Serving 161 Texas counties

Make-A-Wish North Texas · Fiscal Year 2026

A record-breaking year.
A lasting impact.

FY26 was a record-breaking year for Make-A-Wish North Texas, marked by historic announcements, growing media attention, and extraordinary generosity from our community. Together, we granted more wishes than we planned, and that momentum carries us into FY27.

FY26 Impact Report
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01 / Year at a Glance FY26
585
Wishes granted
$19.7M*
Total dollars raised
59%*
Growth in total dollars raised vs. FY25
approximately1,000
Children referred for a wish
460+
Active volunteers
161
Texas counties served
*FY26 financial results are preliminary. Audited financial statements will be linked here when they are released in February 2027.
02 / Mission Impact FY26

Every number has a name.

A wish is more than one incredible day. It begins the moment a child starts to dream, creating something powerful to anticipate during the uncertainty of treatment and bringing hope, joy and possibility to the entire family. In FY26, hundreds of children across our region experienced the life-changing power of a wish.

For wish kid Diana, who faced a complex cancer journey that took away some of her physical abilities, The Hulk became a symbol of strength throughout her journey. Surrounded by her family and a community cheering her on, Diana came face-to-face with The Hulk in an unforgettable, full-circle surprise, a powerful reminder that the impact of a wish extends far beyond a single day.

Watch Diana’s story ›
03 / Why a Wish Matters FY26

Once again, hope had measurable impact.

Research shows that the wish journey can strengthen emotional well-being, restore hope and help children and families navigate critical illness with greater resilience.

95%
report improved emotional well-being
94%
report increased happiness
93%
experience less fear
91%
report greater hope for the future
75%
say their wish gave them strength to fight their critical illness
Children whose wishes were granted were 2.5× less likely to experience unplanned hospital admissions and 2× as likely to avoid emergency department visits, compared with eligible children still waiting.
1
The Good News
Referral
2
Bringing Control Back
Wish Discovery
3
Anticipation
Wish Planning
4
Living a Dream
Wish Experience
5
Lasting Impact
Wish Memories
The impact of a wish began well before wish day itself, and continued long after.
04 / Wish Stories FY26

Every wish is a story.

A few of the hundreds of children across our region whose wishes came true in FY26.

Edgar, 6
Genetic disorder
Edgar may not use words, but his joy speaks louder than anything he could say. It lives in his smile, his giggles and the way his whole body lights up. After a lifetime of hospital stays and therapies, his favorite Disney characters ease his mind and make him laugh, so his wish was to meet them at Disney World.
What made this wish special
“The laughter and the tears of joy. We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish his wish without the help of Make-A-Wish. We will forever be grateful. I’ll always remember his smile, and even though he may be nonverbal, I’m sure his mind was away from the doctor appointments, hospitalizations and therapies. He’s very blessed!”
Wish Mom, Karen
Brinlee, 12
Nervous system disorder
Brinlee’s wish for a golden retriever puppy named Darla brought a new kind of joy home. Seizures began at age five, and leaving the house has become increasingly difficult, so her family has worked to fill their home with love and happiness. Darla has been the perfect addition.
“This wish wasn’t just one day or one week of happiness. This wish is now a part of our family,”
Brinlee’s mom
Even on the difficult days, Darla is a reminder that the joy of a wish can last far beyond the moment it comes true.
Maci, 8
Cancer
Maci sees magic everywhere. She dances around the house, plays soccer and makes everyone laugh with her silly personality. Through everything she has faced at just 8, her faith, courage and bright spirit have never wavered.
“The idea of a wish to me is something that Maci dreams of doing, but something that I possibly might not be able to give her.”
Maci’s mom
When it was time to dream up a wish, there was no question: a Frozen-themed horse celebration for her 8th birthday. Dressed as Queen Elsa and surrounded by more than 50 family members, friends and community supporters, Maci filled her kingdom with laughter, celebration and a whole lot of magic.
Amora, 5
Leukemia
After bravely facing leukemia and spending over a month in the hospital, Amora’s wish to visit Walt Disney World marked a turning point, giving her family the time to simply enjoy being together without thinking about her diagnosis.
“My daughter has been through so much and knowing that she’d be able to celebrate ending her treatment and be a normal kid again, at a place as special as the village, was magical,”
Amora’s mom
From her very first airplane ride to ice cream for breakfast, dancing on stage at EPCOT and meeting her favorite princess, Moana, every moment was filled with joy, and she got to share the magic with her little brother.
05 / Growing Our Impact FY26

More support. More possibilities. More wishes.

