TWILIGHT WISH FOUNDATION
Celebrating Seniors and Making Dreams Come True
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Senior citizens are the fastest growing population in the world. The number of Americans 65 and older is projected to more than double to over 98 million by 2060. In the U.S. today, one in three seniors older than 65 live alone and the number of seniors living alone only increases with age. Many of these seniors experience social isolation which puts them at risk for developing medical conditions such as high blood pressure and dementia. Granting a wish can help change that. Our wish recipients report overwhelmingly that having their wish granted impacted their life for the better. Their mental and physical health often improves, positively changing their outlook on life. Simple needs wishes such as hearing aids, dentures and lift chairs often have the biggest impact on improving the quality of life for low-income seniors. Items such as these reduce isolation, increase self-esteem and allow many seniors to continue living on their own.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Wish Granting Programs
Twilight Wish Foundation is a national nonprofit that fulfills wish requests for seniors under several programs. Since our founding in 2003, we have impacted the lives of nearly 6,000 low-income elderly by providing what they could not provide for themselves. We serve low-income elderly, age 65 and older, who earn less than 200% of poverty level annually or who live in a nursing facility. Approximately 80% of the wishes we have granted fall under our "Simple Needs" wish granting program through which we fulfill wishes for basic quality-of-life healthcare and accessibility items including hearing aids, dentures, mattresses, wheelchairs, and walkers. These items enhance the quality of life for many vulnerable, low-income elderly, reducing isolation and increasing mobility and accessibility, resulting in improved self-esteem and independence. Our main goal is to continue the progress we have made since our foundingand continue tofulfill wishes for deserving seniors across the U.S.
Dining Unexpected Thank You (DUTY)
Treat anonymous seniors to meals at local diners by use of a DUTY card and paying for their meals as a thank you.
Veterans Twilight Wish Program
Segmentation of Veterans Wishes into their own program.
Where we work
Awards
Resolution #838 - June is unanimously voted as Twilight Wish Foundation month 2010
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Resolution #287 - June is voted unanimously as Twilight Wish Foundation month 2007
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Community Teammate Award 2007
Philadelphia Flyers
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsImprove the quality of life for low-income senior citizens.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors, Older adults, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Wish Granting Programs
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We track the number of wishes granted and seniors impacted on a daily basis. Post wish granting, we measure the impact of our wish granting with follow-up surveys to wish recipients.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
To make our world a nicer place to age, one Twilight Wish at a time. We desire to have active chapters in all 50 states and to do work internationally with countries that have already shown interest. We desire national long term care partners to help us grow the organization with affiliate partners and vendors that are national and care about making the senior population feel valued and honored and thanked for paving the path for us. We desire to have our name known Nationally and Internationally, much as Make-A-Wish is for children, Twilight Wish will be for seniors. We desire to make the difference in every life we touch, be it a wish recipient, a wish requestor, a facility where a wish is being granted, or just by someone seeing an uplifiting Twilight Wish granting story on the last 30 seconds of a half hour of otherwise depressing news each night, as has happened dozens of times.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Seeking national affiliate partners who wish to honor seniors with similar goals through connections in the long term care field.
Seeking national advertising partner through connections with pr companies.
Partnering with long term care organizations.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our 1,100 square foot office is located in Jamison, PA, and we have staff fully credentialed in directorship positions with specific job descriptions to move our goals forward. We currently have 25 chapters across the country and several more in process.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In our first 21 years, we have outreached hundreds of millions of people through our stories in various media and have accomplished establishing the idea that seniors have wishes, too. Since our founding in 2003, we have impacted the lives of nearly 6,000 seniors in need. In the future, Twilight Wish would like to see 50% of long term care facilities granting wishes for their residents as a recognized "standard of care" - which may take 5-7 more years.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We act on the feedback we receive, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
TWILIGHT WISH FOUNDATION
Board of directorsas of 03/07/2024
Cass Forkin
aEONRG LLC
Term: 2003 -
James Ciervo
Suffolk County Farm
Term: 2018 -
James Ciervo
Ruth Anne Wood
Scripting for Success
Lisa Graham
Tumbling Dice
Kenneth Leith
Emerging Growth Equities
Jane Leopold Leventhal
Boehler Engineering
Jonathan Miller
Longevity Income Solutions
Daniel Stephens
CHAP
Kimberly Arnold
Meridian Bank
Andrea Hoisl
Diocese of Norwich
Matthew Hoisl
Edelstein& Company
Jason Parks
The Media Captain
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/17/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.