2025-08-31-accounts

Annual report

I wish to be surrounded by golden retrievers Ellie, 10 osteosarcoma

Annual report

For the year ended 31[st] August 2025

Report and financial statements Make-4-Wish.AWwi Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 0 UNITED KINGDOM

Annual report

Contents

Report of the trustees ........................................................................................ 2 Reference and administrative details ...................................................................................................................... 2 Chair’s statement ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Our aims and objectives ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Strategy and values ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Our goals ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Achievement and performance .............................................................................................................................. 12 Wishes ......................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Financial review ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 Expenditure ................................................................................................................................................................. 21 Structure, governance and management .............................................................................................................. 23 Principal risks and uncertainties ............................................................................................................................. 24 Future developments ................................................................................................................................................ 26 Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities ................................................................................................................ 28 Auditors ....................................................................................................................................................................... 29

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|||| |---|---|---| |Independent auditor’s report to the members and trustees of| |Make-A-Wish Foundation|[®]|UK ..................................................................... 30| |Statement of financial activities (Incorporating the income and| |expenditure account) for the year ended 31|[st]|August 2025 ................... 30| |Group and charity balance sheets as at 31|[st]|August 2025 ...................... 31| |Group cash flow for the year ended 31|[st]|August 2025 ............................ 32| |Notes to the financial statements ................................................................. 34|

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Company Registration No.02031836

Annual report

Report of the trustees

The trustees, who are also directors and members of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the consolidated financial statements of the charity and the group for the year ended 31 August 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ – Second Edition, effective 1 January 2019.

Reference and administrative details

Registered Company Number Principal and Registered Office 2031836 (England and Wales) 7[th] Floor, Thames Tower Station Road Registered Charity Numbers Reading 295672 (England and Wales) Berkshire SC037479 (Scotland) RG1 1LX

Trustees

Lin Hinnigan Chair Helen Spice Resigned 11 November 2025 Usman Chaudry Resigned 6[th] May 2025 George Gabriel Resigned 21[st] February 2025 Nina Saffuri Sarah Keeble Nik Pratap Emma Johnson Nick Rooke Appointed 6[th] May 2025 Schellion Horn Appointed 6[th] May 2025 Dr Kiran Rahim Appointed 8[th] July 2025

Youth Advisor

Sara Millar

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Senior Management Team

Jason Suckley Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Witt Director of Income & Engagement Jamie Dormandy Director of Operations Elizabeth Burris Director of Finance & Governance – appointed 1[st] April 2025

Company Secretary

Elizabeth Burris Appointed 1[st] April 2025

Auditors

HaysMac LLP 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1AG

Solicitors

Bevan Kidwell LLP 113-117 Farringdon Road London EC1R 3BX

Principal Bankers

National Westminster Bank Plc Ground Floor 200 Fowler Avenue IQ Farnborough

Farnborough Hampshire GU14 7JP

Investment Managers

Barclays Private Bank & Wealth Management 1 Churchill Place Canary Wharf London E14 5HP

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Chair’s statement

Our vision is to grant the wish of every eligible child with a critical illness. We seek to achieve this by raising more money and making this money go further by working with partner organisations, volunteers and supporters to acquire products and services for free.

We grant wishes for children with critical illness. Demand for wishes continues to climb. Whilst in many cases wish children go on to live long lives, this is not always the case. We are now receiving around three times as many referrals from children nearing the end of their lives than we did pre-Covid. Regardless of how long a child has left to live, the granting of their wish provides them and their family with magical memories that will last a lifetime.

We granted the wishes of 1,200 children in 2024/25, (1,272 wishes granted in 2023/24). Whilst this is good news, we estimate that in the UK around 8,000 children between the age of 3 and 17 are diagnosed with a critical illness each year.

We still have a long way to go to realise our vision to grant the wish of every eligible child.

We generated gross income of £11.5m. We have continued to invest in mass fundraising which enabled us to acquire around 6,000 new regular giving supporters and 12,000 new donors overall. 55% of our Individual Giving income now comes through direct debits, as compared to 28% three years ago. A key part of our strategy is sustainable income growth, and our investment programme is helping us to achieve this.

Another key area of our strategy is to establish scalable models of wish delivery. We are continuously seeking to innovate across the wish journey to ensure that we maximise the reach and impact of our wishes with the money we have available. The average direct cash cost of our wishes is now 25% lower than pre-Covid levels. Over the same period, the number of wishes granted per Wishgranter (the primary employee role responsible for the granting of a wish) has doubled and we have significantly grown gifts in kind (pro bono products and services). We measure the impact of our wishes through post wish surveys, and impact scores have continued to improve. This has all been made possible through a combination of working closely with partner organisations, enabling volunteers to do more, investing in technology and process efficiency.

We owe it to both the children whose wishes we grant and our supporters to ensure that we make the most of our financial resources. We are all very proud of the progress we are making in innovating around our models of delivery. We cannot rely purely on income growth to reach our vision.

The Make-A-Wish UK brand is well loved. In fact, a recent survey showed it to be the 2nd most loved children’s charity brand in the UK! Our brand challenge has been that, despite this love, fewer people have considered donating to the charity than we need. However, according to the 2025 Charity Brand Index, consideration to donate amongst the public has more than doubled over the past 7 years.

We take our commitment to being a child-led organisation seriously. We have an advisory board, STARboard, made up of young people who have experienced a wish. During the year STARboard engaged with a set of strategic challenges and fed their perspectives into our Senior Leadership

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Team (SLT) and board of Trustees. These included considering how we maintain the magic and impact of wishes as we scale, defining organisational values and behaviours, and considerations around our reserves policy and investment in the organisation vs granting additional wishes. They also represented Make-A-Wish at a number of events, helping to leverage significant donations. In addition, we have a Youth Adviser on the board and will soon be recruiting our first trustee who is a young person with lived experience of critical illness and receiving a wish.

I would like to thank everyone who plays a role in bringing magic into the lives of children with a critical illness through the granting of their wishes, be they volunteers, donors, supporters, partners or employees. I know that your talents and commitment will enable us to create more life changing wishes for children and their families over the coming year.

Lin Hinnigan

Chair, Make-A-Wish Foundation[®] UK

10[th] February 2026

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Case study - Monty’s wish

At just five years old, Monty has faced more challenges than most children could imagine. Diagnosed with leukaemia at two, his early years have been dominated by hospital visits, treatments, and the discomfort of a serious illness. His parents, Jodie and Giles, remember the long months of uncertainty before the diagnosis including a lump on Monty’s neck that went unnoticed for months. “Waiting was long and tough, and because he was only two, he couldn’t tell us how he was feeling,” Mum, Jodie, told us. The diagnosis meant major adjustments for the whole family, including temporarily relocating Monty’s middle sister to stay with grandparents.

Despite the hardships, Monty’s bravery has shone through. “He’s in clear discomfort a lot of the time, but he’s learned to just get on with it. He’s never known any different,” said Jodie. Even with regular infections and hospital visits interrupting his early childhood, Monty’s spirit remains unbroken. Monty’s favourite TV character is Fireman Sam, and his love of the character has helped to inspire him to face each challenge with courage. After long periods confined to hospital beds, Monty found joy in the adventures of his favourite firefighter - absorbing lessons of bravery and resilience that helped him through.

When the family learned that Monty could be eligible for a wish, there was no question what it would be. “When we had the call, being a firefighter was all he considered!” Jodie said. From that moment on, the anticipation grew, with firefighterthemed gifts and more ensuring the experience would be unforgettable.

On the big day, Monty and his family arrived at Whitechapel Fire Station in London for a fully immersive experience. He was fitted with a specially designed firefighting suit and took part in 6 staged rescue missions, putting out fires, saving ‘trapped’ individuals from cars, and even joining a thrilling water rescue operation. “My highlight was watching them fully involve him, making him genuinely feel like a firefighter. It was like ‘Monty, this is your role - you are a a - 5 firefighter,’” Jodie said.

For children like Monty, living with a serious illness can be isolating and challenging. Monty’s wish was a brilliant opportunity to celebrate his bravery and resilience, making precious memories as a family. “Nothing will make up for how hard it is, but a wish helps to make him feel like it’s all worth it,” Jodie said. For Monty, the day was more than a dream come

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Company Registration

Annual report

true, it was a reminder that even during hardship, moments of magic, adventure, and joy are

Our vision

Our mission

To create a wish for Together, we create joy, happiness and magical memories every eligible child. through life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

Public benefit

We work to a set of charitable objectives, agreed with the charity commission that comply with section 17 of the Charities Act 2011. These objectives pay due regard to the Charity Commission guidance and as such explain the public benefit of what we do linked to the number of wishes we grant and the positive impact of each wish on the wellbeing of the child and their family.

possible.

Our aims and objectives

Strategy and values

Our overriding vision is to grant a wish for every eligible child. Our strategy seeks to realise this vision through a combination of sustainable income growth and the establishment of a scalable, community led, model of delivery. Our goals are set with underlying principles of impact, reach and sustainability.

Our values are the core principles and beliefs that guide the behaviours, decisions, and culture within Make-A-Wish UK. Having clear values and behaviours helps foster a cohesive and positive work environment, aligning employees and promoting a sense of purpose. These values provide the basis for how we make decisions, the way we do things and what we stand for. They provide a platform for the achievement of our mission and goals.

We are dedicated, creative, kind and caring. We earn the trust of our wish children, their families, the communities in which we operate and our supporters. We consider the impact of our actions on others.

We are one community united in our ambition to bring lasting impact to every child and young person, and their families. We stay true to who we are, stand up for what we believe in and our differences are celebrated.

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Goal 1: Our wishes create joyful memories that have an enduring impact.

The wish journey creates a lifetime of memories that improve wellbeing.

We believe in the dreams of every child and young person. We inspire hope and courage to search for rainbows and reach for the stars. We build excitement, invent, create and do things that have never been done before.

