Wounded Warrior Project is More Focused on Raising Money Than on Serving Wounded Veterans, Says Former Employees
"I am a retired U.S.A. M/Sgt. Me and my fellow veterans knew this Wounded Warrior Project was a scam the first TV commercial we saw. Sad-eyed commercials work on bleeding heart Americans, whether it is for veterans, children or dogs & cats. Because Americans are Americans. If you Americans are really interested in helping veterans, find one and help direct. Cut out the scam artist. There are plenty of veterans that need a helping hand; one won't be hard to find. Get involved directly with your money. Most charities are designed to get your money, not to help people except those that own the charity. Again, if you want to help a veteran, find one and give your helping hand direct, not through a so-called charity." - Billy Shivers, Longview Texas
Former Wounded Warrior employees accuse charity of wasting millions (CBS Evening News):
In a CBS News investigation, more than 40 former employees of the Wounded Warrior Project accuse the charity of wasting millions of donated dollars on luxury hotels, lavish conferences and expensive meals for staff. The charity has defended its spending. Chip Reid reports.>
Wounded Warrior Project accused of falling short of mission (CBS This Morning):
Wounded Warrior Project, the nation's most recognizable veteran’s charity, has invested heavily in fundraising. The charity says this philosophy best positions it to carry out its stated mission: to honor and empower wounded warriors. But in Part 2 of a CBS News investigation, former employees are speaking out about programs they say fall short.
In April, Hampton Roads, Virginia-based News Channel 3 attempted to delve into some of the same Charity Navigator data that CBS examined, though its piece mostly focused on WWP CEO Steven Nardizzi's apparent opposition to so-called "charity watchdogs." That report made a point of underscoring the value of donors performing independent checks, claiming that the news team's "investigation shows how a charity and a charity-checking organization can review the same data and come up with different results."
To verify a non-profit’s financials, review its IRS form 990 – google “990 form” along with the charity’s name, or signup for a free account at GuideStar.org. On the first page of the form 990 you can ascertain total overhead (which is detailed on Part IX of the form) by subtracting the amount on line 13 from line 18. To determine percentage, divide the difference by the amount on line 18 and then multiple the result by 100.
| Wounded Warrior Project 2013 IRS Form 990, Part 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
A June report by The Daily Beast criticized Nardizzi, saying he pays his executives too much. "Nardizzi is an advisory board member of the Charity Defense Council, an outfit with lofty ambitions," The Daily Beast's Tim Mak wrote. "The organization wants to remake the entire charitable sector to be more permissive of high overhead and high executive compensation, explicitly citing as its model the oil industry’s efforts to rehabilitate its public image." Wounded Warrior Project accused of wasting donation moneyCBS News - A CBS News investigation into a charity for wounded veterans, the Wounded Warrior Project, looks into how the charity spends its donation money. What caught our attention is how the Wounded Warrior Project spends donations compared to other long-respected charities. For example, Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust spends 96 percent of its budget on vets. Fisher House devotes 91 percent. But according to public records reported by "Charity Navigator," the Wounded Warrior Project spends 60 percent on vets. Where is the money is going? In its commercials, Wounded Warrior Project appeals to the American public's generosity, and it works. In 2014 alone the group received more than $300 million in donations.  "Their mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors, but what the public doesn't see is how they spend their money," said Army Staff Sergeant Erick Millette.Millette came home from Iraq in 2006 with a bronze star and a purple heart -- along with a traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Initially, he admired the charity's work, and participated in its programs. He took a job as a public speaker with Wounded Warrior Project in 2013. But after two years, he quit. "You're using our injuries, our darkest days, our hardships, to make money. So you can have these big parties," he told CBS News.Millette said he witnessed lavish spending on staff. "Let's get a Mexican mariachi band in there, let's get maracas made with [the] WWP logo, put them on every staff member's desk. Let's get it catered and have a big old party," he described.CBS News spoke to more than 40 former employees who described a charity where spending was out of control.  Two of those former employees were so fearful of retaliation they asked that their faces not to be shown on camera. "It was extremely extravagant. Dinners and alcohol, and just total accessm" one employee explained. He continued, saying that for a charitable organization that's serving veterans, the spending on resorts and alcohol is "what the military calls fraud waste and abuse."  Wounded Warrior Project CEO Steven Nardizzi According to the charity's tax forms, spending on conferences and meetings went from $1.7 million in 2010, to $26 million in 2014. That's about the same amount the group spends on combat stress recovery -- its top program. Former employees say spending has skyrocketed since Steven Nardizzi took over as CEO in 2009. Many point to the 2014 annual meeting at a luxury resort in Colorado Springs as typical of his style. "He rappelled down the side of a building at one of the all hands events. He's come in on a Segway, he's come in on a horse."About 500 staff members attended the four-day conference in Colorado. The price tag? About $3 million. "Donors don't want you to have a $2,500 bar tab. Donors don't want you to fly every staff member once a year to some five-star resort and whoop it up and call it team building," said Millette.  A Colorado Springs resort where a 2014 WWP conference was held Wounded Warrior Project declined CBS News' repeated interview requests for Nardizzi, but offered their Director of Alumni and a recipient of their services, Captain Ryan Kules. Kules denied there was excessive spending on conferences. "It's the best use of donor dollars to ensure we are providing programs and services to our warriors and families at the highest quality." When asked why conferences were held at five-star resorts instead of cheaper options, Kules provided the same answer.  Capt. Ryan Kules, WWP Director of Alumni "Like I said, it's to make sure we are aligned and can build as a team. Be able to be able to provide the best quality services."Kules also told CBS News the charity did not spend $3 million on the Colorado conference, but he was not there and was unable to say what it did cost. He also denied that the charity spends money on alcohol or engages in any other kind of excessive spending. Part two of this investigation will air on "CBS This Morning," Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET. Ex-employee: Wounded Warrior Project conduct "makes me sick"January 27, 2016, CBS News - Wounded Warrior Project is the nation's most recognizable veteran's charity. The organization has invested heavily in fundraising and says this philosophy best positions it to carry out its stated mission: to honor and empower wounded warriors. Many service members have said WWP's programs have positively impacted their lives, but now, former employees of the charity are speaking out about their concern that it is straying from its mission. In Part 2 of a CBS News investigation, former employees spoke about programs they said fall short. Their commercials are easy to recognize and hard to miss. The charity's heavy investment in fundraising has paid off: bringing in more than $300 million in donations in 2014. Retired Army Staff Sgt. Erick Millette came home from Iraq in 2006 with a Bronze star and a Purple Heart -- along with a traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Wounded Warrior Project enrolled him in its program Warriors Speak, which "provides important life skills that help warriors succeed." In 2013, the charity hired him as a public speaker. But Millette quit last year. He told CBS News correspondent Chip Reid that Warriors Speak is less like a program to help veterans and more like a fundraising vehicle. "They will tell you it's not. But it is," Millette said. "I began to see how an organization that rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars a year is not helping my brothers and my sisters. Or at least not all of them."CBS News has interviewed more than three dozen former employees of the Wounded Warrior Project and nearly all of them told us they're concerned that the organization has become more focused on raising money than on serving wounded veterans. Many of those