The group, based in Jacksonville, Fla., has been challenged over how it spends more than $800 million raised in donations over the past four years. Anger and dismay greeted the announcement last week that the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit that helps wounded veterans, had fired its top staff. Mr. Kane said the leaders failure to take responsibility shows a total lack of regard for the mission, the alumni, the employees, proud supporter organizations and the thousands of other individual and corporate donors. He canceled his own contributions and encouraged others to do the same. He said the charity swiftly fired anyone that leaders considered a bad cultural fit.. "When TAPS contacted us a few years back to say the majority of active-duty deaths they were seeing were suicides and rare cancers that young people should not be getting, we started investigating and funding," Plenzler said in an email. If that money goes away, its not clear these groups can make it on their own., After Complaints on Wounded Warrior Project, Pressure From Donors, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/12/us/after-complaints-on-wounded-warrior-project-pressure-from-donors.html. 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. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital The Fisher House Foundation runs 84 houses around the world, located near VA hospitals and military installations. Show your support for Wounded Warrior Project with this tee! The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Can we corroborate the information? The organization began producing inspirational ads featuring wounded veterans fighting to recover. It's really about the resilience, the exceptionalism of our warriors.". 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 Special Operations Warrior Foundation was founded in 1980, after the daring attempt to rescue 53 American hostages in Iran, which ended in the tragic loss of eight servicemen who left behind. With time and support from donors, new meta-charities will arise to evaluate other areas of nonprofit activity. Recently, a social movement called Effective Altruism has been pushing the nonprofit sector to become more transparent and accountable. Mr. Nardizzi fired Ms. Chapman, an Iraq veteran with PTSD, in 2012 as part of a management restructuring, she said. He said the. 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. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. The Wounded Warrior Project began in 2003 as a basement nonprofit organization run by Mr. Melia, who was wounded in a helicopter crash off Somalia. But some employees assert that the productivity goals were set so high that they eroded program quality. Last week, a major donor to the Wounded Warrior Project veterans charity called for the nonprofits CEO to resign in light of allegations of lavish spending on staff meetings, CBS News reported. What happened next is something out of Billy Lynns Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain, the Catch-22 of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Why do the misdeeds of one nonprofit cause mistrust of all nonprofits? Chief Financial Officer . 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. During WWP's nadir and through its turnaround, its roster of wounded warriors and "family support members" has only grown -- a fact that speaks as much to the persistent and growing need as it does to the organization's success in the space. They gave me a Xeroxed map of the hospital grounds and it was not very well photocopied, he explains on the video. 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.. Its a hard balance, but I think we strike the right balance, he said. Plenzler said spending on that program so far has totaled $100 million, with another $165 million committed over the next five years. Board members called a few former employees this week to thank them for coming forward. By Friday afternoon, both phones had been disconnected. But like other former employees, he said the group swiftly fired anyone leaders considered a bad cultural fit.. Linnington said the 2015-16 fiscal year will get posted in the spring . Legal Statement. The group has also historically dinged WWP for having so much capital in reserve -- at one point, Borochoff said, it "socked away" almost one-third of what it brought in. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, reported that the Wounded Warrior Project. According to Charity Watch, the Wounded Warrior Project is, in fact, rated C. To stop donating to it is a response that makes sense. 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. In 2007, the scandalous treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center shocked the nation. Did you mean: wounded warrior scandal Wounded Warrior Project's top execs fired amid . Mr. Nardizzi doubled his spending on fund-raising and has increased it an average of 66 percent every year since. Ive Ive never left the hospital grounds. But whether those fixes went far enough is, as the video demonstrates, still not clear. The programs it did create for veterans often served more as showpieces for marketing than as efforts to address the actual needs of veterans. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. About 40 percent of the organizations donations in 2014 were spent on its overhead, or about $124 million, according to the charity-rating group Charity Navigator. "So when I saw what was going on in the media, I was, believe it or not, automatically attracted to try and help.". The Wounded Warrior Fund,. Mr. Nardizzi said in an interview that Mr. Melia left to pursue business ventures. The organization also conducts copious surveys and focus groups among warriors, peer veterans' organizations and others in the military community. I'm optimistic that the organization's leadership will continue to improve the organization, which will help to serve the military men and women who have served us.". Today, the charity has 22 locations offering programs to help veterans readjust to society, attend school, find work and participate in athletics. The writer is head of investments and partnerships for the Forest Stewardship Council. Peter J. Johnson Jr on the firing of WWP's CEO and COO. Ive gone to all of my appointments. The group did lose points on its fundraising score, with roughly 22 cents spent to make a dollar, per the most recent available data. As he told Retro Report: It just missed the bridge of my nose and exited over my left ear. Kaine, in the recent interview, also questioned Nardizzis apparent public absence while his organization has been under scrutiny. That's because they include some promotional items, direct response advertising, and shipping and postage. Notably, at its lowest point following the whistleblower reports and leadership churn, WWP's funding still dwarfed that of virtually every other organization in the space. The organization has previously been criticized for touting a wide network of veteran members, many of whom were inactive and had received few or no services from Wounded Warrior Project. 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. "Four years ago, I would have told you to keep your money in your pocket and take it somewhere else," he said. Then, in late January 2016, a pair of damning high-profile news reports hit like a one-two punch, throwing the organization into turmoil. What we consider before using anonymous sources. "TAPS believed these cancers were due to [toxic exposure]. Anyone can read what you share. The kind of fundraising figures that most organizations in the space could only dream about. 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 warriors that joined Wounded Warrior Project, you know, in 2003 are today 15 years older than they were when they joined. Another response would be for our candidates, who are battling about which countries to send troops to, to have a public conversation about the price our troops will pay and how they will be helped. It was like he had been kidnapped, said one employee who did not want to speak publicly because she feared being fired. We must also pressure nonprofits to be transparent about their activities and finances and measure the impact of their work. Within months, Wounded Warrior Project's two top executives -- CEO Steve Nardizzi and COO Al Giordano -- had been fired, and the organization itself was the subject of a congressional inquiry. 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. "When the negative media event hit in January-February-March of 2016, public support dropped 50%," he said. After Vietnam, many focused on advocacy in Washington. As the group grew, it expanded its programs and brought on Mr. Nardizzi, a lawyer who had never served in the military, and his longtime friend, Mr. Giordano. from the invisible wounds of scandal The veterans charity group fired CEO Steven Nardizzi and COO Al Giordano late last week, following a January . After Mr. Kanes email to other donors, he said he got a call from Mr. Giordano. Former staff members said they had less time to develop therapeutic programs and so relied on giving veterans tickets to concerts and sporting events. Wounded Warrior Project has earned a 86% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. As donations increased, Wounded Warrior Project executives began using data to measure staff productivity. Why don't you offer services to ALL veterans? The same push for numbers hit a program that brings wounded veterans together for social events. Jan 26, 2023. Doing so is vital for our society today to address the various societal needs that our governments do not address, and thus helping our society flourish. Lavish Spending by the Wounded Warrior Project, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/opinion/lavish-spending-by-the-wounded-warrior-project.html, Jennifer Brown/Northjersey.com, via Associated Press, Helping Veterans Recover, Spending Lavishly on Itself. 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. Where is this guy? How do we help them? When was Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) founded? Slightly more than half of the Kanes' donations directly benefitted veterans, according to CBS News. In 2014, the Wounded Warrior Project lobbied in California and Florida to fight proposals that would have required nonprofits to increase financial transparency. I would fly to New York for less than a day to report to my supervisor.. I wasnt speaking anywhere unless I was collecting a check, said Mr. Millette, who worked for the program for about two years, until he left in 2014. But once they became outpatients, thousands of service members entered a system that had not kept up with the times, that was understaffed, poorly organized and generally second rate. Charity Navigator's rating for WWP has fluctuated over the years: It dipped down to two stars in 2010 as the organization grew, then briefly rose to a full four stars in 2017, reflecting the delayed arrival of 2015 data. Citing whistleblowers, stories by CBS and The New York Times detailed allegations of waste and abuse, lavish all-hands conferences and unbridled spending on ticketed outings that did little lasting good for the veterans they purported to help. It estimates that 80,000 veterans have used its services. "That report also made clear that the Wounded Warrior Project had made some positive steps to regain the public's trust. About 500 staff members attended the four-day conference in Colorado, which CBS News reported cost about $3 million. Borochoff also said, however, that despite the public scrutiny, Wounded Warrior Project has always had better business practices than many groups in the space, even some with a good reputation in the community. The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is the largest veteran's charity in the United States. The spokeswoman, Ayla Tezel, said that more than a third of the charitys employees are veterans, and that the organization is rated one of the top nonprofits to work for by The NonProfit Times. Copyright 2023 Military.com. Mr. Nardizzi fought back. It seemed to me like it was a big lie., Wounded Warrior Project Spends Lavishly on Itself, Insiders Say, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/us/wounded-warrior-project-spends-lavishly-on-itself-ex-employees-say.html, William Chick, who was fired from the Wounded Warrior Project in 2012 after a dispute with his supervisor. 