Our goals

The wishes we grant have a considerable impact on children and their families over time, from design and anticipation through to memories created, and their lasting impact. We continue to measure impact using a method underpinned by academic research, including published research undertaken with Aston University and Make-A-Wish International’s Theory of Change which was developed in conjunction with research agency Research for Impact. After each wish, families receive a set of questions based on established wellbeing measures taken from the Warwick-Edinburgh mental wellbeing scale, Oxford University’s Happiness Questionnaire and the Wellbeing Framework for schools developed by the Anna Freud Centre for children and families. They reflect on their experience pre and post wish. The change in results before and after each wish tells us about the impact that it had. We measure seven key areas of impact:

• joy and happiness

• respite and distraction

• self-efficacy

• broadened horizons

• family bonding,

• inclusion and social engagement

• strengthened individual wellbeing.

Across all areas measured in 2024-25 we observed a significant positive impact of wishes, with 77% reporting an improvement in at least one area of impact. Impact was especially notable in the areas of strengthened individual wellbeing, broadening horizons/looking forward to the future, and joy and happiness. This year we have also begun to explore using technology to help us align qualitative feedback received to the areas of impact. This analysis has supported the findings from the quantitative research.

We also monitor the quality of experience using a Net Promoter Score method with a “How likely are you to talk positively about Make-A-Wish?” question. The score of 94 for 2024-25

Goal 2: Our community will create an accessible wish experience for every child.

Every child has equal access to a wish.

Our communities create wish experiences for children and their families.

exceeded our target (90), indicating exceptionally high satisfaction with wish experiences. While

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the response to the surveys is overwhelmingly positive, they also provide an opportunity to address occasional issues which arise and capture feedback on areas where we have the potential to improve.

As we look back on 2024/25, we are proud of the progress we've made and the partnerships that have helped us grant wishes. Our goal is clear: every child should have equal access to a wish. By working hand in hand with our communities, we will continue to create accessible, diverse, and unforgettable experiences for children and their families across the UK.

In 2024/25, we granted 1,200 wishes, continuing to provide life-changing experiences for children with critical illnesses. Our vision is that every child has equal access to a wish, and our communities play a vital role in creating accessible experiences for children and their families. This commitment underpins everything we do as we strive to make wishes possible for every eligible child.

The average cash cost per wish was £2,155, reflecting our focus on sustainability while maintaining the quality and impact of each experience. Our partnership with Disney remains a cornerstone of our wish delivery. Among these wishes were 192 ‘A Disney Wish’ (ADW) experiences and 156 Disneyland Paris (DLP) wishes, both of which remain amongst our most popular wish types. We are grateful for the ongoing support of The Kentown Wizard Foundation in the funding of our Disneyland Paris wishes.

In 2024/25 we focused on expanding volunteer involvement across the wish journey. Over the year we explored and created new volunteer activities and increased the number of volunteers attending wishes, reducing staff time and improving efficiency. In 2025/26 we will roll out a new wish anticipation volunteer activity and begin building the foundations of our volunteer network within medical care settings. Our long-term aim is to have volunteers where we need them most to support referral generation, wish capture, wish delivery and post-wish engagement, ensuring that every eligible child can experience a wish.

We collaborated to launch a fully inclusive group theatre wish experience, where five families per group will enjoy unforgettable moments at The Lion King and the newly released Hercules in the West End in the coming year. This exciting new format will run quarterly from 2025/26, adding a fresh dimension to our group wishes portfolio.

Looking ahead, we are preparing to deliver our first Wishes United group wish in 2025/26 in collaboration with Mason Mount, who is co-creating and funding the project. This unique wish will bring 11 families to St George’s Park for an action-packed football experience featuring some very familiar faces. It promises to be a truly memorable event and an exciting addition to our group wish offering.

Our approach to Gifts in Kind (GIK) has significantly evolved over the past year. The Wishgranting Partnerships team now leads in identifying our most frequently used suppliers and building strong relationships to enhance the experience for families, reduce staff time for our Wishgranting team, and lower the cash cost of wishes. We have decreased waiting times for families, increased efficiencies for our teams, and focused on nationwide, cost-effective GIK that can be used across multiple wishes. This structured approach ensures we maximise the impact of every pound raised while maintaining the highest standards of quality and care.

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Our wish family engagement programme enables the impact of a wish to last in the memories of children and their families and gives them the opportunity to engage with the charity in other ways over time. Our regular communications with wish families prompted many of them to share their stories to new audiences at events and through traditional and social media. We have also created some bespoke volunteer roles for past wish families to bring their valuable experiences to others. Together, in 2024-25 wish families raised over £150,000 - more than in any previous year, to enable more wishes to be granted.

STARboard is our young people’s advisory board, made up of young people who have experienced a wish. Our second cohort of STARboard had a successful year. Over the year, the group engaged with a set of strategic challenges and opportunities and fed their perspectives into to our Senior Leadership Team and Board of Trustees. They also represented Make-A-Wish

Goal 3: We will increase our capability to reach our goals.

Our people are equipped, representative and empowered. Our processes and systems enable what we do and keep our stakeholders safe.

at a number of events, helping to leverage a number of significant donations. A former STARboard member has also been appointed as our Youth Advisor, attending board meetings and sub-committee meetings to represent the voices of young people directly in the governance of the charity.

Governance

We continue to review our governance to ensure it is effective and supportive as we continue to develop our established funding model and pilot ways of working to support our scale ambitions.

We continue to focus on ensuring our governance is fit for purpose, recruiting and onboarding new trustees as terms for long standing trustees come to an end. Huge thanks are due to Usman Chaudry, George Gabriel, and Helen Spice who leave an impressive legacy from their terms.

We continue to strengthen, through our Youth Advisor, the links between our Board of Trustees and our Board of children and young people who have had a wish, STARboard. We will further enhance the voice of the wish child through the appointment of a young person with lived experience of a wish as a trustee, following board approval in July 2025.

We have maintained a continued focus on risk management as we invest in mass fundraising alongside an effective ‘freedom within frameworks’ approach for our people. Our people strategy seeks to ensure our governance provides the tools and guardrails for employees and volunteers to act without delay in the best interest of our wish children.

Our People

Delivering life-changing wishes takes a united and passionate community with our people at the heart of it. Their dedication, expertise, and belief in the power of a wish continue to shape everything we do. The People team is focused on creating an environment where everyone feels supported, included, and empowered to grow. We are building a culture that values

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collaboration, wellbeing, and purpose to ensure every individual can thrive and contribute meaningfully.

We have made significant progress in evolving our People Strategy with key milestones including:

• The launch of a brand-new values and behaviour framework, designed to embed a shared understanding of how we work together and live our values every day.

• Implementation of a new people system to better support the evolving needs of our team and improve how we report, manage and respond to people data.

• Transitioning our pension scheme to a salary sacrifice model, helping both employees and the charity save money which is a practical step to support financial wellbeing and organisational sustainability.

• Continued investment in learning and development, offering opportunities for growth through training and career development aligned with our mission.

• A renewed commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, ensuring every individual feels respected, valued, and able to contribute fully.

• Ongoing focus on wellbeing, with initiatives supporting mental health, work-life balance, and a positive working environment.

• Recognition of the vital role played by our volunteers, who are supported and celebrated as part of our wider Make-A-Wish community.

People Metrics Overview (Sept 2024 – Aug 2025)

• Annual employee turnover declined from 23.47% to 9.35%.

• Voluntary turnover a newly tracked KPI, was at 7.30%

Sickness Absence dropped from 0.47% to 0.21%These results reflect the positive impact of our evolving approach to people management and the strength of our organisational culture. As we look ahead, we will continue to listen to our people, refine our strategy, and build an environment where everyone can thrive and make a meaningful impact.

Technology

This year marked a strategic shift in how we work. We introduced more agile methodologies, adopted a new technology strategy and cybersecurity roadmap, and merged our digital change and service desk teams under a unified technology and transformation function. These changes have laid the foundation for a more proactive and business-aligned approach.

In 2024–25, we integrated our volunteer application, Assemble, with our Salesforce CRM, significantly improving the experience for our volunteer community and internal teams.

We also launched a major laptop replacement programme to modernise staff equipment, enhance productivity, and standardise our infrastructure, making it easier and more costeffective to support and secure. Originally planned to reach 50% of staff in year one, the rollout exceeded expectations with 75% completed at a lower unit cost than anticipated. Full completion is on track for Christmas 2025, enabling us to review further potential savings as old infrastructure is retired.

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Looking ahead to 2025–26, we will transition to a business partner model, enabling our teams to better advise the organisation on opportunities, needs, and challenges, while moving away from

Goal 4: We will grow our income and awareness.

Our income and networks are built in a sustainable way.

The brand will be relevant to all as more people understand the difference wishes make.

reactive delivery. We will also embark on major improvement works to our Salesforce wish processes, targeting efficiencies that will enable us to deliver 2,000 wishes per year with current staffing, while also setting us up for more ambitious transformational growth and digital opportunity in the future

Meeting the growing demand - why strategic fundraising investment is essential for Make-A-Wish UK

In order to keep pace with new diagnoses we estimate that we need to fulfil 8,000 wishes annually to reach every eligible child in the UK. This gap is substantial, and to address it, we have taken deliberate steps to secure long-term financial sustainability and growth.

As part of a carefully considered strategy designed to meet the growing demand for our services, we have increased our expenditure on raising income. Our investment in fundraising is focused on driving more regular and predictable income streams through regular giving and lottery products. This method, which includes building a base of individual supporters through regular direct debits, is among the most reliable and sustainable income streams in the charity sector. Over the past three years, we have allocated an additional £2.2m to grow this programme, recognising its potential to provide predictable, consistent revenue. While this type of fundraising requires upfront investment, it is already yielding returns: direct debit income now accounts for 55% of our Individual Giving revenue, up from just 26% three years ago. Across this time, our investment has contributed to the recruitment of 30,673 new supporters.

This investment is performing in line with expectations, and it is essential for our future, to meet the ongoing demand for wishes. Our return on investment is already positive, with a current in year return of £1.14 for every £1 invested. However, the real value of this investment lies in the longer term and, given we are achieving retention rates for new supporters that are well above industry benchmarks, we can confident that we will see returns for many years to come.