former staffers believe that after raising more than a billion dollars since 2003, the charity should be providing more comprehensive services to wounded veterans. "I think they want to show warriors a good time. I think they get these warriors to events, but where's the follow up?" one former employee said.Two former employees who spoke to CBS News didn't want to show their faces, fearing retaliation. "A lot of the warriors I saw needed mental health treatment. They don't get that from Wounded Warrior Project," one of the employees said. "What happens when you make a suggestion that there's a better way to serve veterans?" Reid asked. "If you use your brain and come up with an idea, within a matter of time, you're 'off the bus,'" the other employee said. "They don't need you. It's their way or the highway," he added. "I would raise issues. Why aren't we doing follow up? Why don't we have any case management?" Millette said. "How would they respond?" Reid asked. "'We don't call warriors. Warriors call us,'" Millette recalled. "Again, as a disabled veteran, it just makes me sick." The organization declined our repeated requests to interview Wounded Warrior Project CEO Steven Nardizzi, but the charity offered us Capt. Ryan Kules, a recipient of its programs and services and its director of alumni. "Wounded Warrior Project contacts alumni and family support members multiple times over the course of the year, we call each and every one of our alumni and family support members on their birth month to be able to ensure and check in, see how they're doing, and see if they need other programs and services," Kules said. "And then also have multiple opportunities for them, and us to follow up and see how they are doing." Marc Owens is a former director of tax-exempt organizations at the IRS. "What was your biggest concern in reading these forms?" Reid asked him, showing him the WWP tax forms. "That I couldn't tell the number of people that were assisted," Owens said. "I thought that was truly unusual." "They do put some of those numbers on the website," Reid pointed out. "Yes, they do," Owens responded. But what's the difference? "Form 990 is signed under the penalties of perjury," Owens said. "You have to be careful on there," Reid said. "That's right, you have to be certain," Owens said. Millette said he expects retaliation from Wounded Warrior Project, but said that won't stop him. "As a disabled veteran, I feel that other veterans need a voice. I am in a position where I can be their voice," he said. "And I feel if I don't stand up and do what I feel is right, and voice their concerns, what I've heard, and how I feel, then I'm leaving them behind." Capt. Kules, Wounded Warrior Project's representative, told CBS News that mental health services are important to the charity, and that it is committing $100 million over three years to a warrior care network in a partnership with four hospitals nationwide that will provide outpatient mental health services to post-9/11 veterans. The Wounded Warrior Project has published a letter it sent to CBS News in response to the investigation. You can read it here. Wounded Warrior Project Spends Lavishly on Itself, Insiders Say
January 27, 2016
New York Times - In 2014, after 10 years of rapid growth, the Wounded Warrior Project flew its roughly 500 employees to Colorado Springs for an “all hands” meeting at the five-star Broadmoor hotel. They were celebrating their biggest year yet: $225 million raised and a work force that had nearly doubled. On the opening night, before three days of strategy sessions and team-building field trips, the staff gathered in the hotel courtyard. Suddenly, a spotlight focused on a 10-story bell tower where the chief executive, Steven Nardizzi, stepped off the edge and rappelled toward the cheering crowd. That evening is emblematic of the polished and well-financed image cultivated by the Wounded Warrior Project, the country’s largest and fastest-growing veterans charity. Since its inception in 2003 as a basement operation handing out backpacks to wounded veterans, the charity has evolved into a fund-raising giant, taking in more than $372 million in 2015 — largely through small donations from people over 65. 
Today,
the charity has 22 locations offering programs to help veterans
readjust to society, attend school, find work and participate in
athletics. It contributes millions to smaller veterans groups. And it
has become a brand name, its logo emblazoned on sneakers, paper towel
packs and television commercials that run dozens of times.
But in its swift rise, it has also embraced aggressive styles of fund-raising, marketing and personnel management that have many current and former employees questioning whether it has drifted from its mission. It has spent millions a year on travel, dinners, hotels and conferences that often seemed more lavish than appropriate, more than four dozen current and former employees said in interviews. Former workers recounted buying business-class seats and regularly jetting around the country for minor meetings, or staying in $500-per-night hotel rooms. The organization has also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years on public relations and lobbying campaigns to deflect criticism of its spending and to fight legislative efforts to restrict how much nonprofits spend on overhead. About 40 percent of the organization’s donations in 2014 were spent on its overhead, or about $124 million, according to the charity-rating group Charity Navigator [for a more accurate figure, refer to WWP's IRS form 990, Part IX]. While that percentage, which includes administrative expenses and marketing costs, is not as much as for some groups, it is far more than for many veterans charities, including the Semper Fi Fund, a wounded-veterans group that spent about 8 percent of donations on overhead. As a result, some philanthropic watchdog groups have criticized the Wounded Warrior Project for spending too heavily on itself. Some of its own employees have criticized it, too. William Chick, a former supervisor, spent five years with the Wounded Warrior Project. “It slowly had less focus on veterans and more on raising money and protecting the organization,” he said. Mr. Chick, who was fired in 2012 after a dispute with his supervisor, said he saw the Wounded Warrior Project help hundreds of veterans. But like other former employees, he said the group swiftly fired anyone leaders considered a “bad cultural fit.” Eighteen former employees — many of them wounded veterans themselves — said they had been fired for seemingly minor missteps or perceived insubordination. At least half a dozen former employees said they were let go after raising questions about ineffective programs or spending. A spokeswoman for the charity said it fired those people because of poor performance or ethical breaches, and that each of them was given the opportunity to address their work problems. The spokeswoman, Ayla Tezel, said that more than a third of the charity’s employees are veterans, and that the organization is rated one of the top nonprofits to work for by The NonProfit Times. “Sometimes employees make poor choices that can’t be overlooked,” Ms. Tezel said. “And sometimes those employees are veterans.” A For-Profit Model Veterans organizations in the United States often reflect the era in which they were created: After World War I, they resembled fraternal orders. After Vietnam, many focused on advocacy in Washington. 
The
Wounded Warrior Project cuts a different profile. Under Mr. Nardizzi’s
direction, it has modeled itself on for-profit corporations, with a
focus on data, scalable products, quarterly numbers and branding.
In an interview at the organization’s four-story headquarters in a palm-lined office park in Jacksonville, Fla., Mr. Nardizzi, 45, said spending on fund-raising and other expenses not directly related to veterans programs has enabled the Wounded Warrior Project to grow faster and serve more people. It estimates that 80,000 veterans have used its services.
The
charity recently pledged to raise $500 million for a trust to fund
lifetime supplemental health care for severely wounded veterans. And on
Tuesday, it started a program to provide care for veterans with
post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, two of the most common injuries for veterans of recent wars.
Such ambitious programs would be impossible without significant spending on fund-raising and staff, said Mr. Nardizzi, who has become a vocal advocate of the idea that charities should be able to spend what they want on travel, fund-raising and executive salaries.
The
Wounded Warrior Project’s roots are more humble. Its founder, John
Melia, was a Marine veteran who had been injured in a helicopter crash
off the coast of Somalia in 1992. When wounded troops began returning
from Iraq in 2003, Mr. Melia remembered how he had arrived in a
stateside hospital with only his thin hospital gown, and began visiting
military hospitals to distribute backpacks stuffed with socks, CD
players, toothpaste and other items.