3. The two top . 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 annual surveys of the wounded warriors the organization serves help direct its focus, Linnington says. He was medevaced out of Iraq, but only nine days after his near-fatal injury, the Walter Reed staff discharged him into outpatient status. He said he was now interested in returning. 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. 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. In early January of 2016, both The New York Times and CBS Evening News ran stories exposing the unethical spending habits of WWP. And it took all this bone and everything with it and, of course, my left eye it took with it.. or redistributed. Millette also marvels at the way the organization has overhauled itself and rebuilt, even as many predicted that it would crumble under the pressure. It was a very coercive conversation.. Recently, however, they have been accused of being a scam and donating an insignificant portion of their funds to their declared cause. The councils mission includes defending charity spending on overhead and executive salaries, its website says. A current ad campaign, "I am Living Proof," featured in a number of bold bus-stop ads near WWP's Washington, D.C., headquarters, shows wounded vets standing in a posture of confidence. Dinners and alcoholjust total excess." The organization has yet to recover fully from a hemorrhage that saw fundraising drop from a peak of $373 million in 2015 to just $211 million in 2017. 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. Wounded Warrior Project Survey Shows 6 in 10 Wounded Veterans Are Struggling to Make Ends Meet. When we dislike one member of a group, our dislike spills over to other members of that group, even if theres no good reason to think badly of them. That moment in February was part of the building pressure by donors, veterans and supporters of the organization that culminated Thursday night in the abrupt firing of Mr. Nardizzi and his second in command, Al Giordano, who together earned nearly $1 million per year. Today, on a list of 27 founders that was created by the charitys current leadership and handed out to all new employees, Mr. Melias name appears well below the name of the charitys for-profit fund-raising consultant. In fiscal 2016, the organization's revenue exceeded $226 million; the closest runner-up was Disabled Veterans of America, with nearly $135 million. By Lindsey Ellefson Jan 27th, 2016, 9:00 pm. Two top execs at the Wounded Warrior Project one of the largest war veterans support organizations in the nation were fired Thursday in a scandal over money spent on expensive corporate. Youre looking at companies that are getting it right, treating their employees right, delivering great services and great products, then are growing the brand to support all of that.. Mr. Chick, who was fired in 2012 after a dispute with his supervisor, said he saw the Wounded Warrior Project help hundreds of veterans. Seeing them do that restores my faith in the organization.". 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. He didnt want to leave, but it was obvious something was going to happen, Ms. Melia said. Today, The New York Times released a damning report on the renowned . They needed to take responsibility, and they werent doing it.. In an interview Friday, he said donations had fallen, but declined to say by how much. Some were injured or became. "It's like walking through a minefield, donating to an efficient veterans charity," he said. On the ratings service Charity Navigator, the Wounded Warriors Project earns an overall score of 84.5 out of 100, good for three stars. Wounded Warrior Project declined CBS News' interview requests for Nardizzi in January, but instead sent Director of Alumni and a recipient of their services, Captain Ryan Kules, who denied there was excessive spending on conferences. Wounded Warrior Project FAQs 1. 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. The Wounded Warrior Project program provides adapted equipment for injured veterans to cycle together. Linnington also said the organization supports the Elizabeth Dole Foundation in caregiver work, Veterans of Foreign Wars in assisting veterans with VA disability claims, and the National Military Family Association in caring for veterans' families, among many others. Annually, the group receives more than $300 million in donations (Cerully, Smith, Wilks, & Giglio, 2015). "And secondly, with the American people who support our warriors.". 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. The country's most prominent veteran's . The New York Times' recent investigation into the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has sent rumbles throughout through the philanthropy community. Mr. Nardizzi said his staff was constantly monitoring metrics to try to get the most out of every dollar donated. On the opening night, before three days of strategy sessions and team-building field trips, the staff gathered in the hotel courtyard. Celebrity endorsements from the likes of Trace Adkins and Jimmy Buffett. Wounded Warrior Project officials are firing half of their executives, closing nine offices and redirecting millions in spending to mental health care programs and partnerships as part of an. In 2015, Wounded Warrior Project seemed, in the world of veterans' support organizations, to have it all: a compelling mission. Report Calls Out Wounded Warrior Project for Excessive, 'Lavish' Spending. He has never spoken publicly about his disagreements with Mr. Nardizzi, and declined to be interviewed. How was the organization founded and by whom? And This Was Called Care? 