By expanding our donor base in a sustainable way, we are not only stabilising our income but ensuring we can grant more wishes to children facing critical illnesses, now and in the years to come. This strategic approach is how we will continue to grow and meet the needs of every child who turns to us for hope and joy in their most difficult moments.

Achievement and performance

Beyond the wish: The true impact of Make-A-Wish UK

At Make-A-Wish UK, every wish is more than a single moment of magic. It is a journey that touches lives far beyond the child at the heart of it. The number of wishes granted only begins to

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tell the full story. Behind each wish lies months of preparation, numerous touchpoints, and the love and hope shared with entire families and communities.

Expanding the reach of every wish

While 1,200 wishes were granted in the last financial year, our impact extends far beyond that number. With an average family size of four, these wishes reached over 4,500 family members, bringing joy, comfort, and togetherness in the most difficult times to each home. The effect of a wish is multiplied when families share the experience with their wider communities too. It is not just one child whose life is transformed but everyone around them.

A journey, not a moment

Every wish is a story unfolding over time. The average journey from referral to granted wish lasts 15 months, with families remaining connected to Make-A-Wish UK well beyond that moment. Our impact research shows that this ongoing engagement supports long-term wellbeing, with measurable effects reported up to five years after the wish and lasting influence beyond that.

Touchpoints that spark magic

The path to a granted wish involves multiple magical touchpoints:

1. Notification of qualification for a wish

Wish qualified: the wish child and their family are given the exciting news that they are able to have a wish. Age-appropriate materials are sent to the family to get them thinking and dreaming about what that special wish is going to be.

2. Wish discovery

A trained volunteer spends time with the child and their family understanding all about the wish child: what do they love doing, what makes them laugh, what are their hopes and dreams for the future, and much more. They capture three magical wish ideas that make the child’s eyes light up in anticipation.

3. Initial call with a Wishgranter

One of our Wishgranting team investigates the wish ideas and calls the family to discuss details like timing and accessibility arrangements. They are then able to agree the wish and the excitement builds!

4. Wish anticipation

Every child receives a gift to help them anticipate the wish – this keeps the dream alive for the weeks or months in advance of the wish and often helps the child and family look forward to the wish through ongoing treatment and care plans.

5. Wish pack preparation

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The child and their family will receive a pack with all of the details of their wish: where they will go, who they will meet, and any tickets and bookings they need. The wish is starting to become very real and the excitement builds further!

6. Wish granted

The magical day arrives and the wish that started in the child’s imagination comes true. Feelings of joy reinforce hope for the child and the family as they experience the wish together.

1. Post-wish impact

We check in with every family after their wish and gain feedback on their experience and the impact of the wish. Reflecting on the wish prolongs and reinforces those feelings of joy and happiness. Each family also receive a voucher to print photos of their wish, creating a book or prints to display and keep the memory of those joyful moments alive.

Each touchpoint is an opportunity to bring joy, hope, and a special moment in childhood, ensuring that the wish experience resonates deeply with children and their families.

Connecting with children and families

Over the past year, our teams spoke with 2,615 children in the pipeline, including those newly referred and those whose wishes were granted during the year. In addition, we maintained contact with 2,500 families whose children had previously received wishes, nurturing lasting connections and ongoing support.

Wishes help children and their families feel more connected. Last year, 44% of families who completed our impact survey reported an increase in inclusion and social engagement, demonstrating that the impact of a wish extends beyond the individual child to strengthen relationships and community connections.

Collaborative impact

Our work relies on strong partnerships. Last year, 523 medical professionals across 19 partner organisations referred children to us, helping us reach those who need us most. These collaborations also allow us to operate efficiently, ensuring every wish is delivered with care, compassion, and magic. Working in partnership also means that the child’s wish journey is connected to the medical care and treatment they receive.

The true value of a wish

While cost per wish remains an important metric, the real story is one of families touched, journeys transformed, and enduring hope created. By capturing these richer insights, we can more fully demonstrate the profound and lasting impact of every wish being part of a child's treatment plan for a critical illness and inspire more people to join us in making magic happen.

Wishes

In 2024/25, we granted 1,200 wishes, exceeding our target of 1,154. Whilst this did not surpass the record set in 2023/24 when 1,272 wishes were granted, it still represents another

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exceptionally strong year and demonstrates our continued ability to deliver high-impact outcomes for children and families across the UK.

This performance was made possible through a strategic shift in our approach to Gift in Kind (GIK). By adopting a more targeted approach, we successfully reduced waiting times for families, improved efficiencies, and reduced the average cash wish cost. This allowed us to increase the number of wishes granted without increasing wish granting headcount or budget. As a result of this new approach, we secured 23 new budget-relieving supplier partnerships and achieved a 37% increase in total partnership-led GIK contributions compared to the previous year.

To grant wishes we rely on referrals of eligible children. By embedding referral generation and wish delivery into children's care pathways through Community Referral Partnerships (CRPs), Make-A-Wish UK will sustainably increase the volume and quality of referrals, reduce the administrative burden on healthcare professionals, and enhance the timeliness and relevance of wish experiences. This year, we made significant progress in establishing our referral infrastructure. Our network of Community Referral Partners (CRPs) grew to 15, and we are now in a position to begin volunteer recruitment at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. This will allow us to pilot a new referral generation model and lay the foundations for volunteers to support families throughout the wish journey. In addition, we launched a quarterly in-hospice referral generation pilot with Bluebell Wood Hospice in Doncaster. Initially staff-led, this initiative is now ready to transition to a volunteer-led model over the course of the next financial year.

Crucially, while maintaining a high volume of wishes, and reducing the average wish cost, we have increased the quality and impact of each wish. Positive responses to pre- and post-wish surveys reached a record high of 77%, and satisfaction with the wish experience also increased with a Net Promoter Score of 94.

This year’s achievements reflect our ability to innovate, optimise resources, and remain focused on delivering life-changing experiences for children and their families.

Partners and volunteers

We are very fortunate to work with a network of skilled and committed volunteers and partners who make it possible for us to grant magical wishes. In 2024/25, an incredible 674 volunteers actively contributed to Make-A-Wish’s mission (2023/24: 470), donating over 14,500 hours of their time to support children and families. Their activities spanned the full breadth of our work— from conducting wish discoveries and preparing anticipation packs, to supporting wish delivery (including large group experiences such as A Disney Wish ), sourcing vital gifts in kind, greeting families at train stations and airports, and organising or assisting at fundraising events such as community balls, A Night of Wishes, and multiple challenge events.

This year, volunteers supported 331 wishes, with 69 wish family members becoming volunteers themselves, and 338 new volunteers joining us, bringing our total to 674. Volunteers logged into our new volunteering app 16,875 times to stay engaged, and their combined hours equated to £272k in cost savings.

In addition to their time, volunteers fundraised and donated £138k, with wish families raising a further £143k. The overall growth and commitment of our volunteer community has been exceptional and deeply impactful. Together, our volunteers and wish family members remain at

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the heart of what we do, and their extraordinary contribution this year positions us strongly to deliver even greater impact in the year ahead.

Our work relies on collaborative partnerships, and we are grateful to our ongoing relationships with the following organisations, whose support ensures that every wish referred to us and fulfilled with care and compassion:

Financial review

Financial performance

Total income for Make-A-Wish UK, including fundraising, legacies, donations in kind and other non-fundraising income was £11.5m (2023/24 £12.2m, excluding AOW Gala £9.6m). We invested £5.3m (2023/24: £6.1m) in raising this income and spent £7.3m (2023/24: £6.3m) in support of our core objectives, leaving a deficit of £0.9m (2023/24: Surplus of £3k) after investment gains/losses.

The charity's wholly owned trading subsidiaries, Make-A-Wish Promotions Limited, achieved a surplus of £0.3m (2023/24: £0.4m surplus), and Make-A-Wish Play Limited made £nil (2023/24: £5k loss). Make-A-Wish Limited was dormant throughout the period.

The charity’s principal financial management policies are:

• To meet the annual operating budget and cash flow

• To manage charity reserves in line with Charity Commission guidance and our strategic plan

Fundraising and income review

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Principal funding sources

Make-A-Wish UK has a broad funding base, attracting cash and gift in kind support from a wide range of sources, including corporate supporters (large and small), trusts and foundations, individual donors (giving on either an ad hoc basis or in a more regular way), fundraising events, individual and group challenge activities, community and volunteer fundraising groups, legacies and support from the Art of Wishes and gaming communities.

We are extremely grateful to all our supporters and want to publicly thank them for enabling us to grant more wishes for critically ill children.

With a continued increase in demand for wishes, we continue to develop, grow and diversify our income streams by committing to investment in fundraising and building long-term partner relationships.

Fundraising sources included:

Public Fundraising

• Individual Giving

Income from individuals continued to grow in 2024/25 reaching almost £1.6m (2023/24: £1.3m). This income stream includes one-off gifts, payroll giving and in-memory giving, as well as our committed giving income via regular gifts and our weekly lottery.

• Committed Giving

Since 2022/23, we have been investing in growing our committed giving programme, specifically focusing on growing our regular giving and lottery products. These products provide a reliable and sustainable base of income via direct debits to support our ambitious growth plans. The current payback period for our investment is 4 years. Whilst this type of supporter acquisition has higher upfront costs than acquiring donors for single gifts, for example, it also benefits from longevity of support, and as such provides a highly predictable longer term income stream on which we can rely to plan and grow wishes. During the course of the year, we recruited 6,000 new supporters onto our regular giving and lottery products.

The success of our investment is reflected in the proportion of income from direct debits growing to 55% of all Individual Giving income in 2024/25, up from 48% for 2023/24.

• Supporter-led Fundraising and Community Fundraising

In 2024/25, £0.7m was generated through supporter led activity, community fundraising and support from small and medium enterprises (up from £0.5m in 2023/24).

