Frequently Asked Questions:

I see my school listed but the Team Captain is no longer correct, what should I do?

Register under your school's team and then contact Wishyourway@wish.org and ask to be eleveated as the Team Captain. 

I do not see my school listed and we would like to start fundraising, what should I do?

Email wishyourway@wish.org and request that your school's team be started. You will need to provide contact information for a Team Captain- it is helpful to provide a generic email address (athletics@abc.edu) so the team can continue year after year. 

 


PROGRAM QUESTIONS

WHAT TYPES OF FUNDRAISERS CAN WE PLAN?
The NCAA and Make-A-Wish National Office have created a mutually agreed upon list of pre-approved fundraisers that can be implemented at any time, with no additional necessary support or outreach required to the NCAA or Make-A-Wish. We still encourage each institution to involve the local chapter for support purposes, and to continue to develop that local relationship. Additionally, if your institution would like to participate in a fundraising activity that is not found on the pre-approved list, you can do that too! In that case, simply contact your local Make-A-Wish chapter, as well as Amanda Benzine from the NCAA at 317.917.6694 or abenzine@ncaa.org with the fundraising idea and submit your request for approval. Once approved, you may move forward with planning your event. A list of pre-approved fundraisers has been included in your toolkit.

ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS ON TYPES OF FUNDRAISING?
Yes. Because we are a children’s charity, Make-A-Wish expressly prohibits fundraising events where the proceeds from the sale of alcohol and/or tobacco products would benefit Make-A-Wish. Additionally, we must abide by state, local and federal laws that provide restrictions on other forms of fundraising. These include, but are not limited to, any telephone or door-to-door solicitations, and the hosting of raffles (as these are not considered to be a charitable activity by the IRS).

CAN MAKE-A-WISH CHAPTERS SHARE A LIST OF DONORS FOR OUR EVENT?
No. Make-A-Wish protects the privacy of our donors and does not sell or release donor information outside the organization.

WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE FUNDS WE RAISE ONCE THEY ARE COLLECTED?
All NCAA Division II conferences and institutions that raise funds for Make-A-Wish must submit the funds to the Make-A-Wish National Office as soon as possible.

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR OUR CONFERENCE TO POOL OUR FUNDS TOGETHER TO COLLECTIVELY SPONSOR A WISH?
Unfortunately, that is not possible. Because each chapter is its own entity, with individual sponsorship requirements, it is not possible to raise funds across chapter territory lines forthe benefit of one chapter. However, select small institutions within the same chapter lines can be allowed to pool funds to meet the $10,000 goal set by the Make-A-Wish and NCAA Division II partnership. This requires prior approval from the Make-A-Wish National Office and NCAA Division II Make-A-Wish liaison.

ARE THERE OTHER WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH LOCAL WISH KIDS THAT DON’T INVOLVE WISH SPONSORSHIP?
Definitely. Utilize your local chapter resource to determine what opportunities might be available for your team or institution. Ways to engage might include participation in a sports-related wish send-off party, engaging with the chapter to provide a wish enhancement, volunteering for chapter events, such as their Walk for Wishes or fundraising galas or even exploring a summer internship!

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO PLAN A FUNDRAISING EVENT?
Any time is a great time to plan a fundraising event for Make-A-Wish! We suggest that once student-athletes return to campus in the fall, your representative reaches out to the local Make-A-Wish chapter to introduce themselves and begin discussions on what timeframe works best for you to activate a successful campaign. However, we recommend planning your events at least three months in advance. If you would like to request wish kid involvement, we recommend planning at least eight weeks in advance and submitting your request to your local Make-A-Wish chapter as soon as possible.

CAN WE HOST MORE THAN ONE FUNDRAISER EACH YEAR?
Absolutely! Student-athletes are encouraged to fundraise whenever an opportunity becomes available whether that is once a year, once a semester or once a month! The more funds raised each year, the more wishes we can grant for children with critical illnesses.

WHO DO I CONTACT TO PLAN A FUNDRAISING EVENT?
Each chapter has a designated representative who will serve as your institution’s main point of contact. We will provide an updated chapter contact list to the NCAA at the start of the school year. If you encounter any challenges in reaching your main point of contact, you contact Make-A-Wish at wishyourway@wish.org. 

CAN A WISH KID ATTEND OUR EVENT?
Not every wish child or family wants publicity and Make-A-Wish is very respectful of their privacy. Once the fundraiser has been approved by all parties, contact your local Make-A-Wish chapter and ask whether this is possible. The chapter can look for a family that is “publicity eligible,” but please accept the chapter’s decision if a wish child cannot be found for your event.

WHAT SUPPORT DOES MAKE-A-WISH PROVIDE?
Make-A-Wish can help you reach your goals. Here is what you can expect:

  • A mobile-friendly registration process and fundraising webpage.
  • Fundraising webpage to personalize with an image, story and details about your fundraiser.
  • Online fundraising tools that make it easy to ask for support.
  • Sample messages and tools to promote your fundraiser.
  • Inspiring stories of wish kids and their families.
  • Help when needed!