As the backpack project grew, Mr. Melia hired a few employees, including Mr. Nardizzi, a lawyer who had never served in the military but was an executive for a small nonprofit, the United Spinal Association, which served disabled veterans. They began raising millions of dollars and broadening their services to include adaptive sports for disabled veterans, employment and benefits help, and retreats to teach veterans to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. By 2009, the group had grown to about 50 employees and $21 million in revenue. But by then, Mr. Melia and Mr. Nardizzi were fighting over the charity’s future, with Mr. Nardizzi pushing for more aggressive expansion than Mr. Melia, former employees said. In January 2009, Mr. Melia resigned. Mr. Nardizzi said in an interview that Mr. Melia left to pursue business ventures. But Mr. Melia’s ex-wife, Julie Melia, who worked at the charity at the time, said in an interview that her former husband felt like the organization was “stolen from him.”
The
organization paid Mr. Melia at least $230,000 after he stepped down,
according to tax forms. He has never spoken publicly about his
disagreements with Mr. Nardizzi, and declined to be interviewed.
Today, on a list of 27 founders that was created by the charity’s current leadership and handed out to all new employees, Mr. Melia’s name appears well below the name of the charity’s for-profit fund-raising consultant. Rising in a Downturn When Mr. Nardizzi took over, in the depths of the 2009 economic downturn, most charities had dialed back their fund-raising efforts, figuring that the nation was in no position to give. Mr. Nardizzi doubled his spending on fund-raising and has increased it an average of 66 percent every year since. The Wounded Warrior Project spent more than $34 million on fund-raising in 2014, according to tax records. The organization began producing inspirational ads featuring wounded veterans fighting to recover.
But as donations poured in, many former employees say the group became wasteful.
All
staff members flying to the charity’s office at a military hospital in
Germany traveled in business class, employees said. One current employee
said her last-minute ticket cost $7,000.
Mr. Nardizzi fired Ms. Chapman, an Iraq veteran with PTSD, in 2012 as part of a “management restructuring,” she said. By 2014, the group was spending $7.5 million per year on travel, according to tax forms. The Wounded Warrior Project asserts that it spends 80 percent of donations on programs, but former employees and charity watchdogs say the charity inflates its number by using practices such as counting some marketing materials as educational. 
The
spending began to attract attention. Charity Watch, an independent
monitoring group, gave Wounded Warrior Project a “D” rating in 2011 and
has not given it a grade higher than C since.
Mr. Nardizzi fought back. In 2013, according to tax forms, the Wounded Warrior Project gave $150,000 to a nonprofit called the Charity Defense Council and Mr. Nardizzi joined its advisory board. The council’s mission includes defending charity spending on overhead and executive salaries, its website says. In 2014, the Wounded Warrior Project lobbied in California and Florida to fight proposals that would have required nonprofits to increase financial transparency. Both bills passed in amended forms that did not significantly affect the charity, Mr. Nardizzi said. Also around that time, the group hired the global public relations firm Edelman, which has represented Starbucks, Walmart, Shell and Philip Morris, to improve public perception of the charity and its overhead spending. Former employees said they questioned the charity’s focus on money and marketing techniques. Erick Millette, an Iraq veteran, said he quit after growing disillusioned about his work with a program called Warrior Speak, which involved veterans’ telling their stories of healing to audiences. The veterans collected donations at those events.
Mr. Millette said the charity encouraged him to highlight its role in helping him recover from PTSD and traumatic brain injury.
“They wanted me to say W.W.P. saved my life,” he said. “Well, they didn’t. They just took me to a Red Sox game and on a weekend retreat.”
A Focus on Metrics
As donations increased, Wounded Warrior Project executives began using data to measure staff productivity. The metrics were intended to improve efficiency and help fund-raising. But some employees assert that the productivity goals were set so high that they eroded program quality. The Warriors to Work program, for instance, was intended to provide one-on-one counseling to develop résumés and interview skills, then place veterans in suitable jobs. But executives quadrupled the number of job placements the program was expected to make each year, reducing the amount of time specialists had to find good ones, said Dan Lessard, who ran the program for about two years. He was fired in 2014 for what executives told him was insubordination.
The
same push for numbers hit a program that brings wounded veterans
together for social events. Former staff members said they had less time
to develop therapeutic programs and so relied on giving veterans
tickets to concerts and sporting events. To fill seats, they often
invited the same veterans.
Ms.
Humphrey, an Iraq veteran with PTSD, was fired in 2013. Her termination
was so abrupt that her work phone and credit card were shut off while
she was leading an event.
Mr. Nardizzi said his staff was constantly monitoring metrics to try to get the most out of every dollar donated. “It’s a hard balance, but I think we strike the right balance,” he said.
He
said that the organization regularly followed up with veterans who
receive Wounded Warrior Project services and that the vast majority
reported having good experiences.
Multiple Terminations Part of the organization’s drive for growth has been a tough stance toward workers considered unproductive or disloyal. After Jesse Longoria recovered from a roadside bomb blast that nearly killed him in Iraq, he got a job with the organization training veterans to help other veterans.
In
2012, after he had been working for the charity about a year, he had to
have his right arm amputated because of lingering damage from Iraq.
Soon after the amputation, he said, he was racked by haunting emotions from Iraq and checked himself into suicide watch at a psychiatric ward. A week later, he was back at work when a fistfight broke out between veteran mentors who had been drinking after one of his training sessions. He was not in the room at the time but was held responsible for the fight, his boss at the time, Mr. Chick, said in an interview. Mr. Chick’s own supervisor told him to fire Mr. Longoria. Mr. Chick said he refused, but was ordered by his boss to write an email recommending the firing. “He said you better do this or you are going to look disloyal to the organization,” Mr. Chick said. “It was a very coercive conversation.”
The
Wounded Warrior Project said Mr. Longoria was terminated at Mr. Chick’s
recommendation. The organization fired Mr. Chick later the same day for
insubordination.
Mr. Longoria said he was offered money in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement, but refused. Other former employees said they had signed such forms, and could not speak. Mr. Longoria said after he was fired, he fell into depression but was also relieved. He said he felt guilty about what he saw as widespread waste. Once a child came by the office to donate a piggy bank. Another time a woman called to donate part of her son’s life insurance after he was killed in Afghanistan, he said.
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WWP uses a combination of fundraising events, corporate sponsorships, advertising and direct mail appeals to raise money. According to the Tampa Bay Times, of the $150 million raised in 2012, about $81 million was raised through professional solicitors. Wounded Warrior paid 11 percent of that money to cover its solicitors’ fees and the expense of the solicitor-run campaigns.
ReplyDeleteWWP does not provide direct financial assistance to its alumni, which is what they call those who sign up online for their member services (as of October 1, 2014, WWP has 58,034 alumni). WWP states that they “cannot direct funds to a geographic location or specific individual.” On their website they write:
“Throughout the year, we offer a wide range of events and activities around the country designed just for Alumni. These activities include sporting events, educational sessions, and social events that give individuals a chance to spend time with other injured service members. Alumni can also participate in many WWP activities and events for injured service members.”
