Wounded Warrior Scandal Should Encourage More Philanthropy - Time On Tuesday, CBS News ran a story about the Wounded Warrior Project, claiming to have interviewed over 40 former employees who stated that spending was out of control at the organization. Previous reporting from Tim Mak, then at the Daily Beast, had detailed similar claims, but the reports published in January pushed the issue to critical mass. CBS News investigates Wounded Warrior Project 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. In 2014 alone, the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) received more than $300 million in donations, yet it only spent roughly 60 percent of that on vets, CBS News reported. But as donations poured in, many former employees say the group became wasteful. Wounded Warrior Project says 80% of their money is spent on programs for veterans. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. As donations increased, Wounded Warrior Project executives began using data to measure staff productivity. Charity Navigator - Rating for Wounded Warrior Project 'Doonesbury's' Trudeau on timely Wounded Warrior Project scandal strip To continue addressing these social needs and address the distrust caused by nonprofit scandals, we need to improve our nonprofit sector. In particular, the organization expressed outrage that CBS. We must also pressure nonprofits to be transparent about their activities and finances and measure the impact of their work. 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. In a 19-page decision filed today (Jan. 12), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in Nebraska knocked down six alleged key errors in the Appeals Court Upholds Judgment For Wounded Warrior Project Read More Donations to Wounded Warrior Project Slow After Spending Scandal. In all those areas, Linnington said Wounded Warrior Project is making strides. "That report also made clear that the Wounded Warrior Project had made some positive steps to regain the public's trust. Where is WWP located? I'm a warrior. The Wounded Warrior Project is a legitimate multimillion-dollar nonprofit organization with nationwide recognition that helps wounded, ill and injured veterans. Anyone can read what you share. By giving back, I was helping myself and helping other vets.. Why was that poor guy placed in front of a CBS News crew? Mr. Kane, who has raised more than $325,000 for the organization, asked in an email sent in February to dozens of high-level donors. As Wounded Warrior Project battles allegations its former executives violated public trust, they face the real fear that donations will start to dry up. But while Millette, who spoke with Military.com earlier this year, said he still thinks the organization tends to lean too hard on showcasing veterans with dramatic visible wounds in its publicity materials and public events, he also said he has observed a remarkable overall turnaround in the organization. In its commercials, Wounded Warrior Project appeals to the American public's generosity, and it works. Wounded Warrior Project and the Ethical Line - Unfunded List Anyone can read what you share. In news media accounts and at a Congressional hearing, the No. It contributes millions to smaller veterans groups. The ousted Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Wounded Warrior Project are finding relief in a new independent report on the allegations against the military charity . 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. Some were injured or became. "Wounded Warrior Project helped me reclaim my life," one reads, over a photo of single-amputee wounded veteran Sean Karpf, smiling proudly. SVA leaders joined WWP at the White House in April for the latter organization's 12th annual warrior ride. Independent report rips media and Wounded Warrior Project Board of The country's most prominent veteran's . He was medevaced out of Iraq, but only nine days after his near-fatal injury, the Walter Reed staff discharged him into outpatient status. For Linnington, the mission when he arrived at Wounded Warrior Project was not about exoneration; it was about regaining the lost trust of the veterans the organization was founded to serve. More than 6 out of 10 (64.2%) WWP-registered Alumni say they. Donations to Wounded Warrior Project Slow After Spending Scandal Millette, 41, who still lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where Wounded Warrior Project is headquartered, told Military.com he stands by all the claims he made about the organization -- $2,500 bar tabs and other prodigal spending at staff-only team-building events, a permissive "good old boys" atmosphere among leadership, and a tendency to push certain badly wounded veterans into the spotlight again and again for what appeared to be promotional purposes rather than for their benefit and well-being. Linnington made clear that he wants to see the organization continue its climb out of a fundraising valley but said he is more concerned about fulfilling the mission than making up numbers. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, launched his investigation in March 2016, following reports by the New York Times and CBS News of excessive spending on events and airfare and a toxic. Mr. Nardizzi said in an interview that Mr. Melia left to pursue business ventures. Mr. Longoria said he was offered money in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement, but refused. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, The Wounded Warrior Project Scandal Should Encourage More Philanthropy. The Wounded Warrior Project is in hot water. CBS News' investigation into the Wounded Warrior Project's spending on veterans has sparked heated debate online. Several cases of patient neglect and shoddy living conditions were reported as early as 2004. WWP Performance Tee - Graphite. His marriage fell apart as the result of the pressure, he said; he received personal threats. The organization was reportedly out of favor with some senior officials in the Pentagon, due to the public image it perpetuated of veterans as typically coming home from combat grievously wounded and with long-term needs. A major donor to the Wounded Warrior Project veterans' charity called Thursday for the nonprofit's CEO's to resign in light of allegations of lavish spending on staff meetings, according to . Hearing that there was this waste of money, donor dollars that should have been going to servicemen and women that were injured, and that it was spent on [Wounded Warrior Project staff] having a good timeits a real disappointment, Dianne Kane told CBS News. And sometimes those employees are veterans.. "When the negative media event hit in January-February-March of 2016, public support dropped 50%," he said. 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. True Royal 80/20 Poly/Cotton Left Chest/Sleeve Design Screenprint. In September 2016, Forbes published a pre-emptive obituary to the organization: "The Gutting Of Wounded Warrior: How To Kill A Charity.". He is a 1998 Elgin High School graduate who served in the Marine Corp. for eight years and . The Walter Reed Story, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/booming/and-this-was-called-care-the-walter-reed-story.html. Michel duCille/Washington Post, via Getty Images. 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. Wounded Warrior Project's top execs fired amid lavish spending scandal Ive Ive never left the hospital grounds. "Obviously, we're trying to regain trust with the warriors, first and foremost," Linnington told Military.com earlier this year. It said that 94 percent of the travel spending was associated with program services delivered to Wounded Warriors and their families. It noted that the retreat at the Broadmoor cost about $1 million, not $3 million as CBS News had reported. You lead from the frontgood or badyou dont hide, he said, If no one is going to talk about this right now and it has to be me, then it has to be me.. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Steve Nardizzi, the chief executive of the Wounded Warrior Project, speaking at the 2010 Soldier Ride at Macys in Herald Square, Manhattan. Legal Statement. "I have zero regrets, and I would do it again," he said. In fiscal year 2013, the Wounded Warriors Foundation took in $234 million in donations and dedicated 80 percent of that amount to programs for wounded veterans, according to tax records. Kurnyta said the watchdog group published a "low-concern" advisory for WWP in 2016 as staffing scandals made headlines, but never stopped rating the organization. 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. It no longer invests, for example, in its TRACK college preparation program for wounded warriors, preferring to let Student Veterans of America own the space. NY Times Report Calls Out Wounded Warrior Project for - Mediaite He started by handing out backpacks of comfort items to wounded troops. They gave me a Xeroxed map of the hospital grounds and it was not very well photocopied, he explains on the video. The chief of Irans nuclear program, Mohammad Eslami, acknowledged the findings of the IAEA report. Will we ever be 380 again? However, everything changed when CBS News started researching its own story about the Wounded Warrior Project, one with a . "Veterans, our lives, literally, depend on it.". Wounded Warrior Project execs ousted over spending scandal March 11, 2016 | 3:18am Two top execs at the Wounded Warrior Project one of the largest war veterans support organizations in. The organization initially denied the accusations and demanded retractions, but then went silent. Updated: 7:53 PM EST November 8, 2019 JACKSONVILLE, Fla Jacksonville based Wounded Warrior Project was the fastest-growing veteran's service organization before it was rocked by a scandal. In fact, they are one of the largest programs out there for wounded veterans. We knew VVA had done pioneering work on Agent Orange, so we created a collaborative grant to pair them with TAPS to start gathering data on [toxic exposure] and to help ensure trans-generational knowledge transfer from the Vietnam-era generation of veterans to today's post-9/11 generation.". Whats their motivation for telling us? "We have met with DoD a couple times, when I first came on board, to talk about how we can help inspire young people to serve," he said. " The Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation provides more than 98 percent toveterans. So we've tried to paint service as a good thing and, I think if you look at the exceptional nature of the young people that are joining the military today, we're seeing a shift now in a higher propensity to serve, I think, over the last year or two.". The board refused to make the report public, but in a summary it found among other things that $26 million had been spent on conferences and events from Oct. 1, 2013 to Sept. 30, 2014. 