Step-by-Step Event Planning Guide that can be tailored to meet the needs of any organization. Additional resources are available on the Fundraising Event CD that will provide your organization with the basic tools and steps needed to plan a successful fundraising event.

Once you have chosen a fundraiser please print out and complete the Licensing Agreement & Event Proposal form and return it to your Development Staff Contact at the Make-A-Wish Foundation for review.

The Special Event Proposal and License Agreement will ask you to provide the anticipated donation commitment to the Make-A-Wish Foundation from your event.

The average cost to adopt the wish of a child is $5,000 and is a terrific fundraising goal. Through the Adopt-A-Wish program, you may sponsor the favorite wish of one or more children. The Foundation will inform you of the child's name, illness, hobbies, interests and of course, his or her wish! If available, you will be sent photos from the wish and thank-you letters from the child.

Please review Donor Benefit Levels. This will provide a general overview of the resources we are able to offer your event. Upon approval of your event, we will send you a letter of authorization and a copy of the signed license agreement. You are ready to begin planning your event.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Make-A-Wish at 800-978-9474 or visit www.wishes.org. We hope you will join the Make-A-Wish family and Share the Power of a Wish®.

Thank you in advance for helping to make wishes come true for our very special children. We can't wait to help you help wish kids!

Donor Benefit Levels

We appreciate all of the fundraising efforts made towards supporting the goal of granting wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Our organization remains committed to spending 80% of all dollars raised granting wishes.

With consideration to our limited resources available to support fundraising events, we are pleased to extend the following support levels. This set of criteria will apply to new events working with the Foundation. After a first time event, Make-A-Wish reserves the right to approve or deny renewal of the event for the following year.

Up to $4,999 Committed	$5,000 to $14,000 Committed PLUS:	$15,000+ Committed PLUS:
Fundraising Event Kit	Use of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Illinois logo	Assistance in obtaining up to 5 event volunteers
Make-A-Wish Banner	Authorization letters for procurement of donations and sponsorships	Offer to present up to four Adopt-A-Wish wishes at the event or later scheduled date
Event details posted on www.wishes.org	Assistance in obtaining raffle license and 2 event volunteers if requested	Assistance with press release for the event, including the sharing of some possible media channels
Event participants and supporters acknowledged with thank-you letter and record of their gift for tax purposes.	Provide Adopt-A-Wish frame with "wish art" and story of the wish adopted and attempt to provide Make-A-Wish Representative to present the Adopt-A-Wish frame at event.	Small feature in Wishes newsletter, space permitting and including photos when provided.
Use of Chapter Name: The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois	Recognition in quarterly Wishes newsletter, space permitting and invitation to the Make-A-Wish Donor Luncheon

Creative Events & Fundraising Ideas

Raising money for the Make-A-Wish® of Illinois can be a fun way to motivate family, friends and colleagues to pull together toward a common goal. Many groups establish a fundraising event committee to organize the event or activity.

Below are some ideas of enjoyable fundraisers. We couldn't make wishes come true without you. Thank you for considering holding a fundraiser!