WWP provides “programs and services” to their alumni, in addition to backpacks (“WWP packs”). According to their website:
“Warriors receive WWP packs in the hospital. They can be purchased through Under Armour and will be presented to an injured service member recuperating in a military hospital.”
“WWP provides more than 18 programs and services to injured service members and their families, in addition to numerous valuable resources. Sign up online for our WWP Alumni program. It’s free to join. Please visit our Programs page and browse all our offerings that are categorized by Mind, Body, Economic Empowerment and Engagement.”
Proud Supporter Events listed on WWP’s website are not organized by WWP; rather, they are charity events hosted by other organizations to benefit myriad causes. On WWP’s website it states:
“Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) invites you to honor and empower Wounded Warriors by becoming a Proud Supporter and hosting your own fundraising campaign.”
“You will need to register your event each year to hold a benefit for Wounded Warrior Project® should you hold an annual benefit event. For volunteer opportunities at registered proud supporter events in your area, please visit the Proud Supporter Events Map, locate an event in your area, and contact the event organizer to inquire about volunteer needs. Please note: These volunteer opportunities are not directly with WWP. Please do not contact military bases to invite warriors. These requests should come through WWP’s event staff at events@woundedwarriorproject.org.”
It is important to note that WWP does not provide programs or services to military veterans who served before September 11, 2001. On WWP’S website it states:
“WWP began as a small, grassroots effort to provide immediate assistance when a warrior of this generation was injured. We felt we could do the most good by providing more comprehensive programs and services to the newly injured, rather than spread ourselves too thin by trying to help all veterans. We also knew there were many terrific veterans’ organizations for warriors from previous conflicts, but very few focused on serving our newest generation.”
For 2012, WWP reported that about 73 percent of its expenses went toward programs and services, but the charity is one of many that uses a commonly accepted practice to claim a portion of expenses as charitable works by lumping them under the broad category of “program service expenses.” For example, by including educational material in solicitations, charities can classify some of the expense as good deeds.
In an analysis of WWP’s 2012 IRS Form 990, “Statement of Functional Expenses (Part IX)” [see page 10 – image above], it was determined that in 2012:
ReplyDelete32.54% of contributions was added to WWP’s endowment fund (banked or invested)
59.81% of contributions was spent on programs and services, direct and indirect costs*
7.65% of contributions was awarded directly in grants
* Of the 59.81% spent on programs and services, 12.31% was for salaries and other compensation and 47.50% was for other expenses, including those spent on “consulting and outside services” and on overhead
The figures above contradict the claims WWP makes on their website and in their annual reports and press releases — this is because WWP uses the broad category of “program service expenses” when reporting their operating costs.
According to WWP: “Based on our fiscal year 2013 audited financial statements ending September 30, 2013, 80 percent of total expenditures went to provide services and programs for wounded service members and their families.”
2013 Expenses By Category:
Program Services: $175,009,142
Management and General: $9,199,900
Fundraising: $34,764,110
Total Expenses: $218,973,152
Total Cash Contributions: $224,063,935
However, in an analysis of WWP’s audited financial statements for 2013, it was determined that 82.12 percent of the $175,009,142 in “program service expenses” was for indirect costs (overhead); therefore, in 2013 only 18 percent of total expenditures went to provide services and programs for wounded service members and their families.
WWP is one of many nonprofits that allocates operating costs (overhead) under the category “program service expenses,” giving donors the perception that this is the amount provided in grants or services.
ReplyDeleteOperating expenses are indirect costs, which include management services, salaries and other compensation, fundraising events, advertising and promotion, office expenses, information technology, conferences, conventions, meetings, occupancy (mortgage/rent, utilities, etc.), lobbying, insurance, travel, and other expenses.
Scripps Howard News Service reported in May 2012 that chief executives of nonprofit organizations sign their annual Form 990s to the IRS promising “under penalties of perjury” that the information provided is “true, correct and complete;” however, there is “great incentive to fudge the numbers” and “legal action for a false filing is extremely rare.”
“They are fudging the numbers, and there is great incentive to fudge the numbers,” said Christine Manor, a certified public accountant from Rockville, Md., who advises GuideStar and other nonprofits in how to report to the IRS. “Why does anyone think we are so stupid?”
Yet the problem has been known for many years, at least since the mid-1990s, when the IRS began compiling and publicly releasing data from the Form 990 income-tax statements that most large nonprofits are required by law to file annually.
“This has been a long-standing area of concern,” said Washington, D.C., attorney Marcus Owens who was director of the IRS’ Exempt Organizations Division for 10 years.
The Journal of Academy of Business and Economics published a study in February 2003 on the intentional misreporting of “program expenses” by nonprofit organizations. The study examined the motivation of nonprofit organizations to use IRS Form 990 to manipulate financial results by allocating indirect costs as part of the expense composition of “program services” (as opposed to costs for funding activities directly related to the organization’s mission).
Why would a nonprofit misreport “program service expenses”?
When reviewing IRS Form 990s, donors judge organizations reporting a higher proportion of total expenses classified as “program services” or “program expenses” as more likely to use donations to fund activities directly related to the mission rather than on indirect costs associated with operating the charity.
In other words, donors likely perceive high amounts of total expenses devoted to “program services” as indicative of an organization awarding direct financial assistance to those in need.
To make matters worse, online watchdogs like Charity Navigator use a nonprofit organization’s “program expenses” to rate the charity, so the higher the “program expenses,” the better the rating.
CONTINUED...
The following are excerpts from the February 2003 study, “Indirect cost allocations and the incentive to report high program service expenditures in Form 990: an examination of donors’ perceptions”:
ReplyDeleteAs an overseer of the nonprofit sector, the government has sought to ensure that nonprofit organizations have not engaged in activities that have violated their tax-exempt status. To fulfill this duty, the federal government currently requires most tax-exempt nonprofit organizations (501(c)(3) organizations) to file a yearly informational return, the Form 990.
The Internet presence of Forms 990 has provided nonprofits with increased incentives to report high program service expenditures. Organizations can artificially inflate these expenditures by allocating large amounts of indirect costs to program services.
An experiment investigating donors’ perceptions regarding program services and indirect cost allocations finds that nonprofits’ attempts to mislead donors through cost allocations may succeed, even when signs of potentially manipulative allocations appear on functional expense statements. Donors possessing financial analysis skills may, however, detect these attempts, suggesting that web sites may need to emphasize a careful examination of the expense composition of program services.
Despite Form 990’s role as one of the most commonly used sources of nonprofit financial information today, many in the nonprofit field fear that the informational return may mislead donors.
One area of special concern lies in the reporting of “program service expenditures” and the use of cost allocations to artificially inflate their magnitude.
This paper discusses an experiment conducted to investigate donors’ perceptions of potentially manipulative indirect cost allocations reported in Form 990. In providing a preliminary indication of the likely success or failure of organizations’ attempts to mislead donors through cost allocations, the paper offers some practical suggestions for web sites housing Forms 990.
In its reporting of organizational expenses, Form 990 uses one of three categories to classify all expenses:
1. program services
2. management and general
3. fundraising
Because of the increased accessibility of Forms 990, nonprofit entities face incentives to disclose high “program service expenses” and low management and fundraising expenses (overhead) to ensure a donor’s favorable impression of the organization. Organizations may respond to these incentives by allocating large amounts of indirect costs to the “program service expense” classification to inflate its magnitude, a practice that, according to critics, charitable organizations have committed in the past.