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. Right now we are in a position where we can still meet our obligations, he said. At least half a dozen former employees said they were let go after raising questions about ineffective programs or spending. Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The organization has awarded an average of $14.6 million in grants each year since 2015, for a total of more than $80.9 million to 158 organizations since 2012, WWP spokesman Joe Plenzler said. In the wake of the charity's scandal, Wounded Warrior Project not only ousted its two top executive officers but also slimmed its executive staff by 50 percent overall. 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.. Trace Adkins has been an advocate for Wounded Warrior, an organization that advocates for veterans. Mr. Longoria said he was offered money in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement, but refused. 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. Mr. Nardizzi took over the organization, based in Jacksonville, Fla., in 2009. 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 . All rights reserved. I don't know, and frankly, that's not what I'm worried about. Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau, via Associated Press. "We're looking for under 10 cents," she said. In other words, the Wounded Warrior Project scandal will likely reduce trust in all nonprofitsincluding effective ones. The veterans collected donations at those events. Mr. Chicks own supervisor told him to fire Mr. Longoria. 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. Such unjustified distrust of high-quality nonprofits could undermine our society. 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. 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. In particular, the organization expressed outrage that CBS. His marriage fell apart as the result of the pressure, he said; he received personal threats. For fiscal year 2015, Wounded Warrior reported a 92.9 percent. Under the Charity Watch rating system, Wounded Warrior Project has a modest C+, up from a C in 2015, said Daniel Borochoff, the accountability organization's president. The Wounded Warrior Project is a legitimate multimillion-dollar nonprofit organization with nationwide recognition that helps wounded, ill and injured veterans. The spending began to attract attention. When you are considering whether to give, let your heart be open to stories but also ask how representative those stories are of actual clients or results. Wounded Warrior Project executives fired in spending scandal. 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. They wanted me to say W.W.P. Then it took him weeks to track down the nurse who was supposedly overseeing his case, as he tells Retro Report. L.A. County Sheriff: 30% of workforce "unavailable". That evening is emblematic of the polished and well-financed image cultivated by the Wounded Warrior Project, the countrys largest and fastest-growing veterans charity. Though many have criticized him for spending too much on fund-raising, and some charity watchdogs downgraded Wounded Warrior Projects rating for its overhead spending, Mr. Nardizzi argued that an organization could not serve its mission without upfront investment. Wounded Warrior Project says 80% of their money is spent on programs for veterans. Its chief operating officer, Albion Giordano, earned just over $369,000. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Do you have a location near me? With health issues due to toxic exposure becoming an increasing concern for veterans, WWP has invested some $620,000 since fiscal 2017 toward research, partnering with Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, to study disease linkages, build awareness and create a "tiger team" of organizations to develop ways to help affected veterans and their families. Current price: $30.00. Nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator says Wounded Warrior Project spends just 60 percent of its budget on veterans. Is Wounded Warrior Project a legitimate charity? The Annual Warrior Survey from Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) shows post-9/11 wounded warriors face increasing financial hardship. But along with the money came charges of excess. 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 . About 40 percent of the organizations donations in 2014 were spent on its overhead, or about $124 million, according to the charity-rating group Charity Navigator. Tracy Keil worries that will leave her. It slowly had less focus on veterans and more on raising money and protecting the organization, he said. But constraining nonprofits to a special class of organization that isnt allowed to market itself, pay competitive salaries or grow quickly is a longstanding tradition in America. Mr. Odierno, who is the son of Gen. Raymond Odierno, a former chief of staff of the Army, became the groups interim chief executive Thursday evening and is conducting a nationwide search for a new leader. "Veterans, our lives, literally, depend on it.". Will we ever be 380 again? By 2014, the group was spending $7.5 million per year on travel, according to tax forms. It wasn't just about lavish all-hands gatherings, although those quickly became a thing of the past. Since 2009, the group raised nearly $1 billion. His tweets and Facebook posts stopped. Grants to veterans'. series about Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. First: donations to Wounded Warriors fell by $70 million from 2015 to 2016. SVA leaders joined WWP at the White House in April for the latter organization's 12th annual warrior ride. By the time the board met Thursday to dismiss the two men, contributions were down and it had in hand an internal investigation that convinced it that the top leadership had to go. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.