• Bowling Party - Ask your local bowling alley to donate a few lanes for the event. You can also hold a raffle to win merchandise and increase revenue. Participants ask friends and relatives to sponsor them for at least 25 or 50 cents per pin. If the bowler scores 100, they collect a $25 or $50 donation per sponsor. The participant who raises the most money wins a prize. Fun Twist: Black Tie Bowling "Ball" by Candlelight - Step out and be bowled over by a fun-filled night that will help support Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois. Dress in black tie and have themed lanes - Bowling Down Lovers Lane, Bobby Sox Bowl, etc…
• Hold a "Taste-A-Wish Food & Wine" Event - Imagine restaurants, chefs, caterers and wineries in your town coming together for one truly delectable evening. Consider picking a theme such as Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, Pub Grub or Winter Holiday faire and invite all members of your community to partake in food sampling and cooking workshops, all while raising funds. It's important to remember to secure a venue which allows for multiple electrical outlets! Invite food sponsors and represent this as a chance for them to increase awareness in the community and gain new customers. Encourage them to present attendees with coupons. Partner with local media including online, print, TV and radio to have broad reach. Charge a small entry fee at the door and then sell $1 food tickets. Participants visit vendor booths and present food tickets i.e.: one food ticket for a sample of dessert, three tickets for sandwich etc…
• Hold a miniature golf outing - this is a great place for kids and families to spend time together. Work with the mini golf course to discount or donate the golf fees for the day. Finish off the day with a pot luck celebration picnic or BBQ. Visit the FORE Wishes Golf Outing Guide for additional ideas.
• Host your choice of an "A-thon" - such as a volleyball-a-thon, swim-a-thon, dance-a-thon, etc. You can have trophies for the winners, sell raffle tickets for prizes, and get food donated for the event. Charge an admission fee. Review the Adopt-A-Wish Challenge for a great way to recruit fundraising teams to participate in your event.
• Turn a current activity into a Make-A-Wish Fundraiser -- turn your summer picnic or holiday party into a dream come true for a child by collecting a small donation at the door. Or turn your love for baseball or basketball into a fundraising event. Add a raffle or auction item to raise even more money!
• Block Party - Close the street for an evening and turn your neighborhood into a fun-filled block party. Include a dunk tank, DJ, food, games, etc for your friends and family to enjoy.
• Plan a Benefit Concert Invite local talents or students to perform in a benefit concert. Charge an admission fee for tickets and sell refreshments.
• Have a Scavenger Hunt: In small groups of people, provide challenging clues which will lead hunters to people, places, and things around a chosen area. The day can include pre- and post-event receptions, gifts and awards. Charge a registration fee and give prizes donated by local businesses to the winners. Make sure to limit the hunt to about 250 participants.
• Hold a Triathlon: This can be a swim-bike-run competition for up to 1,000 athletes. In addition to individual competition, there can also be a relay division. Illinois is ideal for such an event with the beautiful lake and many scenic bike and run routes. Charge a registration fee and give prizes donated by local businesses to the winners.
• Have a Dinner Dance: This can be a Black-tie gala or a more casual event where guests enjoy entertainment, auction packages and fine dining. You can charge a fee for tickets and have auction packages donated by local businesses.
• Have a Sports Tournament: Charge for registration for singles or teams and consider a pre-event auction to raise even more money.

Building the Event Committee

The Event Committee will be responsible for the leadership, logistics and oversight of the event.

You may find that your event doesn't require a person for each role, but you should have all of these areas covered.

Adding Dollars towards Goal

Incorporating Make-A-Wish into your fundraising event is a great opportunity to Adopt-A-Wish by bringing together corporate and individual support through sponsorships and participants. Here are some creative suggestions that will raise the total donation to Make-A-Wish.

1) Check for Matching Gifts

Many companies today would like to support their employees and their efforts in the community and offer matching gift programs. If a company has a matching gifts program, an employee can make a donation to their charity of choice and include a matching gift form from their company.

Each company operates their program a bit differently; most companies match a portion or entire donation, some require that the employee donation is in the form of a check or credit card; some will match at more than a 1:1 ratio and other variables. Remind event attendees to check with their accounting office at their workplace to determine if their employer offers a matching gifts program. Following is a short listing of local companies that offer this generous program. This list is not a complete listing of companies that offer programs, but highlights those in Illinois that we are aware of.

Matching Company List

Aetna	General Electric	NIKE
AIG	Goodrich	Northern Trust
American Express	Grainger	Nissan
Aon Corp	GTE/Verizon	PepsiCo
Mattel Inc.	HSBC	Pfizer
Avon Products	Illinois Tool Works	Pitney Bowes
Baxter International	Johnson & Johnson	Prudential/Wachovia
Bank of America	Kimberly - Clark	SAFECO
Black & Decker	Kraft	Sara Lee
BMO/Harris Bank	Eli Lilly	Sherwin-Williams
BP	Mazda	Sun Microsystems
Charles Schwab	McDonald's	Tellabs
CAN	Merrill Lynch	Temple-Inland
Gillette	Microsoft	US Bancorp
J.P. Morgan Chase Co.	Motorola	Washington Mutual
Gap Inc.	Mutual of America
GATX	Nicor Gas

2) Dress Down for Wishes

Ask your employer if the company can hold a "jeans day" or "dress down" day - employees can wear casual clothes in exchange for a donation to Make-A-Wish.