While the IRS encourages organizations to allocate indirect costs among the three expense classifications (program services, management and general, and fundraising), it fails to specify an appropriate allocation method. Further, professional accounting organizations offer only limited cost allocation guidance.
One professional website dedicated to Form 990 preparation advises nonprofit organizations: “If the percentages for either fundraising or management and general appear too high, go back and make sure that your organization used appropriate guidelines when classifying expenses.”
CONTINUED...
A Statement of Functional Expenses included in Form 990 may provide assistance to donors in detecting an organization’s efforts to manipulate program service results. This statement reveals the individual expenses, both direct and indirect—comprising total program service, management and general, and fundraising—and reports, in columnar format, the manner in which an organization allocated its indirect expenses among the three expense classifications. Some have maintained that this statement is the most important financial report of a nonprofit organization, since it may disclose unusual cost allocations.
ReplyDeleteEditor's Note: The Statement of Functional Expenses was Part III of Form 990 but the IRS moved it to Part IX, essentially burying it near the end of the form—this statement reveals the actual expense composition of the totals appearing in Part I, and, in turn, how each organization allocated its major direct and indirect costs.
When evaluating the performance of nonprofit organizations, donors and public service agencies rank the ratio of total “program service expenditures” to total organizational expenditures high in importance. Donors can calculate this ratio from data appearing in Part I of Form 990—this statement reports an organization’s revenue sources and the total dollar amounts spent on program services, management and general, and fundraising. Donors likely perceive high amounts of total expenses devoted to “program services” as indicative of an organization’s use of contributions to support program service activities.
The IRS grants nonprofit organizations considerable discretion in their determination of “program service””, management and general”, and “fundraising” expenditures. It encourages these organizations to allocate its indirect costs among the three expense classifications, although it provides only limited guidance as to the allocation techniques or methods.
Regulators and oversight agencies have long considered the Statement of Functional Expenses (Part IX of IRS Form 990) of primary importance in revealing questionable cost allocations. However, evidence from this study suggests that disclosure on the functional expense statement of a nonprofit organization’s potentially manipulative use of indirect cost allocations to inflate “program service expenditures” may go undetected, implying that organizations may find it relatively easy to mislead donors using Form 990.
If you take the time to review Part IX of a non-profit’s IRS form 990 (available at GuideStar.org if you sign up for a free account), you’ll see that Charity Navigator does not take into account the overhead when calculating the percentage of contributions that goes toward the cause (I wouldn’t be surprised if Charity Navigator is funded by the large non-profits to mislead donors, and the same goes for the other “charity watchdog,” Guidestar.org).
For example, according to Charity Navigator, the American Red Cross would apply $92 of every $100 to their mission (which is also what the Red Cross claims on their website and in press releases), but the exact opposite is true: only about $5 of every $100 goes toward the cause and the rest goes toward overhead (just check out Part IX of their IRS form 990s). Of the $3.2 billion the Red Cross received in contributions for 2011, 99% ($3.1 billion) was spent on salaries and other expenses, which left only 1% ($38 million) of contributions for the cause: helping victims of disaster relief. A private foundation is required by federal law to pay out five percent of the average market value of its net investment assets in order to avoid paying excise taxes, so the Red Cross used reserve funds to fulfill the required five percent payout ($174 million of the total $212 million that they awarded in grants in 2011 came from their endowment).
American Red Cross 2011 Total Revenue: $3.2 billion (including $56 million from the U.S. treasury, funded by taxing the income of citizens, etc.)
ReplyDeleteRevenue Paid Out in Grants for Its Cause: $212 million (1% of revenue plus 6% borrowed from reserves)
Revenue Spent on Salaries & Compensation: $1.7 billion (54.64% of revenue)
Revenue Spent on Other Expenses: $1.4 billion (44.17% of revenue)
Total Expenses: $3.3 billion ($174 million in the red)
Net Assets or Fund Balances at Year End: $1.6 billion
CEO’s salary: $591,122 plus $37,386 in “other compensation” per IRS Form 990 (Forbes reported her salary as $1,032,022)
1,359 employees receiving more than $100,000 in compensation
57 independent contractors receiving more than $100,000 in compensation
The Red Cross operated in the red in 2011 by $174 million (spending 6% more than revenue after paying administrative costs and salaries), which is why the figures above add up to more than a 100%. However, they are not broke – they ended the year with assets or fund balances of $1.6 billion. Plus, in 2011, they had a large endowment fund worth $828 million, securities worth $563 million, and land, buildings and equipment worth $1.1 billion.
On schedule I of their 990 form, the American Red Cross noted that they made disaster relief payments of $66 million in 2011 and “did not make specific financial assistance to any one individual during the fiscal year exceeding $5,000.”
http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m16540911_FY12_ARC_990_Filed_with_IRS.pdf
On their IRS 990 filing for 2011, the Red Cross listed the “reported compensation” for their president and CEO, Gail J. McGovern, as $591,122 plus $37,386 in “other compensation.” However, Forbes reported in 2010 that her pay at the Red Cross was $1,032,022.
Top Person: Gail J. McGovern
Top Pay: $1,032,022
Fiscal Year ending on 06/30/10
Gail J. McGovern joined the American Red Cross as president and CEO on April 8, 2008. Prior to joining the Red Cross, McGovern was a faculty member at the Harvard Business School and served as president of Fidelity Personal Investments, a unit of Fidelity Investments, responsible for half a trillion dollars of assets under management. She was also executive vice president for the Consumer Markets Division at AT&T, the $26 billion residential long-distance organization and largest business unit. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Columbia University, and has since been recognized as alumna of the year from both universities. McGovern is currently a member of the board of trustees of Johns Hopkins University and the board of directors of DTE Energy. In February 2013, she joined the board of directors of The Weather Company, which operates The Weather Channel, weather.com and other services. McGovern was recognized by Fortune magazine in 2000 and 2001 as one of the top 50 most powerful women in corporate America.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/14/charities-11_American-National-Red-Cross_CH0013.html
capn sticky said on January 28, 2016 2:2PM
ReplyDeleteCon men never have trouble sleeping at night. They can convince themselves that their activities are selfless work to benefit the victim group they claim to represent. He would never admit or even recognize wrongdoing - he actually believes he is a valiant good guy.
chris cato said on January 28, 2016 0:12PM
We are sick over this. Have been supporting members for 5 years. We closed our membership today. To that piece of garbage leader, we want to say, "You may not believe in hell, but you WILL when you get there!" From a retired Major USAF.
ItsGetting2BFun2016 said on January 27, 2016 9:9AM
I was always fairly certain this project was a total con-job, just like the Red Cross. I wonder how much they pay the red-neck, gay country singer (what's his name "Tammy Keith") to do those commercials?
And speaking of the Red Cross, when I heard the Senator Dole's wife was paid $150K a year to head the Red Cross many years ago, I pretty much suspect all charities are a scam. So I quit giving to all of them.