During the year, we had around 800 supporters who, on their own initiative, raised funds for Make-A-Wish UK through events and donations.

Particular highlights of the year include:

• Graham Group raising over £100k for Make-A-Wish UK

• A group of five volunteers in South Wales raised over £9.5k at the Sparkles and Wishes Ball

• 63 Community Wish Maker volunteers organised events and raised £23,183

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• BarbersRide continuing to support Make-A-Wish UK and raising over £25k in the process

• Challenge Events

Challenge Events were very successful again this year, generating income of over £1.5m (up from £1.3m in 2023/24), with the team stewarding around 2,000 individual fundraisers. Gross income from the London Marathon alone was £0.8m, with our general challenges in the UK and overseas, alongside our partnership with Ultra Events bringing in significant income as well.

The team continue to provide an excellent supporter experience for our event participants, once again receiving very positive feedback and as a result, generating repeat participants.

• Gaming

Wish 200 Week returned in July 2025 for its fifth year, once again uniting the gaming community, including games industry brands, creators, everyday gamers and of course our wish children. Gaming can often be a lifeline for our wish children. The campaign achieved further engagement with this highly relevant and powerful community and raised an incredible £250k.

We have started to diversify gaming activity, testing and developing new approaches to grow income and engagement in this area. Since 2021 when we launched Wish 200 Week, with the support and guidance of our Patron, Rob Small, we have raised over £1.5m from the gaming community. This income supports the granting of wishes, including gaming wishes.

• Legacies

Legacy income in 2024/25 grew to £1.2m, compared to £1.0m in 2023/24. We continued our legacy marketing activity in 2024/25, raising awareness of the importance of legacy income to Make-A-Wish UK, and promoting our free will service through our partnership with Farewill to our existing supporters.

All gifts make a difference, regardless of their size, and we are incredibly grateful to every single supporter who has chosen to remember Make-A-Wish UK in their will and support us in this way.

• High Value Events

Under the continued leadership and dedication of Chair, Batia Ofer, and the Art of Wishes Committee, we delivered our most successful Ladies Luncheon to date, raising a phenomenal £330k to put towards granting wishes. The event, which kickstarted Frieze week 2024 in London, was sponsored by Lugano and saw notable guests in attendance.

By harnessing the strength of our committee and their networks, we have deepened audience engagement and created meaningful opportunities for direct involvement in wish granting. Notably, Eve’s wish was fulfilled through a touching portrait experience, and our successful bracelet partnership with Carolina Bucci, inspired by wish children Rosie (hope), Emily (magic), and Noah (courage) beautifully reflected the creativity and collaboration at the heart of Art of Wishes.

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It is of enormous credit to our patron, Batia Ofer, that the Art of Wishes initiative has raised over £13m since its inception in 2017. Our ongoing strategy continues to build on this success of our flagship events while expanding revenue streams and forging partnerships that align with the initiative’s values and position within the arts and culture sector.

In addition, the Make-A-Wish Ball, A Night of Wishes , hosted by Rachel Riley, proved incredibly successful, raising £474k. Our sincere thanks go to our Patron and Chair of the event, Ian Morton, and the committee for their outstanding contribution in delivering a memorable event that powerfully showcased the impact of wishes through inspiring stories.

Our smaller galas, alongside supporter-led and community fundraising events, now complement our larger flagship activities collectively strengthening our reach, engagement, and long-term sustainability.

We are fortunate to have received a total of over £100k from generous individuals in the form of philanthropic gifts to Make-A-Wish UK this year. These meaningful contributions play a vital role in supporting our work to grant the wishes of critically ill children, bringing hope, joy, and inspiration to families at challenging times. We look forward to continuing and deepening our partnerships with these philanthropic donors in the years ahead.

• Major Donors including Trusts and Foundations

This area of fundraising has generated over £1m for MAW UK in 2024/25.

Major donor fundraising is particularly important as it provides significant, often transformational support that sustains core programmes, enables strategic growth, and funds new initiatives. The team is focused on cultivating and nurturing these relationships, building trust and engagement, and ensuring donors feel personally connected to our mission, strengthening long-term commitment. We are fortunate to have received donations from generous individuals in the form of philanthropic gifts to Make-A-Wish UK this year. We thank all our major donors for their belief in our work.

These meaningful contributions play a vital role in supporting our work to grant the wishes of critically ill children, bringing hope, joy, and inspiration to families at challenging times. We look forward to continuing and deepening our partnerships with these philanthropic donors in the years ahead.

We are also deeply grateful to the Trusts and Foundations who have continued to support us this year. Their continued commitment provides essential, sustainable funding that enables us to deliver life-changing wishes, pilot new initiatives, and strengthen our long-term impact.

This year, we were honoured to receive the second year of a three-year £300k commitment from Postcode Care Trust, made possible thanks to players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, helping empower critically ill children to choose wishes that are uniquely meaningful to them.

The Kentown Wizard Foundation continued their fantastic support for Make-A-Wish UK, helping fund 156 transformational Disneyland Paris wishes throughout the year. We look forward to granting more Disneyland Paris wishes in the future with their support.

We are also delighted to have new Trusts join our mission. These valued partnerships not only diversify our income but also bring expertise and collaboration that enhance our mission.

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• Corporate Partnerships

Corporate Partnerships have achieved remarkable growth, generating an impressive £2.5m in the financial year 2024/25. Corporate partnership income, outside of partner-funded Disney wishes (Disneyland Paris & A Disney Wish), has grown by 12.5% on prior year.

Our long-standing collaboration with Disney enables us to deliver unforgettable Disney wishes. These wishes transform lives and bring joy to countless children and their families.

We have also received substantial support from our National Corporate Partners. The Poundland Foundation helped us to fulfil 200 wishes. Peacocks’ heartwarming Christmas campaign and staff engagement fundraisers raised over £200k. Generous contributions from Krispy Kreme, Joma Jewellery, City Sprint, AVIS Budget Group, Care Concern, Close Brothers, Next, and BSS Group enabled us grant even more individual wishes.

Exciting new collaborations this year include the launch of our partnership with DPD Group who raised an incredible £120k in just 8 months through staff fundraising, and our partnership with Pizza Pilgrims who support us through cash and gift-in-kind donations. These exciting collaborations reflect the growing momentum behind our mission.

With new partnerships launching for 2025/26 including a sole charity partnership with Poundland, Parkdean Resorts and the Original Factory Shop our ambitious plans showcase a shared commitment that together, we can make an even greater impact for wish children and their families.

• Gifts in Kind (GIK)

Most of the gifts in kind that we receive currently are for wish granting. Our total gift in kind amount procured and used directly against wishes in 2024/25 was just over £1.8m as compared to £1.2m last year, an increase of 50% year on year. Securing long term strategic partnerships with donors and companies who can provide goods and services for wishes is a key part of our strategy that will help us to grow wish numbers and scale.

• Complaints

We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and commit to our fundraising being legal, open, honest and respectful, meeting the standards set in the Fundraising Code of Practice. We also ensure that nobody who appears to be vulnerable is asked to commit to giving.

We communicate with our supporters through a variety of channels, including email, direct mailings and telephone calls. Similarly, we have continued to recruit thousands of new supporters this year via multiple channels including online advertising, social media, and face-toface fundraising.

We have a complaints policy published on our website, and we received a total of 30 complaints (2023/24: 36), none of which were escalated to the Fundraising Regulator (2023/24: 0). The number of complaints received is largely due to our activity within face-to-face fundraising.

Face-to-face fundraising is a key part of our acquisition strategy within Individual Giving and generated the majority of the new supporters giving to Make-A-Wish UK via direct debit in

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2024/25. Around 183,000 conversations about Make-A-Wish took place with the public over the course of the year.

The number of face-to-face complaints is 25, giving a percentage of 0.36% against the number of sign ups (including no shows), and 0.01% against the number of conversations that have resulted in a complaint. Whilst we strive for no complaints, we remain well below the industry standard of 1.2% and feedback received is vital for the continuous improvement of our fundraising activities.

Expenditure

Expenditure on fundraising activities

Expenditure on fundraising activities before support costs fell by £400k in 2024/25 as compared with 2023/24. A significant proportion of this reduced spend is directly linked to 2024/25 being a non AOW Gala year, and one-off GIK received in the previous year.

We continue to invest approximately £1m per annum in public fundraising in order to diversify our income streams and increase the proportion of our income coming from lower risk and more predictable sources. In 24/25, this included continued investment into our committed giving products – regular giving and the weekly lottery – with a particular focus on acquisition via faceto-face fundraising which operates on a pay-per-donor-acquired model.

Expenditure on charitable activities

Expenditure on charitable activities before support cost allocation increased by £1.2m from £4.5m in 2023/24 to £5.7m in 2024/25. These costs include a provision for future wishes, which can fluctuate dependent on the number and type of wishes approved at year end. Whilst wish numbers fell by 5% from 1,272 in 2023/24 to 1,200 in 2024/25, direct wish granting costs fell by 14%. This level of reduction in direct wish granting expenses is driven by increased levels of Gifts In Kind, and improved processes and supplier negotiations resulting in a reduced average cash wish cost.

Support costs and central services review

In 2024/25 our Support Costs remained flat at £3.4m (2023/24 £3.4m). Support costs include administrative costs and overheads, as well as costs of the technology and finance functions for the organisation. These are apportioned between fundraising and charitable activities in line with the direct costs of each.

Reserves

The general reserves are required by the charity to meet its objectives of granting more wishes, to provide working capital to enable it to progress to complete its long-term development objectives, to protect its current activities, and to allow the trustees to meet their responsibilities and ensure the charity continues on a going concern basis.

During 2024/25 the board approved a new risk-based reserves policy, as opposed to a policy based upon a number of month’s operating costs. This policy takes into account the working capital requirements of the charity, along with the risk to its income streams and ensuring costs of unapproved wishes can be met in order to establish recommended reserves levels. Current

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levels of reserves are below the recommended levels under this new policy following a previous trustee decision to allow reserves to reduce to invest in key areas of growth. The reserves are, and will however remain, in excess of the agreed minimum reserves level of 3 months of operating costs.