3) Add a Raffle

Refer to Raffles & Auctions for including this in your event. Attractive raffle items include big screen tv's, ipods, and trips for two. Often items will be donated if you write a letter and indicate you are holding the raffle for charity or you may consider purchasing an item. Per Donor Benefit Levels, Make-A-Wish may supply your event with an Event Authorization Letter which will help request donations.

• Linger Longer on the Beach - Raffle off an extra vacation day; who wouldn't take a chance on this
• Drive Up Wishes - Raffle off the boss's parking space! This one is always a big hit. The winner parks in the boss's spot for a week.
• Hold a 50/50 Raffle - Sell raffle tickets for $1 each. The winner takes 50% of the proceeds and the other half will go to making wishes come true. Selling at a big event really helps the money add up.

Sponsorship Success

Sponsorship is one of the best ways to ensure the financial success for your fundraising event. Sponsorship is requesting the support of the local community, members, clients and vendors to help participate in the event. It is an excellent alternate form of advertising for many companies. The sponsor may provide you with a check prior to the event, provide in-kind goods or services at the event, or pay a third-party vendor directly for goods or services provided at the event. In return for their support, sponsors names and/or products are visibly placed in conjunction with the event.
A good goal is to determine the various costs of the event (ex: musical entertainment, beverage service, audio/visual, printed materials etc…) and set a goal to secure that amount in sponsorship fees in advance of the event. This ensures that all revenue from the fundraiser directly benefits wish children. Most events have various sponsorship levels. Some examples include:

Title Sponsors: This sponsor pays the highest dollar amount and receives the most public exposure. Their name would appear on all marketing materials, event signage and other applicable areas.

Site & Category Specific Sponsors: A great revenue opportunity for your event is to offer sponsors a specific site or category where they will be recognized at the event. Each sponsor is charged a set rate to cover the signage at the site plus a donation to the event. Examples of site and category specific sponsors are cocktail reception, registration desk, auction tables etc…

Food & Beverage Sponsors: A successful event is one that leaves participants happy with the day, the donations they made, and the food and drinks they enjoyed. To minimize the expenditures and allow more profit from an event, these food and drink items can often become a great opportunity for a sponsor. Sponsors will get a great opportunity to advertise their products to those in attendance as well as helping to significantly minimize the expenses for the day. For additional use of a beverage sponsor, include signage at the beverage locations that participants are sure to frequent throughout the day.

Sponsorship Guidelines

• The Foundation seeks donations from several areas of the community and corporate business' to fulfill children's wishes, therefore, we are unable to solicit for fundraising opportunities or provide sponsors for your event.
• The Make-A-Wish Foundation can act as a resource for developing a strong sponsorship strategy to suit your needs.
• Clearly explain your relationship with Make-A-Wish. The event you are generously hosting is to benefit Make-A-Wish, but it is not being produced by Make-A-Wish.
• Sponsorship gifts are only tax-deductible if the entire amount is directed to Make-A-Wish or split between another recognized charitable 501(c)(3) organization.
• If any of the money is used toward the production of the event, the gift is no longer tax-deductible for the corporation as a charitable donation.

Step-By Step Guide to Successful Sponsorship

Step 1: Develop Your Sponsorship Package
Prepare an information packet which includes a description of the event, target audience, number of participants, date and promotion strategy. The Fundraising Event CD provides an example of a sample sponsorship packet.

• Knowing the costs of your event will help identify sponsorship levels.
• Set dollar levels to pay for specific items (food and beverage, t-shirts, music, printed materials, etc…).
• For each sponsorship level, provide specific benefits that the sponsor will receive (ex: recognition in all advertisements, on day of event, on back of t-shirts etc…).
• Structure the benefits in such a way that the higher the sponsorship dollar amount, the greater the sponsor recognition.
• State your needs clearly (ex: lunch for 200 including drinks and dessert at $10/peson = $2,000).

Step 2: Identify Potential Sponsors
Find the connection and market the event to the business you are approaching. Identify the benefit the business can receive from sponsoring the event. For example, imagine you are hosting a basketball tournament and will approach a sporting goods store:

• Point out to the storeowner that the majority of the people in your event are sports enthusiasts
• The store could promote their basketball department at the event
• Explain that so many new customers will be exposed to the store's name and that they might consider making an announcement during half-time or having a table display with store goods.