6,197
Unique donors
approximately2,100
New donors
$1,250
Average cash gift
132
Wish families who donated
approximately13M
Population served
$3.3M
In-kind gifts, FY26
17%
More wishes granted than planned
End the Wait · The Campaign for Every Child’s Wish
$7.2M of $13M goal
55% to goal
Building the capacity to end the wait.
06 / Transformational Giving FY26

Three families and foundations made transformational commitments in FY26, each one giving for reasons entirely their own.

Giving from the heart

David & Carolyn Miller, Katy & Kyle Miller, and Meredith & Kyle Bebee came together as a family to make one of FY26’s most significant gifts, a commitment rooted simply in care for every child still waiting on a wish.

Making a legacy now

Ryan & Chelsea Chismark, through The Chismark Family Foundation, made a pledge in FY26, choosing to build their family’s legacy today, in the lives of children who can’t afford to wait.

Playing for each child

Becky & Dr. Gary Donovitz, alongside the Donovitz Family Foundation, have long shown up for Make-A-Wish North Texas on the course and off it. Their gift in FY26 was their biggest swing yet: support that went directly toward ending the wait for every child.

07 / Corporate Partners FY26

Corporate partners

Companies, foundations and organizations across North Texas stood behind our mission in FY26.

A few of our top corporate donors
08 / Grants at Work FY26
$686K

Raised in grants

From 70+ applications with an 89% success rate, strategic foundation support helped turn funding into wishes across our region.

A few of our top foundation donors
09 / Events with Impact FY26
Wish Night Dallas
An unforgettable night. A lasting impact.
$3,200,000
Total raised
59%
YoY growth
49
Total sponsors
10 / In the Media FY26

Seen and Being Seen

FY26 built real momentum for Make-A-Wish North Texas, carrying our mission onto local news, into neighborhood papers, and across the outlets our community trusts most, again and again.

Our strongest stories
CBS News Texas
North Texas Make-A-Wish grants a week of fun for 4-year-old boy
Watch the story ›
WFAA
How Make-A-Wish is bringing joy to critically ill children in North Texas
Watch the story ›
CW33
Make-A-Wish grants life-changing wishes for North Texas kids
Watch the story ›
Earned media impact · Westphall PR · September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026
134
Secured coverage
19M
Estimated views
4.66B
Audience across outlets
$12.84M
Advertising value (AVE)
Most featured in
Featured in the following
Earned media totals are per Westphall PR, covering September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026. They do not include the hundreds of thousands of people who watched live, or who watched, listened to, or read non-digital placements. “Secured coverage” includes broadcast hits and other placements. AVE is Advertising Value Equivalency. The outlet breakdown above reflects FY26 press coverage secured across North Texas media.
11 / Impact Across Our Regions FY26

161 counties.
One mission.

Make-A-Wish North Texas served a territory covering approximately 13 million people across 161 Texas counties through eight regional teams, each building the relationships and community infrastructure a region needs. Every figure below reflects FY26 activity only.

FY26 Dollars Raised by Region
Cash only. Excludes in-kind gifts.
NORTH TEXAS $13.9M
Dallas / Fort Worth · 409 wishes
East Texas
$88K
57 wishes
El Paso
$1.2M
44 wishes
Texas Panhandle
$211K
Amarillo · 16 wishes
West Texas
$914K
Permian Basin · 36 wishes
South Plains
$59K
Lubbock · 23 wishes
Stylized outline. Positions approximate each region’s general location; bubble size reflects each region’s relative share of FY26 dollars raised.
12 / A Community Behind Every Wish FY26

It takes a community to make a wish possible.

460+
Active volunteers
85+
Medical institutions
130+
Hospital departments
$3.3M
In-kind gifts, FY26
$1.03M
Estate & planned gifts, FY26
13 / Supporting Families in New Ways FY26
Wish Family Resource Network

Innovation that shows up before, and after, the wish.