At the balance sheet date of 31 August 2025, total reserves were £3.9m. Designated and restricted reserves were £0.2m and £0.1m respectively, leaving free reserves as at 31 August 2025 of £3.6m (2023/24: £4.5m). Our commitment towards wishes approved but not yet granted, through a provision for anticipated wish costs where no guaranteed funder is available, nor stock is being held, is already accounted for in this figure. Therefore, taking into consideration the provision for future wishes of £0.5m (2023/24: £0.2m), reserves cover was 3.7 months (2023/24: 5.2 months).

Reserves and reserves cover are discussed as part of the annual plan and budget and reviewed throughout the year as part of our reforecasting process. Reserves are expected to increase gradually to recommended levels over the period of the recently approved five-year plan.

Going concern

We seek to increase the number of eligible children for whom we can grant a wish, whilst investing in future sustainable income. The budget for 2025/26 anticipates a surplus of approximately £300k.

Trustees are confident that implementation of our strategy, supported by real time data from our CRM system, will enable us to monitor performance and adjust our course as necessary.

There are sufficient reserves to enable the charity to adapt in a timely and considered way, should we be unable to operate as planned in 2025/26.

Investment policy and performance

The trustees approved an Investment Policy in February 2014 which set out investment parameters in line with the charity's cash management requirements. Trustees confirmed the governance structure to provide transparency over the level of investments and financial return.

Since April 2018 investments have been held in the Barclays Charity Fund, which provides a moderate risk profile with a 10-year investment horizon. The investment objective is to produce a sustainable level of income, together with the prospect of growth in both income and capital.

The fund has an ethical investment strategy and aims not to have direct exposure to companies that generate more than a small minority of their turnover from tobacco, adult entertainment, gambling or the manufacture or sale of arms. It invests in accordance with Charity Commission guidelines.

Investment performance is monitored regularly and reported quarterly to the trustees. 2024/25 saw an investment return of 8.5% (2023/24:10.2%).

The fund moved under the management of Barclays Private Bank & Wealth Management from Barclays Wealth during the financial year.

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Structure, governance and management

Governing document

The charity was incorporated on 26 June 1986 and amended by a Special Resolution dated 17 December 2007. It is controlled by its Memorandum and Articles of Association and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. The Memorandum and Articles of Association were updated by Special Resolution on 1 July 2020.

Recruitment, appointment and induction of new trustees

The charity's Articles of Association provide for a quorum of four members. Our governance guidelines, published and available on our website, specify that in general the Board will be between seven and twelve in number. Where there is a requirement for new trustees, these would be recruited and appointed by the Chair and existing trustees. The Chair and Chief Executive are responsible for the induction of any new trustees, which involves awareness of a trustee's responsibilities, the expectation of the Board and Trustees, the role of the Committee and Advisory Groups supporting Make-A-Wish, and the Scheme of Delegation.

Governance

The trustees delegate the day-to-day running of the charity to the Chief Executive who, in turn, works with senior managers across the organisation. In terms of decision-making, the trustees' main contribution is at a strategic level. The board recognises the importance of effective governance. Accordingly, it has established executive committees which meet regularly and provide recommendations to the Board.

The Articles provide for a maximum term for trustees of nine years. In practice, unless special circumstances exist, trustees serve a maximum of six years, consisting of two consecutive threeyear terms.

Our ability to make the right decisions to achieve our mission and goals, in a way which is consistent with our values and behaviours, is key to the future success of the charity. With this in mind, we regularly review our governance handbook which clarifies our expectations of trustees and executives and provides a framework for efficient and effective decision-making. This handbook can be found on our website.

The Board of Trustees establishes Committees as it considers necessary, to provide advice, and deliver more detailed scrutiny of certain areas than is feasible in the board's programme. Board Committees are non-executive except where defined tasks or authority is assigned. In addition, the board establishes advisory groups to provide strategic input and guidance in areas of priority. The current committees and advisory groups in place are the Finance and Performance Committee, the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the Community, Growth and Equality Diversity & Inclusion Committee (CGEDI), Income and Engagement Advisory Group, Wishgranting Advisory Group, Digital Advisory Group and STARboard, our children and young

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people’s Board. Our Youth Advisor, as a wish child and former Starboard member, represents STARboard at board meetings.

In July 2025 the board approved the introduction of a new trustee role to be filled by a young person with lived experience of a wish. This will further enhance the voice of the wish child in strategic decision making. We anticipate this role will be recruited during the next financial year. STARboard members will follow a development pathway that would position them well to apply initially for the Youth Advisor role, and in turn the Trustee position.

Make-A-Wish Foundation UK has one active wholly owned subsidiary, Make-A-Wish Promotions Limited, which is the trading company for the charity. All operating profits of MakeA-Wish Promotions Limited are gifted to Make-A-Wish Foundation UK. It also has two dormant subsidiaries, Make-A-Wish Play Limited and Make-A-Wish Limited.

Make-A-Wish Foundation[®] International

Make-A-Wish Foundation UK is affiliated to Make-A-Wish Foundation International and, as such, is a member of the largest wish granting network in the world: the Make-A-Wish Foundation [®] now covers more than 50 different countries across the globe. Make-A-Wish Foundation UK licenses the name “Make-A-Wish”, and associated marks, from Make-A-Wish Foundation International (MAWI), which in turn licenses the name from Make-A-Wish Foundation of America (MAWA). Both MAWI and MAWA are non-profit 501(c)(3) organisations in the United States.

Related Parties

These are referenced in note 24.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. A risk register is regularly reviewed by the trustees and helps shape the ongoing development of our plans.

The Trustees consider the key strategic risks to be in the areas of:

• Finance

• Stakeholders

• Operations

Risks are deemed to be of a strategic nature if their potential impact could have a material effect on our ability to meet our mission and goals. Their presence is therefore a reflection of the priority we attach to them as opposed to our confidence in our ability to mitigate them.

Financial risk:

1. Underperformance of fundraising, including restricted funding for previously funded wish types.

2. a. Mitigations include diversified income portfolio that is responsive to changes in donor behaviour, investment in committed giving fundraising and clear messaging about the impact of wishes.

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1. Underperformance of cash or gifts in kind fundraising impacts our ability to grant wishes.

2. a. Mitigations include real time reporting for resources to ensure gifts in kind generation and utilisation, and quarterly income forecasts for cash reviewed alongside the wish pipeline to allow corrective action as required.

3. Reserves are insufficient to support the charity through unexpected events.

4. a. Mitigations include an annually reviewed reserves policy, robust financial planning, monthly management reporting including Key Performance Indicators, quarterly reforecasts and financial plans to support our strategic five-year plan.

Stakeholder risk:

1. Safeguarding incident, a child or vulnerable person is harmed.

2. a. Mitigations include documented Safeguarding policy and procedures, accessible internally and externally. Induction and refresher training for all employees and volunteers and safeguarding oversight from both a Trustee and Executive Lead.

3. Fraud, we are unable to deliver wishes, causing damage to organisational and individual reputations.

4. a. Mitigations include segregation of duties and clear delegations of authority supported by central policies, training and embedded governance in digital design.

5. Complaints and/or adverse publicity impacts our supporters and brand, creating unplanned crisis response resource.

6. a. Mitigations include crisis communications group with MAWI and clear playbooks and guidelines, defined roles and responsibilities and, where appropriate, policies such as social media which are made available to all stakeholders.

Operational risk:

1. Inability to attract and retain talent, whether this is employees or volunteers, restricting our ability to grant wishes.

2. a. Mitigations include ensuring wishes, people and culture are at the heart of all we do, empowering through strategies for employees and volunteers, with tailored support and regular feedback sought.

3. Length of the wish journey negatively impacts the wish experience for the child, reducing wish impact

4. a. Mitigations include a focus on building in further wish anticipation, the ability to attract and utilise Gifts in Kind, supported by effective communication with families, referral partners, volunteers and employees.

5. Return on investment for fundraising, otherwise known as ‘pence in the pound’ metric is misunderstood or not considered value for money for stakeholders resulting in supporters choosing to support other charities

6. a. Mitigations include tailored reporting to ensure we message correctly during a period of investment in fundraising, articulating the future returns our investment will generate to create long term sustainability, with joined up narrative, financials and impact.

7. Business continuity planning is ineffective leaving us unable to grant wishes or function during a crisis

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• a. Mitigations include cloud-based infrastructure and focus on further development of our plans in this area.

• Data and cyber-security is inadequate.

• a. Mitigations include effective data security and cyber essentials frameworks, Data Protection Officer, GDPR training for all employees and volunteers, Cyber Essentials accreditation and proactive simulations of attacks to raise awareness and provide training where needed.

Future developments

Fundraising

Our Art of Wishes programme of events and collaborations for 2025/26 is now fully planned. Alongside this, we are seeking a new Chair and additional committee members who can help lead Art of Wishes into the year ahead and beyond with renewed energy, vision, and diversity.

In early 2025/26, we introduced The Health Fund and The Constellation Collective, and we are continuing to develop further scalable propositions to strengthen philanthropic giving and welcome new supporters into our community. Working collaboratively across the wish-granting and high-value fundraising teams, we have begun shaping transformational projects designed not only to generate significant income but also to support the organisation’s long-term growth.

We have also invested in enhanced prospecting tools and will be introducing a more formalised approach to pipeline and portfolio management across our high-value teams. These improvements will enable us to gain a clearer view of our opportunities and deliver sectorleading relationship management.

We will continue to invest in growing our income from committed giving products like regular giving and the weekly lottery. Our 5-year plan sets out our long-term expectations for investment and growth in this area, to significantly grow the proportion of our income coming from predictable and sustainable income sources like these, which in turn, allow us to plan for and fund our growth in wishes.