Potential Sponsors can be found in:

• The community you live in
• The business community to whom you have ties (Hint: Check your local Chamber of Commerce for businesses you might consider approaching for sponsorship.)
• Charity truly does start at home and you might be surprised at the amount of support you get from familiar faces.

Step 3: Contacting Sponsors
It may seem awkward at first, but remember that your fundraising event is a good opportunity for the potential sponsor to align with a good cause while creating awareness for their product or service.
Call and ask for an appointment to present your sponsorship opportunities. Make sure to have the sponsorship packet with you as well as:

• Plans for promotion
• Make-A-Wish Foundation information
• Marketing materials including flyers, ads, posters, websites and t-shirts where their names and logos can be placed

Drop Off Materials: For organizations that are interested, but do not have time to speak with you; prepare a packet of materials that contains the details of events and sponsorship opportunities. Follow-up with a phone call or note.

Tips for Successful Event Sponsorship

• Let potential sponsor know of any confirmed sponsors. Often there is a bandwagon effect.

When you get to "closing the deal," be specific as to payment details or provision of in-kind goods and services. Provide them with a Sponsorship Invoice

• confirming their support.
• It's never too early to start! Organizations need to incorporate event sponsorships into their budgets, so contacting potential sponsors as early as possible will increase your chances for success.
• Write a thank-you letter after the event and include a photo of their signage at the event. When possible, meet with them post-event to get their feedback.

Event Success

There are several key elements to hosting a successful fundraising event. First and foremost is to make sure you provide ample promotion to entice sponsors and ensure maximum event participation. Promotions and Invitations should be distributed at least two months prior to the event. Invitations are a great way to let participants know about the relationship with Make-A-Wish and the fundraising goal of the event. Consider using email for save the date notices to keep costs minimal.

Preparation for the event day is a critical success factor in participants' impression of the whole event. Incorporating these 8 points will help ensure success on the day of your event.

• Make sure there are enough volunteers to keep things moving quickly and signage to direct the activities of the day.
• Have a smiling coordinator with event information welcoming and directing participants to the registration table.
• Make sure the registration table is fully staffed. Plan on having one volunteer per 36 participants.
• Be sure to have someone selling raffle tickets and door prize tickets next to the registration desk, working the crowd and not sitting behind the table.
• Prizes: Have a display table nearby with all the items on display.
• Have a photographer on hand to work the crowd and take candid shots.
• Make sure the event starts on time!!
• Thank everyone as they arrive, during and after the event. Let them know that their participation and support of this event is making dreams come true for wish children in Illinois.

Money Matters

Tracking the Money
Money may come before, during and after the event. It is important to keep track of how much, by whom, when and type of tender (cash, credit, check, in-kind). Groups wishing to host events on our behalf are required to meet the financial demands of their event.

Accepting Payments: To keep track of payments and donations for your event and event activities, keep a running spreadsheet with the Event Donation Tracking Form

• on the Fundraising Event CD.

Cash Donations - Please convert cash and coins into check or money order prior to sending into Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Make-A-Wish Foundation cannot accept cash and coins via mail.
Checks - Please make sure all checks are made payable to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois.
Credit Cards - The donor may call Make-A-Wish Foundation toll free at 800-978-WISH during 9 a.m - 5 p.m. CST and state the event, event organizer's name and the donation amount that they are making the donation towards the event. You may also ask your Make-A-Wish Development Contact to send you Credit Card donation forms if you plan to accept credit cards at your event.
In-Kind Donation - Please use the In-Kind Donation Form on the Fundraising Event CD. Provide a copy to the in-kind donor and send a copy to Make-A-Wish.

• When finished, please remit the final donation amount to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois along with the Event Funds Form.
• Per the Make-A-Wish License Agreement, the event planner is required to send the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois a final accounting statement and funds within 30-days of your event. Please use the Event Budget Template Form as a guide in preparing this document.

