Milevista Partners with Operation Smile to Raise $6.7 Million for Cleft Care by 2027

Milevista, the Culver City-based experiential marketing agency, has announced a new partnership with global medical nonprofit Operation Smile to support surgical care, comprehensive cleft treatment and family-focused programs with an ambitious fundraising goal of $6.7 million by December 31, 2027. The partnership represents a significant commitment to addressing the global need for cleft care through innovative fundraising approaches that leverage Milevista's expertise in creating meaningful human connections through live events and experiential marketing.

Milevista will deploy its team-based, high-impact in-person activations and live pop-ups to increase awareness and raise funds in markets across the United States. These efforts will include a series of live events and experiential activations designed to educate communities about Operation Smile's work and generate sustained donor support. As an agency built around real human connections, Milevista believes powerful experiences can do more than build brands—they can change lives. The partnership allows the agency to bring its on-the-ground expertise to bear on a deeply meaningful mission: helping children and families access life-changing surgery and care.

Operation Smile, an international nonprofit with decades of experience delivering cleft lip and palate surgeries and long-term comprehensive care, will work closely with Milevista to raise funds supporting surgical programs. The organization's model pairs safe surgery with multidisciplinary care and community education, while Milevista brings measurable, in-person reach and real-time campaign optimization. Together, the organizations aim to accelerate donor response and increase the number of children who receive corrective surgery and follow-up services over the next two years. A short film documenting the early stages of this initiative and patient impact is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=100KidsSmileForTheFirstTime.

The $6.7 million fundraising target represents one of the more ambitious corporate-nonprofit partnerships in the medical charity space, with the potential to significantly expand Operation Smile's capacity to provide essential surgical care to children worldwide. This collaboration demonstrates how experiential marketing strategies can be effectively leveraged for social impact, creating meaningful connections between donors and the causes they support while generating substantial funding for critical medical services that transform children's lives through safe, timely surgical intervention.