A Wish with Wings, Inc.

Making Wishes come true since 1982

aka awww   |   Fort Worth, TX   |  www.awww.org

Mission

a Wish with Wings was founded in 1982 for the sole purpose of granting the Wishes of Texas children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions. Working closely with children's hospitals, physicians, child life specialists and parents, we are able to grant the Wish of a child in need and in the process create priceless memories for the child and his/her family. With each Wish we grant we are giving the gifts of hope, happiness and promise to a child who is facing an uncertain future during a time of great sorrow and despair. Since first opening our doors in 1982, we have brought hope, joy, happiness and laughter to more than 1,600 children and their families.

Notes from the nonprofit

Although the Pandemic of 2020 slowed us down, we granted 66 magical wishes during 2021 … our most ever granted in a single year! When other wish granting organizations shuttered, we kept (safely) going ... giving hope, happiness, joy and laughter to children facing an uncertain future. As we observe and celebrate 40 years of Magical Wishes in 2022, we look forward to continue to focus on and fulfill our mission: Granting Magical Wishes to young Texans with life-threatening medical conditions since 1982.

Ruling year info

1983

President & CEO

Mrs. Judy Youngs

Main address

3751 West Freeway

Fort Worth, TX 76107 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

75-1890339

NTEE code info

Children's and Youth Services (P30)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Granting Magical Wishes ... Bringing hope, happiness, joy and laughter to Texas children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions and facing uncertain futures. Our challenge is providing sustainable funding to ensure that every child's one true wish is able to be granted.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Granting Magical Wishes

Granting Wishes of Texas children battling a life-threatening medical condition is our one and only mission. Working closely with children's hospitals, physicians, child life specialists and parents we are able to grant the Wish of a lifetime to a child in need and in the process create priceless memories for the Wish child and his/her family that will hopefully sustain them during the difficult days that lie ahead. Our most popular Wish is for a family trip to Disney World where they can meet Mickey, Minnie and a host of wonderful characters that will entertain and enchant our Wish children. Computers, iPads and video games are very popular Wishes for our children, as many find themselves isolated due to medical procedures they simply cannot comprehend. It enables them to stay in touch with their family and friends, as well as, keep up with their school work. However, the list of Wishes is as unique as the children we serve. It can be as simple as a Wish to hug a baby cheetah, to be a Prince or Princess for a day, a trip Grandma and Grandpa's house or to meet their favorite celebrity. We encourage our Wish children to submit three Wishes with our goal being to grant the first Wish. However, often a child's first Wish is to be well, an understandable Wish, but one we simply cannot grant so we are then able to move on to the child's second Wish. In addition to our mission, each year we have a holiday party and an Easter event where we are able to celebrate the magic of the season. Our Wish children love joining us for these special events and look forward to them each year. We are blessed to have great community support and often are given tickets to events, restaurants, movies, etc. Because of their generosity, we are able to share these wonderful gifts with our Wish children and brighten their day. Memories made are priceless for these Wish children and their families and can be seen on the smiles on their faces and the twinkle in their eyes.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of clients served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Children and youth

Related Program

Granting Magical Wishes

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Number of clients served includes wish children and all family/individuals who participated in the wish.

Average number of dollars per person served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Children and youth

Related Program

Granting Magical Wishes

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Number estimates the amount per wish granted, not per individual served.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Providing happy moments for children in Texas with life-threatening conditions so they know good things can still happen despite tough times.

Ensuring the financial stability of the organization so that no child's wish is ever left unfulfilled due to lack of funding utilizing the support of sponsors and assistance of volunteers to make great things happen for every child we help.

Maintaining our focus on program services, conservative admin/fundraising percentages. and utilizing all resources available ... community support, Individual donors, foundation and corporate support, volunteers, collaboration, a variety of fundraising events, and continuing our "friend raising" outreach.

Since 1982, A Wish With Wings has granted more than 1,700 wishes to children in Texas fighting life-­‐threatening medical conditions. We know that health issues make life difficult, especially for young patients. That's why we believe in helping bring happy moments to families in need of good news. Our donors and volunteers help us grant special, individualized wishes to offer joy, care and encouragement. We think of it as giving wishes wings, one magical wish at a time.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Families of children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Expanded our criteria of ages served from 3-18 to 3-19

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    N/A

  • 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 take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,

Financials

A Wish with Wings, Inc.
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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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.

A Wish with Wings, Inc.

Board of directors
as of 01/23/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Greg Kalina

Stonehouse Restaurant, Colleyville, TX

Term: 2012 - 2023


Board co-chair

Kurt Haman

Sewell Lexus of FortWorth

Term: 2013 - 2024

Kurt Haman

Sewell Lexus of Fort Worth

Greg Kalina

StoneHouse Restaurant

Rebecca Barksdale

Tarrant County Commissioner Court Precinct 3

Larry Anfin

K& L Enterprises

Tom Spencer

Tarrant County Tax Office

Don Marable

Edward Jones

Frank Testa

Burt Ladner Real Estate

Chuck Bush

No Affiliation

Lindy Williams

No Affiliation

Eric Hove

Defender Outdoors

Stephanie Roehm

No Affiliation

Rachel Arellano

Office of Tarrant County Judge

Jolie Burgess

Music industry

Mary Phillips

No affiliation

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 8/13/2021

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 01/23/2022

GuideStar 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

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
Policies and processes
  • 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.