Frequently Asked Money Questions

May we open a bank account to cash checks made out to Make-A-Wish or will you do that for us?
No. No party other than Make-A-Wish may cash a check made out to the Foundation. Please suggest to the group that you are working with to ask their participants or patrons to make checks payable directly to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Illinois. These checks can then be forwarded onto our Office for deposit. Make sure the checks clearly indicate for which activity and event it is intended. One option to accept event donations is to use an online event registration site like www.kintera.com, www.active.com or www.evite.com that accepts online credit card payments.
Make-A-Wish cannot re-issue a check to an event organizer that has been sent to the foundation.

What do I do with the cash from the event?
All cash money collected the day of the event should be collected and given to a pre-designated individual from the organization sponsoring the event. This cash money should be kept in a safe at the location of the event or in a locked box monitored by the designated individual until the money can be counted and deposited into the sponsors account. Checks should be given directly to Make-A-Wish or a single check from the sponsoring organization should be sent to Make-A-Wish with the grand total from the event.

Due to regulations from the National Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, Make-A-Wish cannot accept any change from any kind of "coin-raising activity". Please ask the event organizer to cash in all change and present it to Make-A-Wish in the form of a check.

What is an In-Kind Donation?
A donation of goods or services from a vendor is called an in-kind donation. They are given instead of monetary donations because of the specific goods or services they can provide. This option also enables companies with the opportunity to donate products/services instead of money. Examples of in-kind donations are raffle items, beverage service, promotional materials, and a banquet facility. Please use the In-Kind Donation Form provided on the Fundraising Event CD.

How does Make-A-Wish acknowledge donations from an event for charitable tax purposes?
The Foundation will be happy to issue acknowledgements for tax purposes for charitable donations through your fundraising event. We are able to acknowledge individual donors and businesses to organizations that support your event. The total amount of donations the Foundation is able to recognize cannot exceed the total net proceeds donated from the event.

How much does granting a wish cost?
Our average total cost for one wish for the Illinois Chapter is $7,500. We receive an average of $2,500 worth of in-kind donations (airline tickets, meals, entertainment, etc.) for each wish. The average cash cost of a wish $5,000. Wish costs vary based on the type and complexity of the wish, and may be more or less expensive than the average.

We believe every event has the potential to raise a minimum of $5,000. This is an excellent goal to reach as it Adopts-A-Wish !

A local business wants to support my event, but they need the Make-A-Wish tax i.d. number?
The purpose of the Make-A-Wish tax i.d. number is to have sales tax waived when purchasing anything that is for the direct benefit of the Foundation. Since the event in question is not being produced by Make-A-Wish, the IRS does not allow for the waiver of sales tax for items going towards the production of the event.

More than likely, the local businesses want our 501(c)(3) letter that identifies the Make-A-Wish Foundation as a legal charity in the eyes of the government. Businesses will include this letter with their tax filings to prove the charity they supported was legitimate. However, the issue of direct benefit to the charity becomes involved again. If the item is to be used in the production of the event that does not direct 100% of gross revenue to Make-A-Wish, then the donating business cannot be acknowledged by Make-A-Wish. Make-A-Wish can provide a thank you letter that includes the statement "Your gift is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law." Again, it is for the business to decide what deductions they will file and for Make-A-Wish only to say thank you for their support.

Some companies may need the tax i.d. to process the check and will require a W9 form from Make-A-Wish. Please contact the development staff and we will be happy to provide this for you.

Picture Perfect Promotion

Event promotion is a critical component in planning a successful fundraising event. Promoting the event will increase exposure for the event and will help to raise its attendance. This is the opportunity to shape the general public's impression of your event. The Fundraising Event CD provides helpful resources such as Make-A-Wish flyers, sample press releases, presentations and information sheets that you may find useful in promoting your event.

Step 1: Know your audience:

• Who do you want attending this event (friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, general public)? The answers to these questions will help you determine how and where to promote your event.