Imagine, the wife of a long-term senator, with more $$$ and benefits than probably 95% of the people in the US taking $150K of donated $$$ to line her own pockets. Disgusting, corrupt and highly-offensive. That's pretty much my view of all charities.
muddobber16 said on January 28, 2016 3:3PM
Until the W W P came along the red cross was the biggest scam on earth.
Billy Shivers
Which is why the Feds give taxpayers' funds to the Red Cross every year and why they have chosen it as the organization the government will use to move "large populations to shelters in camps" once the country is under martial law.
Within the Federal Government, the following agencies may play a major role in providing Federal assistance in the event of a terrorist attack (written prior to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security):
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Department of Defense (DoD)
• Establishes the Secretary of the Army as the Executive Agent in military support to domestic emergencies
• Tasks the Director of Military Support (DOMS) to coordinate DoD assistance, develop procedures and monitor the employment of all DoD resources
U.S. Coast Guard
American Red Cross (ARC)
U.S. Department of Transportation
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Department of Agriculture
National Communications System
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of the Interior General Services Administration (GSA)
http://magiclougie.blogspot.com/2016/01/feds-plan-to-violate-posse-comitatus.html
Earthman1970 January 27, 2016 8:8AM
ReplyDeletelarge equals corrupt
It seems particularly pervasive in (obvious oxymoron) non-profits.
Unions, mega-churches, charities - it doesn't matter. If they're flush with cash and and little oversite, you can bet it will be misspent.
Not-Chicken-Little January 27, 2016 8:8AM
It's also a tragedy - I'd say a much bigger tragedy than this wasteful spending of private money - that our government does so little for these veterans. Our government wastes and misspends many billions of dollars on things that are not permitted by our Constitution, but they spend far too little on taking care of the military which is a Constitutional duty.
6qckslvr9 January 27, 2016 7:7AM
Here's an idea.If you want to help a veteran then find one in your city or town and help him/her.Give them a gift card to a supermarket or a clothing store.Why give your money to a middle man like WWP and let them determine how it's spent?
romo1872 January 27, 2016 8:8AM
@6qckslvr9 eXACTLY MY APPROACH FOR ALL GIVING FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS. tHEN THE PERSON OR FAMILY I FIND NEEDS HELP GETS 100% OF IT AND THERE IS NO FRAUD OR WASTE. IT IS ALSO REWARDING TO KNOW THE IMPACT YOU HAVE AND SEE IT FIRST HAND
omnibus66 January 27, 2016 7:7AM
The real question here that no one is asking is why do these charities that ostensibly help veterans with problems even exist? If our government, the organization primarily responsible for the veterans' problems, would do what they should and take care of these guys, there would be no need for veterans charities. Redirecting the cost of just one of the high tech fighter bombers that we don't need could do it. The next time you see an ad from one of these veterans charities, sit down and write a letter to your Senator and Representative.
no-integrity January 27, 2016 6:6AM
The story appears to be true and all agencies should audit - IRS for paid exec expenses and monies, in all forms, given to employees. DOL should take a look, companies that grow that fast usually have an unequal mix of hourly employees and make employees salaried so they do not have to pay overtime so pay practices should be reviewed. If 40 employees have come forward, how many more have things to say.
If Wounded Warrior Project is in the clear, they should welcome any inquires as to how they conduct the charity so they can put donors at ease.
I am sorry for the few wounded warriors that do get helped but perhaps after all is said and done - more can get real help.
I applaud those who spoke out.
Socrates42 January 27, 2016 5:5AM
Solution: Have the IRS and the FBI investigate this organization. If there is fraud and if the CEO of this organization is scamming the system, arrest him and his associates, and let them have a say in court.
Basil Mikulo January 27, 2016 7:7AM
@Socrates42 Problem is the IRS and FBI wouldn't recognize fraud if it slapped them in the face. They're inept and corrupt themselves, so fraud and corruption slapping fraud and corruption is hard to detect.
ItsGetting2BFun2016 January 27, 2016 9:9AM
@Socrates42 We need to do the same with Wall Street, the Big Banks, and including our senators, congressman and lobbyist
aspenskibum98 January 27, 2016 11:11AM
the irs ---- are they the one who like other government organizations that give out hugh bonuses and waste taxpayer money on employee retreats !! ?? not to mention the director was fired !! ya sure !!
muddobber16 January 28, 2016 6:6PM
this ceo has political cronies and influential people with the regulators that make all laws on his payroll
Kumijo January 27, 2016 5:5AM
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine has always known WWP is a scam.
Every time the commercial comes on he gets Pi***ed..I don't know where he heard it, but he tells me every time what a cheating charity it is, and how he wouldn't give a dime to it. Because they dont do what they claim.
Basil Mikulo January 27, 2016 7:7AM
All you have to do is follow the money. WWP isn't the only charity that is corrupt. Unfortunately, this is why I don't donate to any of these organizations. I look at my snail mail these days and all I see are organizations asking for money. Bogus, bogus, bogus. I only donate to local charities and even then, I'm skeptical as hell.
Kumijo January 27, 2016 5:5AM
Weasels… Greedy ba****rds.
So many of these sleazy greedy creeps running charities.
Why don't we have full disclosure? Why do they get to give themselves such wages, and spend money without answering to someone for it?
Why does the IRS NOT make them account for every penny and put a wage limit on Everyones pay?
Why should they draw huge wages? Have expensive trips and parties on this money?
There is just too much stinking greed in the world.
Its time to pick them ALL apart every year at tax time and scrutinize every penny charities put out.
muddobber16 January 29, 2016 11:11AM
A VERY SIMPLE SOLUTION "STOP GIVING CHARITIES MONEY" THE CROOKS WOULD GO INTO ANOTHER SCAM SUCH AS POLITICS.
HowieFelterRupp January 27, 2016 1:1AM
There is nothing new to this. A couple of years ago a vet friend was organizing a charity motorcycle ride to help raise money for the WWP. When he started talking about it I recommended he give a serious look t the way they spend the money. He did some initial investigations and was amazed at the amount of money spent on ridiculous things. The more he looked the more disenchanted he became at the "charity". Needless to say he did not turn the funds over to the business fronting as a charity.
Paula J Caplan January 27, 2016 1:1AM
I know so many veterans who have been turned down flat when turning to Wounded Warriors for much-needed help, Why? They only even consider helping post-9/11 veterans. In spite of that, have you seen their commercial (not really appropriate to call it a Public Service Announcement) in which Trace Adkins is singing a song, and one verse clearly heard includes a line like "I served in Viet Nam"? Every time I hear that line, I want to yell at the TV, "But Wounded Warriors turns away Viet Nam veterans!!!" And people might want to do a search for the Wounded Warriors' CEO's speech in which he said he saw no reason that CEOs of nonprofits (WW is a nonprofit?!?!) should be paid less than CEOs of major corporations. And I have seen on their own website that despite the hundreds of millions of dollars that they got in donations last year, they only serve a very few hundred veterans.
gq12g0 January 26, 2016 10:10PM
ReplyDeleteThe CEO does donate his time for this worthy cause, right?
Kierlani January 27, 2016 0:12AM
@gq12g0 His salary for 2014 was $473,015.