Wish journey

In 2025/26 we will deepen partnerships with hospitals, hospices and other organisations that refer children to Make-A-Wish, specifically piloting initiatives with Birmingham Children’s Hospital and 5 hospice partners in the Together for Short Lives network. These partnerships will enable closer integration of the wish journey with the child’s care journey, making it seamless for families, referring organisations and internal stakeholders and enhancing the impact of wishes. It will also open opportunities for further engagement with families as part of their wish journey, offering face-to-face wish discovery sessions with volunteers, when possible, in the setting. Due to our planned growth in wishes we plan to generate over 2,000 referrals and conduct more than 1,800 wish discoveries in 2025/26.

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We will also work with STARboard, our youth advisory board, alongside a corporate partner, to digitise and enhance the wish discovery process, so that children and families can spend time outside of their wish discovery session thinking about what their wish might be. If we’re able to secure further pro-bono support, we will further use AI and digital technology to provide enhanced experiences throughout the wish journey, gamifying aspects of the communication with children and increasing offers of Gift-In-Kind through matching wish requirements to potential sources of support.

Alongside wish discoveries, we will also increase the number of volunteer opportunities to attend wishes. Over 800 wishes are planned to be granted in this way in 2025/26.

We will also launch a post-wish programme, Wish It On, for wish children and families. This will be a community, enabling Wish families to stay connected, feel supported, and help make more wishes come true.

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Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The trustees, who are also directors of the charitable company, are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under the law, the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law, the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and the group and the profit or loss of the group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP.

• make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent.

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and group enabling them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

So far as each of the directors is aware at the time the report is approved:

• there is no relevant audit information of which the company's auditors are unaware; and

• the directors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

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Auditors

A decision was taken to re-appoint HaysMac LLP as auditors for the audit of 2024/25 accounts. The Trustees' Report incorporates the Strategic Report, which has been approved and authorised for issue by the board.

On behalf of the board

Lin Hinnigan

Chair, Make-A-Wish Foundation[®] UK 10[th] February 2026

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Independent auditor’s report to the members and trustees of Make-A-Wish Foundation[®] UK

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Make-A-Wish Foundation UK for the year ended 31 August 2025 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Group and Charity Balance Sheets, the Group Cash Flow Statement, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and the parent charitable company’s affairs as at 31 August 2025 and of the group’s and parent charitable company’s net movement in funds, including the income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group and parent charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

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Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ Annual Report and the Chair’s Statement. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• the information given in the Trustees’ Annual Report (which incorporated the strategic and the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the strategic report and the directors’ report included within the Trustees’ Annual Report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Annual Report (which incorporates the strategic report and the directors’ report).

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charity Accounts (Scotland) Regulations (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the group and parent charitable company; or

• the group and parent charitable company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

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Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement as set out on page 24, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.

Based on our understanding of the charitable company and the environment in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and relevant laws and regulations in connection with child safeguarding, and we considered the extent to which noncompliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, and other factors such as compliance with legislation in relation to sales tax, payroll tax and fundraising regulations.

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to revenue recognition, posting inappropriate journal entries, and management override of controls. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

• Inspecting correspondence with regulators and tax authorities;

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• Discussions with management including consideration of known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulation and fraud;

• Evaluating management’s controls designed to prevent and detect irregularities;

• Reviewing the controls and procedures of the charity relevant to the preparation of the financial statements;

• Identifying and testing journals, in particular journal entries posted with unusual account combinations, postings by unusual users or with unusual descriptions; and

• Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in their critical accounting estimates including reviewing the appropriateness of judgements made in relation to revenue recognition and the recognition of the wish provision.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the group and parent charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006, section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the group and parent charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Steven Harper (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of HaysMac LLP, Statutory Auditor

10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1AG

Date: 22 March 2026

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Statement of financial activities (Incorporating the income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31[st] August 2025

	Notes	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total 2025	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total 2024
		£	£	£	£	£	£
Income and expenditure
Income from
Donations and legacies	3	9,180,121	1,065,605	10,245,726	7,187,713	1,289,596	8,477,309
Other trading activities	4	1,539,976	-	1,539,976	3,512,176	3,701	3,515,877
Investment income	5	137,760	-	137,760	163,760	-	163,760
Total		10,857,857	1,065,605	11,923,462	10,863,649	1,293,297	12,156,946
Expenditure on
Raising funds	6	5,190,479	-	5,190,479	6,087,248	-	6,087,248
Charitable activities	7	6,718,505	1,115,102	7,833,607	4,982,148	1,341,823	6,323,971
Total		11,908,984	1,115,102	13,024,086	11,069,396	1,341,823	12,411,219
Net (expenditure)/
income before gains/(losses) on		(1,051,127)	(49,497)	(1,100,624)	(205,747)	(48,526)	(254,273)
investments
Net gains/(losses) on investments	14	229,028	-	229,028	257,239	-	257,239
Net movement in funds		(822,099)	(49,497)	(871,596)	51,492	(48,526)	2,966
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward		4,668,556	139,875	4,808,431	4,617,064	188,401	4,805,465
Total funds carried forward		3,846,457	90,378	3,936,835	4,668,556	139,875	4,808,431

All transactions are derived from continuing activities. All recognised gains and losses are included in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Except for gains/(losses) on investments, there is no difference from the results above and the historical cost position.

The notes on pages 33 to 50 form part of these accounts.

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Group and charity balance sheets as at 31[st] August 2025

		Group	Group	Group	Charity	Charity
		2025		2024	2025	2024
	Notes	£		£	£	£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	13	155,898		140,081	155,898	140,081
Investments	14	4,458,230		4,103,384	4,458,230	4,103,384
		4,614,128		4,243,465	4,614,128	4,243,465
Current assets
Stock	16	19,476		27,536	19,476	27,533
Debtors	17	2,923,474		2,293,895	2,582,647	2,267,987
Cash at bank and in hand		(1,333,562)		(609,218)	(1,334,159)	(775,731)
		1,609,388		1,712,213	1,267,964	1,519,789
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	18	(2,286,683)	(1,147,247)		(2,023,647)	(1,137,574)
Net current assets		(677,295)		564,966	(755,683)	382,215
Net assets		3,936,835		4,808,431	3,858,445	4,625,680
Funds	21
Restricted funds		90,378		139,875	90,378	139,874
General funds		3,690,359		4,528,475	3,612,169	4,345,724
Designated funds		155,898		140,081	155,898	140,081
Total funds	22	3,936,835		4,808,431	3,858,445	4,625,680

The net movement in funds for the year relating to the parent charity alone amounted to (£767,236) (2024/25: (£98,779)

The charity only Statement of Financial Activities is shown in note 24. The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of the Trustees on 10[th] February 2026 and were signed below on its behalf by:

Trustee - L Hinnigan Trustee – S Horn

The notes on pages 33 to 50 form part of these accounts.

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Group cash flow for the year ended 31[st] August 2025

			2025		2024
	Notes	£	£ £	£	£
Cash (used in) operating activities	a.		(673,246)		(1,153,516)
Cash provided by/(used in) investing
activities
Interest and dividend income		137,760		163,760
Purchase of tangible fixed assets		(63,042)		(34,051)
Purchase of investments		(132,605)		(129,706)
Proceeds from sale of investments			6,787	237,580
Cash used in investment activities			(51,100)		237,583
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period			(724,344)		(915,935)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year			(609,218)		306,717
Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year			(1,333,562)		(609,218)

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Notes to the cash flow statement

Notes to the cash flow statement
a. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to the net cash flow from operating activities		2025	2024
		£	£
Net movement in funds		(871,798)	2,966
Losses/(Gains) on investments		(229,028)	(257,239)
Depreciation charges		47,225	34,234
Interest and investment income receivable		(137,760)	(163,760)
(Decrease)/increase in debtors		(629,579)	283,525
(Decrease)/increase in stock		8,057	(3,534)
(Decrease)/increase in creditors		1,139,436	(1,049,708)
Net cash (used in) operating activities		(673,246)	(1,153,516)
b. Analysis of changes in net debt
	As at 31st	Movement in	As at 31st
	August 2024	year	August 2025
Cash	390,782	(232,729)	158,053
Overdraft facility repayable on demand	(1,000,000)	(491,615)	(1,491,615)
Total	(609,218)	(724,344)	(1,333,562)

The overdraft facility is secured against the charity’s investment portfolio.

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Notes to the financial statements

1. Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) – (Charities SORP (Second Edition, effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Make-A-Wish Foundation[®] UK meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

Judgements and estimates

Judgements made by the trustees, in the application of these accounting policies that have significant effect on the financial statements and estimates with a significant risk of material adjustment in the next year are deemed to be in relation to legacy income and wish provision. These are discussed below.

On approval of a wish, a provision is made based on the expected costs of the wish, with the exception of wishes which have been guaranteed to be funded by a third party. The wish costs for these wishes are not recognised until the wish is granted so that wish granting expenditure in the accounts reflects only those costs which relate to wishes granted in the year. The actual costs of wishes may vary from our provision due to factors such as family size or seasonal cost variations. Those wishes which have not yet been approved, are disclosed as a contingent liability in note 19, based on the number of wishes and average wish cost.

Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

We seek to increase the number of eligible children for whom we can grant a wish, whilst investing in future sustainable income. The budget for 2025/26 anticipates a surplus of approximately £300k. There are sufficient reserves to enable the charity to adapt in a timely and considered way, should we be unable to operate as planned in 2025/26.

Trustees are confident that implementation of our strategy, supported by real time data from our CRM system, will enable us to monitor performance and adjust our course as necessary.

Trustees have reviewed forecast income, expenditure and cash flows in the planning process and consider that the charity will have adequate resources to continue for the foreseeable future (being a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements).

As it is currently more cost effective, the trustees have chosen to borrow against their investments as opposed to sell investments to accelerate growth. There are no material uncertainties faced by the charity. It is therefore appropriate to continue to prepare the accounts is on a going concern basis.

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Basis of consolidation

The financial statements consolidate the results of the charity and its wholly owned subsidiaries Make-A-Wish Promotions Limited and Make-A-Wish Play Limited on a line-by-line basis. A separate Statement of Financial Activities and Income and Expenditure Account for the charity has been presented in note 23 to comply with Scottish charity regulations.

