Member Highlight: Wish Granters

The mission of Wish Granters is to improve the quality of life of terminally ill Idaho adults and their primary caregivers, by granting them wishes and by supporting projects in their local communities, thereby providing opportunities for these adults and their loved ones to have lasting memories to cherish forever.

Staff member Olivia Kviklys shared what makes their organization unique.

Interested in highlighting your organization? Tell us your story and we'll share it all year long.

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How has your organization evolved over the years?

We have evolved in so many ways since we were founded in 2010. Since granting our first wish in December of 2010, we have now granted over 350 wishes! We have been able to make a huge impact in our community by granting these wishes, not to mention being able to hire 2 employees as well, so we are growing bit by bit each year.   


What are the biggest rewards or what do you enjoy most about the work you do?

Seeing the impact that these wishes make on the recipients and their families is just amazing. When you have the opportunity to be a part of an organization that has such an amazing mission, it changes everything about the work that you do. It gives purpose and meaning to life in a new way when you see the difference that is being made. I love that these wishes create such a wonderful memory for these recipients and their families, and a lot of the time, it is the last happy memory that they get together.


What are some of the biggest challenges you face day-to-day?

The biggest challenge is recurring funding. Being a small organization and trying to maintain donors, as well as gain larger donors just takes a lot of work and perseverance.
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What is one thing you wish your donors/the general public knew about nonprofit work?

I wish people really understood the impact that donations make. It is literally what keeps us running, especially when you rely solely on community members, businesses, grants, and fundraisers. We don't receive any state or federal funding, so each dollar that we get from donors makes such a huge difference to us.


What is your favorite part of your INC membership?

I love all of the wonderful resources that it provides! I am attending the Idaho Nonprofit Conference for my first time this year, and I am super excited to see what awesome things I learn and people I meet from the experience.

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