McMucker January 26, 2016 10:10PM
Not unlike the Pink Ribbon Campaign, wherein people buy all these products with a pink ribbon, thinking it's going towards cancer research. Wrong. It just shows that you care, but your money is going directly into corporate pockets.
The VA should be covering every single veteran. Next time a "war vote" comes up, the VA should be in the front of the line. "Take care of the veterans you have before you create any more."
Melo-D. January 26, 2016 11:11PM
Great, yet another organization that uses the vets to make money then stiffs them in the end. Reminds me of congress.
j99chg January 26, 2016 10:10PM
I read a phenomenal post from an Army wife whose husband lost both legs. When her husband was first wounded they contacted Wounded Warrior Project. The WWP sent him socks (no.... really, they sent the man who had just lost both legs socks).
ptrash13 January 26, 2016 10:10PM
One should always be wary of organizations that do a lot of advertising for donations/membership.
LI, NY Native 001 January 27, 2016 0:12AM
@Geo Thermal @ptrash13 BUt you do not need to run 30 minute infomercials late at night. You also do not need to run endless ads on FNC for the WWP. Once you have a large base of donors, keep sending them solicitation letters Buy names from other charities.
Remember that Feed the Children, who used to run those late night 30 min infomercials, had a HUGE scandal with its founders who were kicked out? The Red Cross scandal in SD? The United Way scandal with its CEO? When our charities become corrupt and greedy, you know the USA is in big trouble.
LI, NY Native 001 January 27, 2016 0:12AM
Can see their financials on Give.org. I found serious accounting irregularities back in 2009-2011 and called them to ask about it. A giggly 20 something female had no clue how to answer my questions. She admitted she was there just to make $8/hr. I have been suspicious of WWP for several years now. Looked at their financial on Give.org back in 2009-2011 and they spent $33 million on something called "Public Awareness".
spitbucketbaptismo January 26, 2016 11:11PM
Trace Adkins, Mark Wahlberg and Dean Norris needs to return all the money WWP paid them to shill for "donations."
modurhead January 26, 2016 11:11PM
how can citizens have more choices of veterans charities than presidential candidates ?
Lainie_Marie January 26, 2016 10:10PM
Who deletes posts from the Comments section? I made one that didn't say anything more offensive or more truthful than many of the posts in here. If the monitors found my comments offensive, they should notify me as I do have an email account link to my name.
Jim Bronson January 26, 2016 10:10PM
@Lainie_Marie The people here posting with you can delete your post if at least two of them flag your post.
Lainie_Marie January 26, 2016 10:10PM
@Jim Bronson @Lainie_Marie They were probably trolls working for WWP. I didn't say anything that wasn't known already.
Lainie_Marie January 26, 2016 10:10PM
@Jim Bronson @Lainie_Marie My comment was not political at all. It was pro veterans and anti unscrupulous charities and their greedy leaders.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/wounded-warrior-project-accused-of-wasting-donation-money/
center-right-or-left January 26, 2016 10:10PM
ReplyDeleteI will personally pay for combat boots and desert cammies for Steven Nardizzi if the government will send him a draft notice and guarantee that his first deployment is fighting front lines. What a worthless human being, but then again, he is a lawyer. Wounded Warrior Project should be shut down and any remaining funds should be distributed to other veteran charities that will actually help our disabled vets.
J G Horn January 26, 2016 9:9PM
There are certainly much worse cases, but WWP is definitely on the wrong track. The response of the CEO suggests that things are only going to get worse. Given six years in place he has probably solidified his position by getting cronies onto the board of trustees. Perhaps an audit will sober them up.
Lainie_Marie January 26, 2016 9:9PM
This story has been a long time coming. It is the best news story I've seen in a long time. I've been disgusted with this charity for a few years now since I found out how they use their money at the Charity Navigator website. WWP's fundraising expenses are 35% with admin costs another 5%. CEO Nardizzi makes just under a half million dollars a year. All one has to do is look at those scam TV commercials to know how much money they are paying their cronies to make them to bring in more money to spend on their lush parties and big paychecks with a little more than half for the veterans who risked their lives and limbs to protect us. It makes my blood boil when those commercials come on. I have to turn the station or mute it. As much as I like Charity Navigator, I think they are dead wrong giving this charity three stars. And I wrote them once to tell them so. I hope the word really does go out and those who want to donate to veterans causes will find more charities that really do help the veterans. Like Homes for Our Troops which builds homes with special features for disabled veterans. 89% goes to build the homes. I've seen several TV programs that show the work they do.
wigwam said
Charity Navigator is part of the scam (it is probably funded and run by the large charities). They don't look at IRS form 990s to determine the breakdown of the broad category of "program service expenses." The IRS looks the other way too.
Carl Lombardo January 26, 2016 8:8PM
I am a cynical ole SOB and TRUST NO Charitable organization. - Trace Atkins - an OK singer but I don't pay attentions to his pleas - is he being paid for them? If and when I do donate, it is to an animal rescue and they get 50 lb bags of food - NO CASH.
Bottom line is I do not trust any organization that asks me for money - this goes back many years - longer than many reading this have been on this planet - my mother told me stories of the American red cross back in WW2 that would make you vomit.
when money is involved - donated or not, people steal it!
anxav8r January 26, 2016 8:8PM
ReplyDeleteAll Americans should immediately stop contributing to WW for two reasons: 1) Caring for wounded warriors is an ethical, moral responsibility of our government. There is no reason for a private charity to do what, in this case, government should do. 2) WW has been tainted by scandal for years. What American does not know this? If you want to support Wounded Warriors contact your senators and representative in Congress. (I'd say write the president but you'd might as well yell down a mine shaft as do that.) Tell them this is a priority.
The following are excerpts from a report on WWP published at Veterans Today on December 8, 2013.
“Sad to say, the Wounded Warrior Project is bled dry by a top heavy, greedy executive structure, and the remaining funds are disbursed to multi-tier distribution organizations with similar management structures. By the time the money actually goes to direct benefits for veterans, there is probably less than 10% that reaches them… WWP does little, if any, direct support of wounded warriors and wounded warrior programs. Rather, WWP makes grants and contributions to other 501.c.3 organizations which operate wounded warrior programs and/or serve veterans directly… While many of these organizations provide valuable services to wounded warriors, many more are suspect. As an example, I question an expenditure of $300,000 for a parade. Some organizations are known to be inefficient and not the favorite of veterans (e.g. The American Red Cross). I also question the use of funds for lobbying activities. It is true that WWP was the center of controversy involving their anti-Second Amendment position. There is no question that WWP does contribute substantial funds for the benefit of wounded warriors. Notwithstanding, it appears that a more effective use of Association funds would be to contribute directly to The Fisher House, Navy-Marine Corps Relief, The Salvation Army, and others.”
Robert_Larrance January 26, 2016 10:10PM
This is an old story. The WWP rip off has been common news for some time but just now getting national attention. They aren't alone. The ASPCA spends about 70% of budget before it actually provides any services. The list is long and perhaps one test is how often you see an organization appealing for monthly donations on TV. You know the ads, 'only' $19.99 charged to your credit card per month to 'help' and a commercial full of tear jerking pictures. Often the ads target the elderly and infirm at specific times of the day.
nicknikon January 26, 2016 10:10PM
I have NEVER been able to understand why the WWP and the DAV or -any- of these "charities" even EXIST. Aren't they called the Veteran's Administration? How can anyone possibly STOMACH the idea that caring for our vets should be done by CHARITY???? There is NOTHING these organizations do that shouldn't be done EVERY DAY by the VA. Why should our veterans have to go BEGGING to CHARITIES for ANYTHING????