Income

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to income, it is probable that income will be received, and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

Donations and legacies

Donations income and income from government grants is accounted where there is entitlement, probability of receipt and it is measurable. For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made (in most cases probate will have been granted and the estate finalized), or when a distribution is received from the estate.

Generating funds

Income is accounted for on a cash received and accruals of known income basis unless related to an event scheduled to take place in a later accounting period in which case it is deferred until after the event has taken place. The main sources of income are analysed in the notes. The subsidiary income represents net invoiced sales of services, excluding value added tax and is included in the profit and loss account as it is earned.

Investment income

Investment income reflects the amount receivable for the year from investments and deposit account.

Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category.

Irrecoverable Value Added Tax (VAT)

Expenditure on which there is irrecoverable VAT is shown within each relevant cost category gross of VAT. Where a proportion of VAT is recoverable, the cost is charged net and irrecoverable element of VAT charged separately.

Raising funds

These costs are incurred in relation to the fundraising initiatives which are organised, predominantly throughout the United Kingdom. As well as the direct costs associated with each initiative, costs are included in relation to staff members who are engaged directly in fundraising initiatives, publicity campaigns to generate income and an appropriate proportion of their use of shared facilities and central services.

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Charitable activities

Direct costs of granting each wish are recognised in the period that the wish is granted. Liabilities for wish granting expenses are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a specific commitment creating an obligation that a wish will be fulfilled. Costs incurred in advance of the wish being granted are recorded as prepayments, and the liability for approved wishes at the balance sheet date are included within creditors.

Gifts in kind (GIK)

The charity receives the benefit of work carried out by volunteers, the value of which is not included in these accounts in line with the requirements of paragraph 6.18 of the SORP. Gift in kind income represents various goods/services donated free of charge. The income is included when it can be reliably valued. Goods donated for distribution to beneficiaries and goods donated for use by the charity are included at fair value, whilst facilities and services are included at the value to the charity. Unique ‘one off’ items donated for sale at auction are recognised when they are sold.

Cost of administration

These costs are allocated to cost of raising funds and charitable activities on the basis of an appropriate apportionment of resources and activities.

Governance costs

Governance costs have been allocated in line with cost of administration and include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.

Leases

Payments under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight- line basis over the life of the lease.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Leasehold property improvements • 10% on cost Office equipment • 33% on cost Computer equipment • 25% on cost Computer software • 33% on cost

Computer equipment and software are combined for reporting.

Tangible fixed assets bought by the company have been capitalised at the minimum amount of £500 for individual assets. Assets donated during the year have been capitalised at their estimated purchase cost.

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Foreign exchange

Foreign currency transactions for income and expenditure are accounted for at an average weekly exchange rate at the point of recognition in the accounts. Any difference at the date of payment is treated as an exchange gain/loss.

Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making allowance for obsolete and slow-moving items.

Investments

Investments are included in the financial statements at market value at the balance sheet date. Realised and unrealised gains and losses on revaluation and disposals occurring in the year are reported in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. The designated fund represents funds earmarked for specific reasons as decided by the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pensions

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable for the year are charged in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Financial instruments

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost, with the exception of investments which are held at fair value. Financial assets held at amortised cost comprise cash at bank and in hand, together with trade and other debtors. A specific provision is made for debts for which recoverability is in doubt. Cash at bank and in hand is defined as all cash held in instant access bank accounts and used as working capital. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise all creditors except social security and other taxes.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account or matures within three months of the date of the balance sheet.

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Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

Employee benefits

• Short term benefits

• Short term benefits including holiday pay are recognised as an expense in the period in which the service is received.

• Employee termination benefits

Termination benefits are accounted for on an accrual’s basis and in line with FRS 102.

2. Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity.

3. Income from donations and legacies

	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total 2025	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total 2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Donations	6,195,804	1,065,605	7,261,409	4,828,932	1,289,596	6,118,528
Legacies	1,191,685	-	1,191,685	1,048,027	-	1,048,027
Donations in kind	1,792,632	-	1,792,632	1,310,754	-	1,310,754
Government grants	-	-	-	-	-	-
	9,180,121	1,065,605	10,245,726	7,187,713	1,289,596	8,477,309

4. Income from other trading activities

	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Restricted	Total 2025	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total 2024
	£	£		£	£	£	£
Fundraising events	1,195,726		-	1,195,726	3,142,806	3,701	3,146,507
Subsidiary’s income	344,250		-	344,250	369,370	-	369,370
	1,539,976		-	1,539,976	3,512,176	3,701	3,515,877

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5. Investment income

	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Restricted	Total 2025	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Restricted	Total 2024
	£	£		£	£	£		£
Deposit account interest	5,155		-	5,155	5,959		-	5,959
Investment income	132,605		-	132,605	157,801		-	157,801
	137,760		-	137,760	163,760		-	163,760

6. Expenditure on raising funds

	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Restricted	Total 2025	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Restricted	Total 2024
	£	£		£	£	£		£
Donations and legacies
Direct fundraising costs	1,004,920		-	1,004,920	1,052,511		-	1,052,511
Agency and professional fees	720,606		-	720,606	1,017,942		-	1,017,942
Legal and professional	72,565		-	72,565	-		-	-
Staff and related costs	1,316,355		-	1,316,355	1,163,792		-	1,163,792
Donations in kind	-		-	-	130,850		-	130,850
	3,114,447		-	3,114,447	3,365,095		-	3,365,095
Other trading activities
Direct fundraising costs	303,427		-	303,427	786,810		-	786,810
Agency and professional fees	-		-	-	52,532		-	52,532
Legal and professional	127,808		-	127,808	-		-	-
Staff and related costs	329,736		-	329,736	322,480		-	322,480
Bad debts	-		-	-	-		-	-
	760,971		-	760,971	1,161,822		-	1,161,822
Support costs (note 8)	1,315,060		-	1,315,060	1,560,331		-	1,560,331
	5,190,479		-	5,190,479	6,087,248		-	6,087,248

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7. Expenditure on charitable activities

	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total 2025	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total 2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Wishgranting expenses	1,295,398	1,115,102	2,410,500	1,464,941	1,341,823	2,806,764
Donations in kind	1,763,632	-	1,763,632	1,179,904	-	1,179,904
Movement in provision for wishes in progress	284,365	-	284,365	(503,817)	-	(503,817)
Staff and related costs	1,117,707	-	1,117,707	981,691	-	981,691
Other	138,767	-	138,767	54,767	-	54,767
	4,599,869	1,115,102	5,714,971	3,177,486	1,341,823	4,519,309
Support costs (note 8)	2,118,636	-	2,118,636	1,804,662	-	1,804,662
	6,718,505	1,115,102	7,833,607	4,982,148	1,341,823	6,323,971

8. Analysis of support costs

	Fundraising	Wishgranting	2025	Fundraising	Wishgranting	2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Staff and related costs	635,017	936,441	1,571,458	856,083	854,644	1,710,727
International registration fee	-	303,022	303,022	-	266,573	266,573
Governance costs (below)	21,397	31,553	52,950	15,843	15,817	31,660
Other direct support costs	646,928	830,338	1,477,266	688,405	667,628	1,356,033
Donations in kind	11,719	17,281	29,000
	1,315,061	2,118,635	3,433,696	1,560,331	1,804,662	3,364,993
Governance costs
Accountancy fees	7,375	10,875	18,250	-	-	-
Audit fees	14,022	20,678	34,700	15,776	15,749	31,525
Other governance	-	-	-	68	67	135
	21,397	31,553	52,950	15,843	15,817	31,660

These costs are allocated to cost of raising funds and charitable activities on the basis of an appropriate apportionment of resources and activities.

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9. Net expenditure for the year

9. Net expenditure for the year
	2025	2024
This is stated after charging	£	£
Operating leases – equipment	1,296	1,296
Auditor’s remuneration – audit fees	34,700	25,590
Auditor’s remuneration – non-audit fees	18,250	9,690
Depreciation	47,225	34,234

Auditor’s remuneration – audit fees include audit fees of £4,400 in respect of the subsidiary companies (2024: £8,280)

10. Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

key management personnel
	2025	2024
	£	£
Salaries	3,723,401	3,527,580
Social security costs	427,512	364,346
Pension costs	164,206	126,914
Redundancy costs	16,714	-
	4,331,833	4,018,840
The number of higher paid staff whose taxable emoluments	2025	2024
fell into higher salary bands was:	Number	Number
£60,001 to 70,000	2	4
£70,001 to £80,000	2	1
£80,001 to £90,000	0	1
£90,001 to £100,000	3	1
£110,001 to £120,000	1	1

There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31[st] August 2025 (2024: £nil). During the year costs of £4,661 were reimbursed to the trustees (2024: £2,012).

The key management personnel of the charity, and the group, comprises the trustees, the Chief Executive, Director of Finance, Director of Operations and Director of Income and Engagement. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity during that period were £396,727 (2024: £405,257).

Report and financial statements Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 41

Company Registration No.02031836

Annual report

11. Staff numbers

11. Staff numbers
	2025		2024
	Number		Number
The average number of employees analysed by activity:
Fundraising and marketing		36		36
Wish granting and volunteering		38		34
Administration		16		17
		90		87

12. Corporation taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

13. Tangible fixed assets – Charity (also comprising that of the group)

	Leasehold property improvements	Office equipment	Computer equipment	Total
Cost or valuation
At 1stSeptember 2024	296,076	8,069	682,660	986,805
Additions	-	-	63,042	63,042
At 31stAugust 2025	296,076	8,069	745,702	1,049,847
Accumulated depreciation
At 1stSeptember 2024	185,789	8,069	652,866	846,724
Depreciation charge for year	29,608	-	17,617	47,225
At 31stAugust 2025	215,397	8,069	670,483	893,949
Net book value
At 31stAugust 2025	80,679	-	75,219	155,898
At 1stSeptember 2024	110,287	-	29,794	140,081

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Company Registration No.02031836

Annual report

14. Fixed asset investments

14. Fixed asset investments
	2025	2024
Group and charity	£	£
Market value
Opening balance	4,103,384	3,954,020
Additions at cost	132,605	129,706
Disposal proceeds	(5,843)	(209,484)
Realised gain/(loss) on investments	(944)	(28,096)
Unrealised gain on investments	229,028	257,238
Closing balance	4,458,230	4,103,384
Historical cost
Opening balance	3,837,307	3,710,545
Charity only
Shares in group subsidiary	2	2

The charity holds the entire £1 share capital of its trading subsidiaries, Make-A-Wish Promotions Limited and Make-A-Wish Play Limited.