5. Who does Wounded Warrior Project serve? But Mr. Melias 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.. It's really about the resilience, the exceptionalism of our warriors.". series about Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Her termination was so abrupt that her work phone and credit card were shut off while she was leading an event. He also told CBS News that the charity did not spend money on alcohol or engages in any other kind of excessive spending. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. I have met over 1,000 soldiers and their caregivers whose lives have been positively affected by the organization. "Four years ago, I would have told you to keep your money in your pocket and take it somewhere else," he said. Why do the misdeeds of one nonprofit cause mistrust of all nonprofits? 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 'Wounded Warrior Project' CEO, COO Fired Amid Lavish Spending Scandal The 20 Worst Charities You Shouldn't Be Donating To - Money Inc - The Ms. Humphrey, an Iraq veteran with PTSD, was fired in 2013. The Wounded Warrior Project no longer holds such events and already has increased the scrutiny on spending for travel and all expenses, he said, adding that he would be paid less than those before . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. Connie Chapman, who was the director of the Wounded Warrior Project office in Seattle for two years, at a friends home in Eatonville, Wash. People could spend money on the most ridiculous thing and no one batted an eye, she said. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. First: donations to Wounded Warriors fell by $70 million from 2015 to 2016. Mr. Chick said he refused, but was ordered by his boss to write an email recommending the firing. By Lindsey Ellefson Jan 27th, 2016, 9:00 pm. 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. 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. 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. Can we corroborate the information? As someone who lives with post-traumatic stress, Millette said he is aware of the wealth of good Wounded Warrior Project could do with its resources in that space. What we consider before using anonymous sources. He said he was now interested in returning. One significant ongoing organizational investment has provided for a two-week intensive post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury outpatient program at four hospitals: Massachusetts General Hospital, Emory University Hospital, Rush University Medical Center and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Copyright 2023 Military.com. Wounded Warrior Project: Is it a Scam? - US Patriot Blog Mr. Odierno said the board took issue with cultural and policy findings as well as financial issues when deciding to replace the organizations top leaders. Jesse Longoria, a former Marine sniper whose right arm was amputated in 2012 after complications from injuries sustained in Iraq, with his 16-month-old son, Noah. From the inception of WWP's grant program in 2012 to the end of 2015, it awarded in total about $36.5 million worth of grants. Look at how they're focused on the real, important issues that have to do with veterans, and go from there.". But by then, Mr. Melia and Mr. Nardizzi were fighting over the charitys future, with Mr. Nardizzi pushing for more aggressive expansion than Mr. Melia, former employees said. 4. Since then, however, the rate of investment has grown substantially. In other words, the Wounded Warrior Project scandal will likely reduce trust in all nonprofitsincluding effective ones. The Wounded Warrior Project cuts a different profile. A nger and dismay greeted the announcement last week that the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit that helps wounded veterans, had fired its top staff. Money poured in. Ask anyone with a personal stake in the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), the organization founded in 2003 to provide programs and services for injured U.S. military personnel. 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. The Kanes also initiated an online petition calling for a public audit of the Wounded Warrior Project in addition to canceling the next golf tournament Tee-off for a Cause was to hold to benefit the Project.