Make-A-Wish Use NetSuite Charity Reports to Grant More Wishes
Global nonprofit Make-A-Wish is dedicated to granting life-changing wishes to children with critical illnesses. But the organisation faced a major operational challenge: managing its financial and reporting processes across 59 separate chapters in the U.S. The organisation needed a solution that would streamline its donation processing, wish referral process and fund distribution. After an extensive evaluation, Make-A-Wish implemented Oracle NetSuite to centralise its financial systems and optimise its reporting capabilities.
By leveraging NetSuite charity reports, Make-A-Wish has significantly enhanced its operational efficiency, enabling the organisation to grant more wishes at an accelerated pace. This case study explores how Make-A-Wish utilised NetSuite to transform its internal processes and expand its impact.
The Challenge: Fragmented Financial Systems Hindering Growth
Since its inception in 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted over 340,000 wishes across the U.S. and more than 500,000 worldwide. With an extensive network of over 30,000 volunteers, the organisation relies on donations and efficient resource allocation to make these wishes a reality. However, its financial operations were previously fragmented, with each of its 59 chapters operating across different financial systems.
This decentralisation led to:
- Inefficiencies in processing donations and grants
- Difficulties in tracking fund distribution across chapters
- Time-consuming and error-prone financial reporting
- A lack of real-time visibility into financial health
As a result, Make-A-Wish needed a robust enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to streamline its operations and allow for better financial transparency.The Solution: Implementing NetSuite Charity Reports After a thorough evaluation, Make-A-Wish selected Oracle NetSuite for its ease of use, automation capabilities, and ability to unify all financial processes under one platform. The organisation particularly benefited from NetSuite charity reports, which provided:
- Automated financial reporting – Reducing the manual effort required to generate financial statements across multiple chapters.
- Centralized donation tracking – Allowing for real-time monitoring of incoming donations and their allocation to specific wishes.
- Improved fund distribution transparency – Ensuring that funds were allocated appropriately and efficiently across all chapters.
- Streamlined compliance and auditing – Simplifying reporting for regulatory and donor transparency requirements.
By consolidating its financial operations onto NetSuite, Make-A-Wish eliminated redundancies and inefficiencies that previously slowed down the wish-granting process.
Increased Efficiency Means More Wishes Granted
The implementation of NetSuite has had a profound impact on Make-A-Wish’s ability to operate effectively and expand its mission. The key outcomes include:
- Reduction in Financial Reporting Time With NetSuite’s automated financial reports, Make-A-Wish has cut down the time required to generate accurate financial statements, allowing staff to focus more on wish fulfillment rather than administrative tasks.
- Real-Time Insights for Better Decision-Making With NetSuite charity reports, Make-A-Wish leadership now has access to real-time financial data, enabling them to make informed decisions regarding budget allocation, fundraising strategies, and operational improvements.
- Faster Wish Processing The automation of donation tracking and fund distribution has significantly reduced delays in processing wishes. As a result, more children receive their wishes in a shorter time frame.
- Improved Transparency for Donors and Stakeholders By using NetSuite’s charity reporting features, Make-A-Wish can provide detailed, transparent financial reports to donors, ensuring greater trust and continued financial support.
A Word from Make-A-Wish Leadership
“A wish can help children build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness, giving them a better chance at recovery. Technology plays a crucial role in how we’re able to grant life-changing wishes across the country successfully,” said Richard K. Davis, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. “Before NetSuite, we had 59 separate financial systems, making financial management highly complex and time-consuming. By centralizing our entire financial infrastructure on NetSuite, Make-A-Wish can refocus valuable time and resources on our mission to transform the lives of children with critical illnesses by delivering hope, one wish at a time.”
A Model for Nonprofit Efficiency
The success of Make-A-Wish in leveraging NetSuite charity reports demonstrates how nonprofits can use technology to improve efficiency, transparency, and impact. By streamlining its financial processes, Make-A-Wish can focus on what matters most—bringing hope and joy to children in need.
“A wish can help children build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness and can help to give them a better chance at recovering. Technology plays a crucial role in how we’re able to grant life-changing wishes to communities across the country successfully,” said Richard K. Davis, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. “Before NetSuite, we had 59 separate financial systems, and managing this complex web of disparate technologies was extremely time-consuming. By centralizing our entire business on NetSuite, Make-A-Wish can refocus valuable time and resources on our organization’s mission to transform the lives of children with critical illnesses by delivering hope, one wish at a time.”