In partnership with
What is it?
A new partnership with SMU’s Addy Foundation Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) to build the Wish Family Resource Network, a cornerstone of our broader Communities of Hope initiative, funded by philanthropist Steve Hall and the Make It Matter Foundation.
Why was it created?
When a child is diagnosed with a critical illness, families are suddenly navigating questions about finances, work, sibling care and emotional well-being, often without knowing where to turn. The Resource Network is designed to connect them with trusted experts and resources, sometimes before they even know to ask.
How does it help wish families?
Research launched this year: SMU CORE is studying family experiences years after a wish, including what creates lasting impact. That work will shape the Resource Network and set the stage for a long-term study of its effectiveness.

“We know how powerful a wish can be, and now we have an opportunity to learn even more about what families need throughout this incredibly difficult journey.”

Kim Elenez, President & CEO, Make-A-Wish North Texas
14 / Leadership & Board FY26

The people behind the mission.

Leadership Team
KE
Kim Elenez
President & CEO
CE
Clayton Ellis
Chief Development Officer
BM
Belinda Marshall
Chief Financial Officer
MS
Michael Scott Smith
Chief Operating Officer
Welcoming in the FY27 Board of Directors
Officers & Committee Chairs
Andy Dunning
Chair
President, Dealers Auction Xchange
Ryan Chismark
Vice Chair & Development Committee Chair
Principal, Ryan
Enrique Duarte Melo
Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair
Former Managing Director & Senior Partner, BCG
Marty Brimmage
Secretary
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Charles de Wetter
Program Committee Chair
Retired, Coldwell Banker Legacy
Board Members
Michelle Carroll
Chief Human Resources Officer, HKS Inc.
Elizabeth Dalton
Southwest Regional Council Chair
Community Outreach Director, Best Maid Pickles
Alison Delzell
Senior VP, The Marketing Arm
Dr. Gary Donovitz, M.D., FACOG
Founder, BioTE Medical and the Institute for Hormonal Balance
Alex Druta
Partner, PwC
Tim Frederick
CEO, First United Mortgage
Dr. Maurizio Ghisoli, M.D.
Chapter Medical Advisory Committee
Physician, Texas Oncology - Medical City Dallas
Joan Holman
CIO, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Shari Krueger
Principal, Krueger Connect
Neil Leibman
Chairman, Rangers Sports Media & Entertainment Company
Justin Lowenfield
President & Dealer Principal, Casa Auto Group
Tina Mahal
Senior Vice President of Marketing, PepsiCo Foods North America
Patricia Finn Martillo
Founder, Circē Skincare
Marissa Solis
SVP Global Brand and Consumer Marketing, National Football League
Russ Webb
Managing Partner/Broker, Silver Oak Commercial Realty
Britton Wells
Texas Panhandle Regional Development Council Chair
Founder and Managing Principal, Wind’s Eye Capital
Katherine Wyker
CEO of her family’s private foundation
Tracy Yellen
El Paso Regional Council Chair
CEO, Paso del Norte Community Foundation
15 / The Work Ahead
585
Wishes granted, FY26
$19.7M*
Raised in FY26
460+
Active volunteers, FY26
161
Texas counties served

The Momentum is Theirs.

1,150 wishes waiting*

This was truly a remarkable year. We granted more wishes, reached more families, and saw extraordinary generosity across North Texas, yet there is still much more to do. In the year ahead, we will continue our crusade to end the wait.

As we enter fiscal year 2027, 1,150 children are still waiting for their wishes, and many of them have been waiting as long as two years or more. Meanwhile, new children are referred to us every day. That reality is driving what comes next, and with your support, we have the momentum to achieve it.

It would be easy to say the momentum is ours, but that’s not true. It belongs to our wish kids and our fierce commitment to get to them all. And together, with you, we know we will end the wait for every child.

*Accurate as of November 1, 2026.

The Campaign

End the Wait: The Campaign for Every Child’s Wish is a $13M effort to build the lasting capacity Make-A-Wish North Texas needs to grant every eligible wish without a multi-year wait. We’ve raised $7.2M toward that goal so far, roughly 55% of the way there.

Why It Matters

A critical illness doesn’t wait, and neither should a child’s wish. This campaign builds permanent capacity: staff, regional infrastructure, and resources across all eight of our regions, so that FY26’s progress becomes our new baseline, not our ceiling.

End the Wait The Campaign for Every Child’s Wish
Questions about the year?
Kim Elenez
President & CEO
Clayton Ellis
Chief Development Officer
Read our Case Statement
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