MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF GREATER BAY AREA Charity Report

Public IRS 990 nonprofit record

MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF GREATER BAY AREA

EIN 94-2958481 · Human Service Organizations (P20)

What they do

TOGETHER, WE CREATE LIFE-CHANGING WISHES for CHILDREN WITH CRITICAL ILLNESSES.

Before you give

Should I give to this charity?

Easy charity check

Look at where the money went

Of every $100 spent, about $61.70 was reported for mission work. Use the spending picture below and ask what results that work produced.

Plain answer: A tax form cannot prove that a charity is doing good. It can show how the charity says it spent its money—and point out questions you should ask.

Basic facts we verified

IRS warning checkNo IRS revocation warning appears in this data.

Money report from 2024The charity has a recent tax report to read.

They explain their jobThe charity tells us what it is trying to do.

They name their leaders38 people are listed in the latest report.

You can reach themThey list contact information, so you can ask questions.

Money made simple

59.67%of revenue went to mission work61.7% of expenses · Program services

18.92%of revenue went to fundraising19.6% of expenses

$96.65spent for every $100 of revenueRevenue covered expenses this year.

18.06%of revenue went to management and office costs18.7% of expenses

$1.16in assets for every $1 spent this yearSome assets cannot be spent right away.

97.3%of its money came from giftsOther money may come from services or investments.

Ask these three easy questions

Who did you help? Ask for a recent story or report that shows real results.
What will my money do? Ask exactly what your gift will pay for.
Is this really the charity? Give only through its official website or confirmed phone number.

Pay context: The highest compensation shown in this filing is $308,790 for CHARLOTTE BIERN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER). Compare pay with organizations of similar size and complexity.

Bottom line: Do not decide from a name, mission statement, or tax status alone. Look at where the money went, then ask what changed, who was helped, and what your gift will do. YouCanGiveBack does not endorse or grade organizations.

Money

Financial picture

Tax year 2024

A plain-language look at the latest Form 990 figures available. These numbers help you ask better questions; they do not, by themselves, rate whether a charity is good or bad.

$100revenue

How each $100 of revenue was used

The large number compares each expense with revenue. The smaller number shows its share of total expenses.

Total reported revenue$9,144,994

Mission workProgram services$5,456,51959.67% of revenue61.7% of expenses

ManagementOffice and general costs$1,651,67718.06% of revenue18.7% of expenses

FundraisingAsking for donations$1,730,46618.92% of revenue19.6% of expenses

Revenue left after expensesReported annual surplus$306,3323.35% of revenueShown in gray on the chart

Total expenses$8,838,66296.65% of revenue

Gray means reported revenue left after expenses for this filing year. It does not necessarily mean cash sitting in a bank account.

Has the pattern changed?

Colored bars = expense mix: how each year’s expenses were divided. Total expenses vs. revenue shows whether the charity spent less or more than it received. The current filing is first.

YearExpense mixDetails

2024CurrentExpense mix: 61.7% mission · 18.7% management · 19.6% fundraisingTotal expenses: 96.65% of revenue

2023Expense mix: 53.1% mission · 28.1% management · 18.7% fundraisingTotal expenses: 101.28% of revenue

2022Expense mix: 54.7% mission · 27.4% management · 18.0% fundraisingTotal expenses: 125.58% of revenue

2021Expense mix: 56.4% mission · 26.8% management · 16.8% fundraisingTotal expenses: 87.79% of revenue

2020Expense mix: 48.7% mission · 30.9% management · 20.4% fundraisingTotal expenses: 57.76% of revenue

2019Expense mix: 44.7% mission · 26.6% management · 28.6% fundraisingTotal expenses: 87.15% of revenue

2018Expense mix: 73.4% mission · 9.0% management · 17.6% fundraisingTotal expenses: 96.63% of revenue

2017Expense mix: 69.5% mission · 8.3% management · 22.3% fundraisingTotal expenses: 106.96% of revenue

Money in and money out

Revenue$9,144,994

Expenses$8,838,662

Annual surplus $306,332 Revenue was higher than expenses for this filing year.

Reported spending amounts

Mission work means the Form 990 category called program services. These are reported accounting categories—not an independent measurement of results.

