Campaign Lead: Marketing, Communications & Community Engagement
For Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire’s 35th Anniversary, I led the development of a two‑part campaign designed to replace an underperforming fundraising event and re‑energize our corporate and community engagement. With Walk for Wishes no longer delivering meaningful ROI, I built a new strategy from the ground up — one that combined digital fundraising, grassroots storytelling, and a large‑scale community celebration.
Wish Warrior Fundraising Campaign
To anchor the anniversary year, I created the 35 for 35 Wish Warrior Campaign, a peer‑to‑peer fundraising initiative that challenged supporters to rally 35 friends to donate $35 in 35 days. I worked with our team to identify and recruit more than 100 potential Wish Warriors and developed everything they needed to succeed: fundraising toolkits, customizable templates, a private Facebook community, kickoff webinars, and personalized coaching.
The campaign exceeded expectations — 77 Wish Warriors raised more than $120,000, generating 1,295 individual gifts and earning the Innovative Fundraising Award at the Make-A-Wish National Conference. The model was so successful it was adopted for nationwide rollout.
Read more about how this campaign worked here. And check out the Wish Warrior Toolkit here.
35th Birthday Bash — World Wish Day Celebration
To bring the anniversary to life for the community, I produced the 35th Birthday Bash, a free, family‑friendly celebration hosted on World Wish Day. We secured the Disneyland Resort as the presenting sponsor at $35,000 and partnered with corporate supporters to create immersive “wish zones” that showcased each type of wish — to be, to have, to meet, and to go. We even got Mickey Mouse to make an appearance (he usually doesn’t leave his Disneyland home)!
The event drew nearly 1,000 attendees, generated $88,000 in sponsorships, and served as a VIP celebration for Wish Warriors who reached their fundraising goals. With media sponsorship from Parenting OC and extensive local coverage, the Birthday Bash strengthened community awareness and elevated Make-A-Wish’s local presence.
Together, the Wish Warrior Campaign and Birthday Bash became a powerful, multi‑channel anniversary initiative — blending digital engagement, storytelling, corporate partnership, and experiential event design to celebrate 35 years of life‑changing wishes. View the full event photo album here.