National Nonprofit Day Spotlight: Make-A-Wish Uses ROSTR To Bring Wishes to Life

To celebrate National Nonprofit Day, ROSTR is highlighting its commitment to using the platform for good — connecting people across the music industry to the organizations doing the hardest, most meaningful work. One of the clearest examples: Make-A-Wish®, which uses ROSTR every day to track down the right label contact, management team, or tour date to grant a child's heartfelt wish. I sat down with Alec Brownworth, who leads Music Industry Relations for Make-A-Wish, to hear how it works. 

Alec Brownworth has a personal connection to Make-A-Wish that goes beyond his role heading up Music Industry Relations in the Entertainment and Sports Relations department. 

"My brother was a wish kid," he offers. "We received a travel wish to golf in Hawaii."

Brownworth adds that his sibling made a full recovery and points to the lasting impact of a wish. Research shows that children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength needed to fight a critical illness. This may improve their quality of life and help produce better health outcomes.

Since it was founded in 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 650,000 wishes globally – and 400,000 in the U.S. alone – to children who are battling a critical illness. On average the 501(c)(3) nonprofit grants a wish every 33 minutes, a service that requires an army of 20,000 volunteers on top of staff.

Brownworth joined Make-A-Wish in April 2024 after stints at 300 Entertainment, Epic Records and iHeartMedia. He refers to his role as "a connector," linking children and their families with the teams who can make their wish come true.

This month alone, Brownworth is working to grant around 40 wishes – which is where ROSTR comes in. "Piecing it all together, you've got to get to the decision maker," says Brownworth. "What label are they on? What management are they with? [With ROSTR] you can narrow it down and get to the right person. Sometimes I'll see on the music industry wire, so-and-so changes label, changes management, and I'll go to ROSTR and it's already updated, the new person is already there. I'm shocked like, wow, that was fast."

The most common wishes he receives involve seeing a concert or meeting an artist at a show – requests for Jelly Roll & Ariana Grande feature regularly.

Also popular are requests to go to the Grammys – "We had nine kids at the Grammys this year; The Recording Academy really nails it" – or to see how a concert works behind the scenes. Another common wish is to learn how to write and record a song, with one young musician recently spending time in the studio with Jason Derulo.

With many of the wishes involving concert experiences, it's key Brownworth stays up to date with artists' schedules. "When I see a new wish, I pull [the artist's team] open on ROSTR, and then I check their live page to see if they're touring. If there's no tour dates I reach out to the team, see what their plans are. I use it for basically everything."

How You Can Help Make-A-Wish

One of Brownworth's biggest challenges is raising awareness about the Entertainment and Sports Relations department. "I just want people to know we exist. Let's have those conversations. If you want to help a kid record a song, let's talk about it. If you want to give a tour of your concert venue, let's chat. There are so many cool opportunities."

Brownworth can be reached directly here or via wish.org.