Step 2: Determine types of promotion items required:

• What types of items will best help you create awareness for your event?
• Flyers, brochures and posters
• Invitations (electronic or print)
• Newspapers (Press Releases/Media Alerts - Local and Regional)
• Radio (Public Service Announcements)
• Word-of-mouth contacts
• Online community calendars and interest specific online communities or blogs

Step 3: Develop distribution plan for promotional materials:

• What type of places would you like to promote your event?
  You may want to consider posting your event information on bulletin boards, newspapers, newsletters, radio, local restaurants and community websites.
• What contacts should receive advance notice of your event?
  It will be helpful to create a list of media contacts for local TV and radio stations.
• When and who should be responsible for distributing these materials? Create a timeframe for contacting media outlets and ask for help from other media and public relations committee members in contacting the media and posting flyers. Make sure to email your Make-A-Wish Development Staff Contact all the details of your event for posting on www.wishes.org

Step 4: Create promotional materials:

• Make sure all materials contain event specifics on Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. The Fundraising Event CD provides a sample press release and sample flyer for examples. You are also welcome to print any of the marketing materials and information sheets in the Make-A-Wish Information Folder on the Fundraising Event CD.
• You may use the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois name. Per the Donor Benefit Levels, if your fundraising goal is to Adopt-a-Wish , you may use the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois logo. Please contact your Make-A-Wish Development Representative and they will provide the logo in the formats requested.
• Double check to ensure that all materials contain proper usage of the Make-A-Wish Foundation brand and logo.
• Please include that the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois is the beneficiary of the event and the actual or anticipated portion of sales, admission price or net proceeds that will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation and is tax-deductible.
• Provide contact information for the event and contact information for Make-A-Wish (www.wishes.org or 312-978-WISH).

Step 5: Consider alternative methods for creating event awareness:

• Write an editorial or letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
• Invite local politicians and community leaders. It promotes word-of-mouth publicity and can help increase event support.
• Make and hang large signs or banners over the site two weeks before the event.
• Ask other groups to hand out flyers at their events and/or include as stuffers in other programs.
• Take advantage of the free classifieds offered by some weekly newspapers.
• Contact the owners of notable buildings and ask for free use of their building's sign or marquee.
• Ask for a paragraph plugging the event in other organizations' newsletters.
• Make sure to contact friends, colleagues, classmates, family and neighbors and enlist their support in promoting the event.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois will provide your event with Make-A-Wish banners. You can also purchase Make-A-Wish items for your event such as balloons, pencils, buttons, t-shirts and more at www.wishes.org

Make-A-Wish Brand Standards
The Make-A-Wish brand is one of the most highly recognized non-profit brands. We are delighted to partner with your organization and leverage our brand to help grant wishes through your fundraising event. Before distributing any promotional materials or press releases, each item must be reviewed and receive approval from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Send materials to your Make-A-Wish Development Staff Contact prior to release for approval. Thank you in advance for helping us to keep all promotional materials true to our brand.

Make-A-Wish Foundation Marks: These service marks should always be denoted with the ® symbol on their first or most prominent reference. The ® symbol should appear in superscript at the end of the service mark.

Correct use:

Make-A-Wish Foundation®
Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Illinois
Make-A-Wish Foundation Mission: The official mission statement of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, for both the national organization and all chapters, is:

We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Make-A-Wish helps children who are living with life-threatening medical conditions. It is true that some kids may not survive their condition, but our focus is one of magic, laughter, hope, joy, and childhood! Many kids do survive and look back at their wish as something that helped them get through the tough times.

When promoting your event, it is important to emphasize the joy of the wish experience and not the sadness associated with a life-threatening medical conditions. Do not raise money with phrases such as "last wish", "dying child" or "terminal kids"

The Make-A-Wish Foundation does not solicit for contributions over the phone or door-to-door, nor via email chain letters. In promoting your event, please do not use these solicitation tactics.

Raffle & Auctions

Raffles and auctions are a great way to add excitement to the event as well as increase revenue. A raffle or auction has the potential to be as big or as little as you would like to make it.

Securing items for raffles and auctions is similar to approaching sponsors for your event. Refer to Sponsorship Success for ideas and suggestions.

You will need to acknowledge all product and service donations by filling out the Make-A-Wish In-Kind Donation Form and sending it to your Make-A-Wish Development Staff Contact.

Basic points to keep in mind:

• Determine how much the audience might be willing to spend before you gather prizes for raffle or auction.
• Provide a variety of fun options for the guests to meet varied economic inclinations.
• Obtain one or two things that are amazing and would appeal to the whole audience and that everyone would like to win.
• No item is too big or too small. Make-A-Wish has raffled off airline tickets worth about $750 as well as miniature Stanley Cup Trophies that retail for about $15.