Mission work (program services)$5,456,519 · 61.7% of expenses

Management and office costs$1,651,677 · 18.7% of expenses

Fundraising$1,730,466 · 19.6% of expenses

See all reported dollar amounts

Revenue$9,144,994

Expenses$8,838,662

Assets$10,249,534

Income$12,104,797

Contributions$8,902,647

Mission work (program services)$5,456,519

Fundraising$1,730,466

Management and general$1,651,677

Executive compensation (total)$454,059

Stocks and bonds$5,298,560

Accounting fees$101,556

Investing fees$40,136

People

Leadership and board

Tax year 2024

Names, titles, time, and compensation below are reported by the organization on its Form 990.

People reported as paid

Person and titleCompensation

CHARLOTTE BIERNCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER · 40 hrs/week $308,790Base $276,934 · Other $31,856

KATHLEEN BACKUSCHIEF DEV. OFFICER (THRU 2/7/25) · 40 hrs/week $225,269Base $206,842 · Other $18,427

SUSANNA FALKVP OF MISSION DELIVERY · 40 hrs/week $166,273Base $146,625 · Other $19,648

LINDA ANDERBERGSR. VP MARKETING & STRATEGY · 40 hrs/week $162,087Base $148,915 · Other $13,172

DENNIS SCHRAGSENIOR MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER · 40 hrs/week $132,734Base $126,957 · Other $5,777

SEAN BARTONVP OF OP & FINANCE · 40 hrs/week $124,533Base $119,261 · Other $5,272

ALLIE REYNOLDSVP CORP DEV. (THRU 7/12/24) · 40 hrs/week $121,048Base $112,456 · Other $8,592

YOSHINORI GARRETT LEWDIR. OF DATA & ANALYTICS (THRU 4/25/25) · 40 hrs/week $116,075Base $103,660 · Other $12,415

LYNNE DURIEFORMER COO (THRU 1/31/24) · 40 hrs/week $54,918Base $51,900 · Other $3,018

Compensation alone does not tell whether pay is reasonable. Consider the charity’s size, work, location, and results.

See everyone listed on the board or leadership roster (38)

CHARLOTTE BIERNCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

KATHLEEN BACKUSCHIEF DEV. OFFICER (THRU 2/7/25)

SUSANNA FALKVP OF MISSION DELIVERY

LINDA ANDERBERGSR. VP MARKETING & STRATEGY

DENNIS SCHRAGSENIOR MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER

SEAN BARTONVP OF OP & FINANCE

ALLIE REYNOLDSVP CORP DEV. (THRU 7/12/24)

YOSHINORI GARRETT LEWDIR. OF DATA & ANALYTICS (THRU 4/25/25)

LYNNE DURIEFORMER COO (THRU 1/31/24)

ASH BARAGHOUSHVICE CHAIR/SECRETARY

ALLEGRA JONESDIRECTOR

TIFFANY ROWEBOARD CHAIR

AMANDA HIGGINSDIRECTOR

SHANNON OSHEADIRECTOR

SHANNON GHIADIRECTOR

SHAILY SANGHVIDIRECTOR

ANAHITA TAFVIZIDIRECTOR

SCOTT MANDELLDIRECTOR

RAGHU RAGHURAMDIRECTOR

RAE CORRDIRECTOR

PETER HILLIARDDIRECTOR

MARTI POZZIPAST CHAIR

MANTRA ROBINSONDIRECTOR

CARLA WICKSDIRECTOR

KRISTIN PACEDIRECTOR

ASH KULKARNIDIRECTOR

KARA BAYSINGERDIRECTOR

JOHN SUNTREASURER

JENNIFER SHAPPLEYDIRECTOR

JEN KELLYDIRECTOR (THRU 8/21/25)

ISHA CLARKDIRECTOR

GEORGE SAMMUTDIRECTOR

GEORGE MADRIGALDIRECTOR

BEN KOCHALSKIDIRECTOR

DANA GREENDIRECTOR

BERYL POTTERDIRECTOR

CHARLES HALLADAYDIRECTOR

CATHERINE AKERDIRECTOR

About this charity

Recognized since: January 1987
Location: 1221 BROADWAY STE 800, OAKLAND, CA 94612-1995
County: Alameda
In care of: CHARLOTTE BIERN
Primary officer: CHARLOTTE BIERN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

How to reach them

WebsiteVisit the charity’s website Phone(415) 982-9474

Filing and classification

Latest tax year: 2024
Tax period began: September 1, 2024
Return type: 990
Tax preparer: CLIFTONLARSONALLEN LLP
NTEE classification: Human Service Organizations (P20)
IRS tax category: Human Service Organizations