CAN ANYONE FUNDRAISE? 
Yes, but if you’re under 13 your parents will need to register the fundraiser for you.

CAN I COLLECT CASH OR CHECK DONATIONS FOR MY FUNDRAISER?
Yes, all donations are accepted and important. Cash donations should ideally be converted to check and mailed directly to Make-A-Wish America or utilized to make a donation directly on the team's website. Remember to include your name/institution, and indicating that you are parto fthe NCAA DII program when mailing donations to Make-A-Wish. Please include a donation form, found on your team's website tp ensure that it is accredited to the correct team.

WHERE DO I MAIL DONATIONS?
Make-A-Wish America
1702 East Highland Ave., Suite 400
Phoenix, AZ 85016

*Don't forget to include the printable donation form when mailing in donations. 

WHO DO I CONTACT FOR HELP?
Make-A-Wish & NCAA Division II are ready to help with your questions. Click here to find your local chapter, or visit the Contact Us page for Make-A-Wish and NCAA DII contact information.


PARTICIPANT QUESTIONS

ARE DONATIONS TO MY FUNDRAISER TAX-DEDUCTIBLE?
Yes, all donations made through your fundraising webpage will automatically receive an email acknowledgement for tax purposes. Cash or check donations will be acknowledged after they are received and processed by Make-A-Wish.

IS MY INFORMATION SECURE?
Yes. Make-A-Wish uses industry-standard SSL encryption techniques to make sure that your credit card information, passwords, and personal information travel securely over the Internet. There is an encryption engine on the Make-A-Wish database server so that your data is securely stored

HOW IS CREDIT CARD INFORMATION HANDLED?
Credit card information is not stored by Make-A-Wish. During the donation process, donor credit card information is sent to an online processing terminal using a secure connection. The information passed back is an approval or denial of the credit card donation.

CAN I COLLECT CASH OR CHECK DONATIONS?
Yes, all donations are accepted and important. Cash donations should ideally be converted to check and mailed directly to Make-A-Wish America. Remember to include your name/institution when mailing donations to Make-A-Wish. No donations should be mailed, nor can be accepted, by the local Make-A-Wish chapter.

CAN MAKE-A-WISH HELP WITH MY FUNDRAISER EXPENSES?
No, Make-A-Wish cannot cover the cost of expenses for your fundraiser. Please note that in-kind contributions made to your fundraiser goods or services aren’t eligible for tax receipts as they do not directly benefit Make-A-Wish.

I FORGOT MY USERNAME or PASSWORD; CAN I HAVE THEM RESET?
Click here to have your username emailed to you.
Click here to reset your password.

HOW DO I ADD A PHOTO TO MY FUNDRAISING PAGE?
Access your Participant Center. Select Edit Personal Page on the right hand side and select Edit Personal Page. Click Photos/Videos and then click choose file, select your image, customize your caption and Save. Make sure your images are in .gif, .jpg, or .png format. Crop or resize your image to 724 pixels wide and 378 pixels tall.

HOW DO I ADD A VIDEO TO MY FUNDRAISING PAGE?
Access your Participant Center. Select Edit Personal Page on the left side and select Photos/Videos. Make sure radio button is selected on Video. Place your video’s YouTube URL and save.

HOW DO I EDIT MY FUNDRAISING PAGE NAME?
Access your Participant Center. Select Edit Personal Page and select Content. Customize your title and save.

HOW DO I UPDATE MY FUNDRAISING PAGE CONTENT?
Access your Participant Center. Select Edit Personal Page and select Content. Customize your story under the Body. The font size, color, formatting, and font family can be customized. If you would like to see what your content looks like, click preview and a sample of your content will show up in a new window. The preview will not save your content. If you are satisfied return to your personal page and save.

I JUST FINISHED UPDATING MY PAGE. NOW WHAT?
Tell your friends and family about your fundraiser. Send them an email with a link to your fundraising page and request their support.

HOW DO I PERSONALIZE MY PAGE URL?
Access your Participant Center. Select Edit Personal Page and select content. Select URL Settings, enter your preferred URL and Save

HOW DO I MAKE MY PAGE PRIVATE?
Access your Participant Center. Select Edit Personal Page and select Content. Select URL Settings, select Private and Save

HOW DO I UPDATE MY FUNDRAISING GOAL?
Access your Participant Center. Visit the home page under My Progress. Click Change under your goal. Edit your goal and submit

HOW DO I PREVIEW MY FUNDRAISING PAGE?
Access your Participant Center. Select Personal Page and select View Personal Page. A separate window will open allowing you to view what your page looks like to your friends and family

HOW DO I FIND OUT WHO DONATED TO MY PAGE?
Access your Participant Center. Click View Progress. You will be able to view your personal donations, donations made by your friends and family, and who the top 10 donors are

HOW DO I SEND AN EMAIL TO CONTACTS ASKING FOR DONATIONS?
Access your Participant Center. Select Send Emails. Enter your friend’s name, email address, or choose from your contacts list. Provide a subject line and provide your customized content in the body of the email. If you would like to see what your content looks like, click Preview and a sample of your content will show up. You can also choose from templates provided. Edit the name information and send!