Report and financial statements Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 43

Company Registration No.02031836

Annual report

15. Results from trading activities of subsidiaries

The charity has two wholly owned trading subsidiaries, Make-A-Wish Promotions Limited and Make-A-Wish Play Limited, both of which are incorporated in Great Britain. The registered office of both organisations are the same as that of the charity.

Make-A-Wish Promotions Limited undertakes commercial sponsorship from a range of corporate partnerships and trading activities of Make-A-Wish Foundation UK. Audited financial statement have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. A summary of the results of MakeA-Wish Promotions Limited is shown below.

A-Wish Promotions Limited is shown below.
	2025	2024
Make-A-Wish Promotions Limited (Company No. 04015443)	£	£
Summary profit and loss account
Turnover	367,564	369,370
Cost of sales	-	-
Total gross profit	367,564	369,370
Administrative expenses	(87,523)	(5,406)
Operating profit for the year	280,041	363,964
Gift Aid payment to parent company	(384,401)	(250,000)
Retained (loss)/profit for the year	(104,360)	113,965
The assets and liabilities
Current assets	488,818	194,692
Current liabilities	(406,651)	(8,165)
Total net assets	82,167	186,527
Aggregate share capital and reserves	1	1

Report and financial statements Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 44

Company Registration No.02031836

Annual report

Make-A-Wish Play Limited is now dormant. It undertook commercial sponsorship which relates to video games. Financial statements have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. A summary of the results of Make-A-Wish Play Limited is shown below.

	Year ended	Year ended
	31st August	31st August
	2025	2024
Make-A-Wish Play Limited (Company No. 04015443)	£	£
Summary profit and loss account
Turnover	-	642
Cost of sales	-	-
Total gross profit	-	642
Administrative expenses	-	(5,894)
Operating profit for the year	-	(5,252)
Gift Aid payment to parent company		-
Retained (loss)/profit for the year	-	(5,252)
The assets and liabilities
Current assets	213	213
Current liabilities	(3,990)	(3,990)
Total net assets	(3,777)	(3,777)
Aggregate share capital and reserves	1	1

Report and financial statements Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 45

Company Registration No.02031836

Annual report

16. Stocks

16. Stocks
	2025	2024	2025	2024
	£	£	£	£
Finished goods	19,476	27,536	19,476	27,533
17. Debtors
	Group	Group	Charity
	2025	2024	2025	2024
	£	£	£	£
Trade debtors	264,553	228,609	95,832	213,609
Prepayments and accrued income	2,658,921	2,065,286	2,486,809	2,054,378
Other debtors	-	-	-	-
Amounts owed by group undertakings	-	-	6	-
	2,923,474	2,293,895	2,582,647	2,267,987

17. Debtors

18. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

18. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	18. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
	Group	Group	Charity		Charity
	2025	2024	2025		2024
	£	£	£		£
Trade creditors	695,491	315,132	678,509	678,509	315,132
Social security and other taxes	99,579	90,913	97,136	97,136	93,397
Committed wishes	522,534	237,369	522,534	522,534	237,369
Amounts due from group undertakings	-	-	143,609	143,609	(3,990)
Other creditors and accrued expenses	302,645	243,362	296,105	296,105	239,362
Deferred income	666,434	260,471	285,754	285,754	256,304
	2,286,683	1,147,247	2,023,647	2,023,647 1,137,574
	Group			Charity
	2025	2024	2025		2024
	£	£	£		£
Deferred income brought forward	260,471	643,903 260,471			643,903
Income released in year	(259,131)	(635,580) (259,131) (635,580)			(635,580) (259,131) (635,580)
Income deferred in year	665,094	252,148 284,414			252,148
Deferred income carried forward	666,434	260,471 285,754			260,471

Report and financial statements Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 46

Company Registration No.02031836

Annual report

19. Contingent liabilities

We are currently engaging with 442 (2024: 560) children about a wish that they would like granted. Once designed, and over time, these wishes will be granted as funds become available. The estimated cost of granting all of these wishes is currently £707k (2024: £945k). This contingent liability will be recognised as a liability once wish is designed, budget approved and a specific commitment is communicated directly to the wish child and family. In addition to our general fundraising activities, we have generous levels of gifts in kind and financial commitments from several partners to support the granting of these wishes.

20. Operating leases

As of 31[st] August 2025 the group had annual commitments under operating leases as set out below:

below:
	Equipment		Building	Building
	2025	2024	2025	2024
	£	£	£	£
<1 year	324	1,296	116,724	116,724
2-5 years	-	324	213,993	330,717
	324	1,620	330,717	447,441

Report and financial statements Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 47

Company Registration No.02031836

Annual report

21. Analysis of charitable funds

	Balance 1st September 2024	Income	Expenditure	Gains and transfers	Gains and transfers	Balance 31st August 2025
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General fund	4,528,475	10,857,857	(11,908,984)	213,211		3,690,559
Restricted funds
Wish funds: To have	(97,308)	-	(2,692)		-	(100,000)
Wish funds: To go	135,190	423,523	(427,797)		-	130,916
Wish funds: Any wish	45,581	109,277	(134,633)		-	20,225
Wish funds: Specific wishes	56,412	532,805	(549,980)		-	39,237
	139,875	1,065,605	(1,115,102)		-	90,378
Designated funds
Fixed asset fund	140,081	-	-	15,817		155,898
	140,081	-	-	15,817		155,898
Total funds	4,808,431	11,923,462	(13,024,086)	229,028		3,936,835
	Balance 1st September 2023	Income	Expenditure	Gains and transfers		Balance 31st August 2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General fund	4,476,800	10,863,649	(11,069,396)	257,422		4,528,475
Restricted funds
Wish funds: To have	(53,846)	1,790	(45,252)		-	(97,308)
Wish funds: To go	105,957	971,284	(942,051)		-	135,190
Wish funds: Any wish	56,617	132,902	(143,938)		-	45,581
Wish funds: Specific wishes	79,673	187,321	(210,582)		-	56,412
	188,401	1,293,297	(1,341,823)		-	139,875
Designated funds
Fixed asset fund	140,264	-	-		(183)	140,081
	140,264	-	-		(183)	140,081
Total funds	4,805,465	12,156,946	(12,411,219)	257,239		4,808,431

Report and financial statements Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 48

Company Registration No. 02031836

Annual report

Name of fund

Wish funds: To have - Funding for specific wish type

Wish funds: To go - Funding for specific wish type

Wish funds: Any wish - Funding for any wish

Wish funds: Specific wishes - Funding for individual wishes

Fixed asset fund - Reflects the net book value of assets not available for immediate conversion to cash

General fund - The ‘free reserves’ after allowing for all designated and restricted funds.

22. Analysis of group net assets between funds

Fund balances at 31[st] August 2025 are represented by:

	Restricted funds	Designated funds	General funds	Total funds
	£	£	£	£
Tangible fixed assets	-	155,898	-	155,898
Investments	-	-	4,458,230	4,458,230
Currents assets	90,378	-	1,519,022	1,609,388
Current liabilities	-	-	(2,286,683)	(2,286,683)
Long-term liabilities	-	-	-	-
Total net assets	90,378	155,898	3,690,559	3,936,835

23. Related party transactions

At year-end £147,599 was due to Make-A-Wish Promotions Limited (2023/24 amount due to Make-A-Wish Promotions £nil), and £3,990 was due from Make-A-Wish Play Limited (2023/24 £3,990).

During the year, a gift of £384,401(2023/24 £250,000) was received from Make-A-Wish Promotions Limited.

During the financial year, we received consultancy services from Raise Impact LLP to support the completion of our Fundraising strategy and to cover Head of Philanthropy vacancy. Raise Impact LLP has two partners, one of which is a trustee of Make-A-Wish UK. During the year invoices totalling £62,730 were received in respect of these two contracts. At the year-end there were no outstanding balances due, with all invoices received having been settled.

Report and financial statements Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 49

Company Registration No.02031836

Annual report

24. Charity only statement of financial activities

	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total 2025	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total 2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Income and expenditure
Income from
Donations and legacies	9,180,121	1,065,605	10,245,726	7,187,071	1,289,596	8,476,667
Charitable activities	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other trading activities	1,172,412	-	1,172,412	3,149,781	3,701	3,153,482
Investment income	137,760	-	137,760	163,760	-	163,760
Other income	384,401	-	384,401	250,000	-	250,000
Total	10,874,694	1,065,605	11,940,299	10,750,612	1,293,297	12,043,909
Expenditure on
Raising funds	5,190,479	-	5,190,479	6,081,360	-	6,081,360
Charitable activities	6,630,982	1,115,102	7,746,084	4,976,742	1,341,823	6,318,565
Total	11,821,461	1,115,102	12,936,564	11,058,103	1,341,823	12,399,926
Net (expenditure)/income
before gains/(losses) on	(946,767)	(49,497)	(996,264)	(307,491)	(48,526)	(356,017)
investments
Net gains/(losses) on investments	229,028	-	229,028	257,238	-	257,238
Net movement in funds	(717,739)	(49,497)	(767,236)	(50,253)	(48,526)	(98,779)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward	4,485,807	139,875	4,625,682	4,536,061	188,401	4,724,461
Total funds carried forward	3,767,068	90,378	3,858,446	4,485,807	139,875	4,625,682

Report and financial statements Year ended 31[st] August 2025 | Page 50

Company Registration No.02031836