Including a Raffle
Raffles are a great way to add revenue to an event. Find an exciting grand prize such as a travel trip or electronics item that can be donated for the raffle prize. Gift certificates make great 2nd place prizes. Allow for a minimum of one month for selling raffle tickets prior to the event and drawing. The printed raffle tickets must include the language that All tax, title, and registration fees are the responsibility of the winner. Keep records of which tickets will be given to which sellers. Having numbered tickets will help in record keeping. Distribute tickets to motivated volunteers willing to sell them on behalf of your fundraiser. Set a due date for the sellers to turn in the money and tickets (both sold and unsold). Draw the winning ticket.

Per the Make-A-Wish license agreement, event organizers conducting a raffle are responsible for compliance with all federal, state and local laws which may require a local (city and/or county) raffle license. To determine if your local government will require a raffle license, contact the City or Village Hall where you plan to sell raffle tickets and inquire about the process prior to your event. If you are unable to obtain a raffle license, please contact Make-A-Wish and work with your Development Staff. Per Donor Benefit Levels, the Make-A-Wish Foundation will only be able to apply for raffle license if proceeds from your event will raise at least $5,000.

Note: There are specific IRS Reporting Requirements for raffles. Please review IRS Notice 1340 for explanations on what these requirements are on reporting raffle prizes, withholding tax on raffle prizes and reporting and paying tax to the IRS.

You will need to bring blank W-9 forms to the event and have the winners complete them and then send those forms to Make-A-Wish. The W-9's must be accompanied by a listing of what the individual won and the fair market value of the prize. For a sample form, please see External Event Purchase Form. By law, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois needs to prepare W-2G's for each and every one of these winners. A copy of the W-2G will be issued to the winners no later than January 31st of the following year, and also filed with the IRS.

Including an Auction
Many events include both a live and silent auction although it is also common to choose just one type of auction for your event. The live auction usually takes place towards the end of the event. An auctioneer is chosen to auction off the items while attendees have the option to out-bid each other to win the item(s). The highest bidder wins the item(s). Usually the more expensive and desired items are included in the live auction.

The silent auction has a specific start and end time (usually one - to - two hours before the event is over). The silent auction table should state the closing time of the auction bidding and the item should also be listed in the program, if applicable. It should also be reiterated during the event so bidders know the exact time when bidding is over. The closing time of the bidding should be strictly observed.

• The items should be displayed at volunteer-attended tables
• Individual bid sheets should be placed next to each item in the auction
• If possible, a list of the items should be distributed to all attendees at the event as they enter
• The bid sheet should include the name of the auction item, the fair market value of the item, the minimum price to start the bidding and the minimum incremental increase to proceed with the bidding. Please refer to Auction Bid Sheet for an example of what your bid sheet could look like.

Consignment Items: A consignment item is any item that is lent to your auction for sale. If the item is sold, the consignor (person who lent the item) receives the fair market value of the item as compensation and the event retains any money raised above the fair market value of the item. The fair market value of the item is not tax deductible. Only the amount over this amount is considered to be tax deductible by the Internal Revenue Service. This information must be disclosed to the buyer at the time of bidding, and included on the buyer's receipt for tax purposes.

Step 1: Publish a listing of items before the auction, which:

• Includes a good faith estimate of the fair market value of each auction item (which may be different from the minimum bid)
• States that the deductible charitable contribution for federal income tax purposes is limited to the amount paid for the item less the fair market value of the item
• Increases interest in the raffle prize and auction items

Step 2: Provide copies of the listing to each person attending the auction

• If a buyer who received the listing buys an item for more than the fair market value stated in the listing, the buyer can use your estimate of the fair market value to determine the deductible amount
• For the buyer's tax records, the buyer should keep both the auction listing and a receipt for the purchase.

*(If an unreasonable estimate of the fair market value is made, and the buyer knows or has reason to believe that the estimate is unreasonable; the buyer can't rely on your estimate. This can cause problems for the buyer-and for the sponsoring organization-so be reasonable.)

Step 3: The buyer should receive an event purchase form from your event that includes:

• The amount paid for the item
• A description of the item and its estimated fair market value using the same value as in the listing created for the event

A statement that the deductible charitable contribution for federal income tax purposes is limited to the amount paid for the item less the value of the item