The Make-A-Wish Foundation and their “brand”...

On August 25th, 2019 I contacted the Make-A-Wish Foundation for images to place on the MyMembershipCards.com website to create an ad for donating 5% of the site’s sales for a month. The response was not what I was expecting.

Email From:
Hannah Hatch,
Corporate Sponsorship Manager
Make-A-Wish(r) America
August 26th, 2019

“After reviewing the information provided in your request we do not believe this opportunity would be a brand fit for our organization at this time. Unfortunately, we would not be able to provide our logo or name/marks for use on the webpage.”

Upon receiving this response, I was puzzled due to the fact that my Smile.Amazon.com account donates 5% of all of my purchases to the Make-A-Wish Foundation as well as millions of other American’s purchases. In fact, every Make-A-Wish chapter, including National and International are listed as options for donation.

On Smile.Amazon.com you can buy adult only items like sex toys and pornography. You can also buy many different LGBTQ+ products and even products with profanity prominently displayed. The images for these products are not blurred, the descriptions are not locked and Amazon does not hide that they sell these items, they actually advertise it and send emails if you look at an item and offer other options that might interest you.

I replied to the email from Hannah Hatch requesting additional information on her decision on August 27th. The email read as follows:

“Thank you for your quick response, but I would like some clarification. I have thought about this all night and finally decided that I would like a better answer. You say that: "we do not believe this opportunity would be a brand fit for our organization at this time".

I am curious as to why?

Is it that I support the LGBTQ+ community? Or is it that there are cards with suggestive and sometimes foul language? I would like to know since currently every time I make a purchase through my Smile.Amazon.com account 5% of that purchase goes to Make-A-Wish. And Amazon sells pornography in the form of books and videos and sex toys. They also sell a very large collection of LGBTQ+ items. There are also products on Amazon with profanity that I would never use in any of my products!

So I am just wondering why my company is not a good brand fit, but Amazon is?”

I received a follow-up from Hannah Hatch on August 27th, stating:

“Thank you for your questions and appreciate your concerns as well as your support of our organization. The decision is not made lightly and we value your business and the communities you serve. When aligning the Make-A-Wish name/marks with a product or service where a donation is triggered by a purchase, we are cautious about promotions within product categories that are more adult in nature. Our national sponsorship guidelines can be found on our website and include more details – https://wish.org/ways-to-help/sponsorships/become-a-sponsor.”

Upon following the link, I read the following:

“Make-A-Wish does not accept proposals that include or are within the following categories: alcoholic beverages, tobacco, adult content or firearms.”

Please note that there is more to this policy, but this was one of the main points of interest for me. Since no other information was requested about sales, length of time in business, a minimum guarantee or a request for their mailing list. The Make-A-Wish response only stated that the MyMembershipCards.com site was not a “brand fit” and the following email stated that it was due to “adult in nature” products on the site.

But Amazon.com and more importantly Smile.Amazon.com both contain “adult in nature” products and Make-A-Wish has no problem not following their own policy when it comes to those donations.

Some other examples might include fundraising by The Boy Scouts of America. They have been accused of nearly 2,000 cases of sexual abuse of children. Yet Make-A-Wish accepts donations from them! How is that a “brand fit” for Make-A-Wish? An organization that is supposed to be about helping children, being supported by an organization known for abusing them.

And I will admit that this one can be a stretch, but there are constantly rides by motorcycle clubs for Make-A-Wish. Yet for a very long time “bike” riders have had a reputation for drug and alcohol abuse and many cases of sexual misconduct. Again, a “brand fit”?

I am simply trying to find out why a violation of policy is acceptable for one, where examples are rampant as to “adult in nature” content and products, and yet not for another with much less violations?

I do not understand if this is discrimination due to the LGBTQ+ themed cards? Or is it the adult card that says: “Your Kind of An Ass!” or would it be the “Free Sex” coupons, in which case it is pure hypocrisy!

I have setup this temporary website with photos and screen shots showing examples for my basis of these questions.

The Contact I have been communicating with:
Hannah Hatch,
Corporate Sponsorship Manager
Make-A-Wish America
Email: hhatch@wish.org

Additional Contact Information…
Press Contact:
Jamie Sandys
Sr. Manager of Brand Communications & PR
Make-A-Wish America
1702 E. Highland Ave, Suite 400
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Phone: (602) 385-6884
Email: jsandys@wish.org

Thank You for your time and attention to this important matter!

Todd Stratton - CEO
todds@mymembershipcards.com

MyMembershipCards.com
a Boofola.com Company