Make-A-Wish is the largest wish-granting organization in the world, granting life-changing wishes of seriously ill children. Make-A-Wish Foundation International is a global charity founded in Phoenix, Arizona, serving children in more than 50 countries around the world. With the help of donors and more than 40,000 volunteers around the world, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 500,000 wishes worldwide.
At the heart of Make-A-Wish’s operations are the children and families they grant wishes to. This is why they run a lean team, dedicating as many of their resources and funding to wish granting. Given the nature of their work, there is a significant emphasis on protecting the data of their beneficiaries, including some sensitive data, as well as consideration for the personal data of the donors that is processed.
Maximizing impact with a lean team
To ensure maximum funds go towards their affiliates and beneficiaries, Make-A-Wish International runs a lean team, with under 20 people running the International office. Even prior to the GDPR coming into effect and the opening of their European operational office, Make-A-Wish International set a goal of achieving a GDPR standard privacy program. With such a small and global team, it’s difficult to get time together to talk about privacy, which is why they needed a central point to track, measure, report and action privacy processes.