Robert_Larrance January 26, 2016 10:10PM
@nicknikon these things exist because well meaning people can be fooled into donating money. That is the only reason.
realtimecoffee1.017 January 26, 2016 8:8PM
A charity wasting money??? Nooooo.
What to help a vet? Help the ones on your block.
jmarioneauxs January 26, 2016 8:8PM
ReplyDeleteIf this is true we are really sinking lower in America. What really needs to happen is if the govt sends these folks to these wars they should take care of them.
gramljon January 26, 2016 8:8PM
@jmarioneauxs And Big Oil, Halliburton and the others who make money off of our wars should be contributing through their taxes.
Lainie_Marie January 26, 2016 9:9PM
@Bob Wallick I started searching online a few years ago when I first saw how much they were spending on Fundraising at the Charity Navigator website. Perhaps those $19-A-Month commercials got people wondering about the cost of the commercials and how much goes to the veteran afterwards. I suspect it's a similar story for those other $19-A-Month charities who have late night TV commercials.
njlax January 26, 2016 8:8PM
it's sad, we are monthly contributors andhave been for only a few months. When I joined I said to please keep the blanket as it was a waste of money to make it and send it to me and that money would be better spent going to WWP's cause. Still got the blanket so I sent a follow up letter to the CEO and copied about every other name I found on their site. Got a thanks for donating form letter back with no mention of why I wrote them.
kbbpll January 26, 2016 7:7PM
What, no hookers? Sounds like Nardizzi has watched Wolf of Wall St too many times. $1500 per person per day for that Co Springs thing, yikes. I'm not sure if I could even figure out how to go on vacation and spend $1500 a day.
PlsMkSns January 26, 2016 7:7PM
And people will just continue to send them money.
Nothing will change, because people love lies.
Ryan Kules is already lying, and then says he doesn't know.
skeezix06 January 26, 2016 7:7PM
Out of curiosity, for veterans who are able I looked to see if the government has some sort of small business loan program or special terms for veterans and it appears they do. The Department of Labor also has apprenticeship programs for veterans. Just make sure it's a .gov website.
skeezix06 January 26, 2016 7:7PM
ReplyDeleteI said it before. Injured soldiers shouldn't be forced to beg the public for money. The Pentagon should be forced to pay this out of their massive budget.
The military can't be bothered to keep track of arms and vehicles to make sure ISIS doesn't get them so naturally they have managed to get their hands on and use our equipment against our soldiers. They didn't track cash they sent to Iraq meant to rebuild what was destroyed.
They're doing a spectacular job of wasting money so I have no sympathy with the "they need every penny to protect us" line of thought. They can stop throwing money away and use it to pay for services for the injured.
Carol in New York January 26, 2016 7:7PM
My question Is...why do we need a charity to take care of our wounded veterans? I have no problem with giving money to help these heroes, My problem and concern is...why isn't the Federal Government taking care of our soldiers. How could there possibly be a gap in the services offered to our wounded soldiers that a charity needs.to fill? Our defense budget is in the billions. Are you telling me there is no money to take care of EVERY ONE OF OUR SOLDIERS ???????
delta deuce January 26, 2016 7:7PM
WWP like the veterans administration is full of greedy no good SOB's who are only in it for the cash, I spilled my blood to a foreign nation, I suffer everyday with my life, and I cannot receive help from this pitifully worthless government, nor even a worthless charity, they are too freakin busy sucking down their martinis, and enjoying their orgies at the vet's loss, I was offered a class in graphics ... the VA Reps took the money to pay for this class and bought playstations, trips to Disney, and whores in hotel rooms....... I would still defend this nation, but I would be the first to execute the selfish idiots who do this in the name of the VETERAN ......
workingclasssince14 January 26, 2016 7:7PM
Full congressional investigation requested......if proven, full prosecution....but still don't understand why our veterans need outside money from private organizations for care and why our country does not provide for them.
bixxdixx January 26, 2016 7:7PM
For Shame! Erick Millette is a TRUE hero, (i.e., BRAVE), Steven Nardizzi is a vile, greedy, creep and Ryan Kules is a COWARD for towing the company line with his tail between his legs. Unlike in the 1960's, the whole country is standing by the vets of today and this is what's going on behind our backs?? And yes, some of us have been stupid enough to give money to the disgusting, immature and spoiled Nardizzi and his self serving organization. Throw the bum out and help the vets who deserve it!!
If a charity spends most of its contributions on salaries and other expenses rather than its mission, it is inefficient and ineffective, much like the U.S. government – a big, bloated bureaucracy, rife with waste, fraud and abuse (politicians, bureaucrats and public sector labor unions greasing one’s palms and not caring about the citizens it supposed to serve while, under the guise of fighting terrorism, stripping us of our God-given rights, which the U.S. Constitution was designed to protect) and lacking any true accountability for how it spends a giant money-pot (in the government’s case, we are forced to pay into the ginormous money-pot through taxation; at least we have the choice to give to the Red Cross, although every year the government gives taxpayer money to the organization – $55 million in 2011).
ReplyDeleteWounded Warrior Project fires execs amid scandal
ReplyDelete11 Mar, 2016
RT.com
Wounded Warrior Project aims to empower wounded veterans, but a recent exposé revealed that the charity spent nearly half of its funding empowering its executives instead. The board of directors responded by beginning to clean house, starting at the top.
Wounded Warrior Project has raised more than a billion dollars in donations since 2003, according to CBS News. Donors might expect their money would be used “to honor and empower Wounded Warriors,” as the nonprofit’s mission states. However, CBS revealed the charity spends between 40 to 50 percent of their money on overhead – while other veterans’ charities spend an average of 10 to 15 percent on the same expenses.
Wounded Warrior Project Chief Executive Officer Steven Nardizzi and Chief Operating Officer Al Giordano were both removed from the organization after accusations arose alleging that the charity’s donations were being misused. The nonprofit’s website says that Nardizzi was a founding member, who spent 10 years as an attorney representing disabled veterans for several veterans service organizations, among other charitable positions.
However, Nardizzi’s image as the COO was more in line with that of a venture capitalist than a nonprofit worker. A former employee told CBS that Nardizzi had entered conferences by “[rappelling] down the side of a building. He’s come in on a Segway. He’s come in on a horse.”
Over $26 million was spent on employee conferences in 2014, compared to $1.7 million in 2010. The events were described as being lavish and boozy, such as one annual meeting held in a luxury hotel in Colorado Springs, where 500 staff members attended a four-day conference that came with a final price tag of $3 million.
What comes next for Wounded Warrior Project remains to be seen. However, Charity Navigator, a nonprofit that evaluates other nonprofits based on their transparency, accountability, and finances, has added Wounded Warrior to their watchlist. With more eyes on the charity now, more money might reach the 50,000 veterans that donors aim to help.
https://www.rt.com/usa/335196-wounded-warriors-donation-scandal/