Counting on Charity: The Fundamental Issue in the Wounded Warrior Project Inquiry

Counting on Charity: The Fundamental Issue in the Wounded Warrior Project Inquiry: "The Fundamental Issue in the Wounded Warrior Project Inquiry
The recent letter released by Senator Chuck Grassley in his examination of the Wounded Warrior Project delves into, and seeks additional clarity on, the organization’s accounting practices, in particular those that give rise to its reported 80.6% program expense ratio.  As an accountant, I am tempted to delve into the details (Jim Ulvog does so deftly here).  However, I will instead focus on what I believe is the fundamental question being asked of the organization."



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Sen. Grassley and Senate Judiciary Committee Unpersuaded by Wounded Warrior Answers | Non Profit News For Nonprofit Organizations | Nonprofit Quarterly

Sen. Grassley and Senate Judiciary Committee Unpersuaded by Wounded Warrior Answers | Non Profit News For Nonprofit Organizations | Nonprofit Quarterly:



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Overlooked in the Wounded Warrior Project scandal: families who rely on its handouts

Overlooked in the Wounded Warrior Project scandal: families who rely on its handouts: "As Wounded Warrior Project battles allegations its former executives violated public trust, they face the real fear that donations will start to dry up.

Tracy Keil worries that will leave her family with more than $50,000 a month in healthcare expenses."



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Ousted Wounded Warrior Project Leaders Start Blog Blasting Media Coverage - NonProfit PRO

Ousted Wounded Warrior Project Leaders Start Blog Blasting Media Coverage - NonProfit PRO: "Steven Nardizzi, former Wounded Warrior Project CEO, and Al Giordano, former WWP chief operating officer, created The Wounded Truth blog, to defend themselves and critique the media."



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The Wounded Warrior Project's Problem Is Not Solved

The Wounded Warrior Project's Problem Is Not Solved: "In case you haven't seen it, the Wounded Warrior Project (a national charity supporting veterans) has been in the spotlight in the last few months, and not in a good way. The New York Times reported in January that they were spending too much money on lavish staff retreats and first-class airline tickets. There were also some shady comments from recent employees about the culture there (more on that in a minute). The Board saw that article, did some investigating, and then a few weeks ago fired the CEO and COO. Now Senator Charles Grassley is asking for some answers. Ugh. Not a good time for this group. And this is a huge charity. They raised $325 million in 2015, and they have 22 locations around the country providing assistance to veterans. "



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Senator Wants Data on Wounded Warrior Project, a Charity Under Fire - The New York Times

Senator Wants Data on Wounded Warrior Project, a Charity Under Fire - The New York Times: "A week after the top executives of the Wounded Warrior Project were fired amid accusations of lavish spending, an influential senator on a committee that oversees nonprofit organizations is asking for a detailed accounting by the country’s largest veterans’ charity.

In a letter Friday to the Wounded Warrior Project, Senator Charles E. Grassley, an Iowa Republican who sits on the Finance Committee, said that recent news media reports had raised questions about the charity’s treatment of employees and its spending."



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The Charity Defense Council & Wounded Warrior Project Connection: Follow the Money | Nonprofit Quarterly

The Charity Defense Council ; Wounded Warrior Project Connection: Follow the Money | Nonprofit Quarterly: "But today, NPQ did receive some kind of defense—not from the organization, but from the nonprofit Charity Defense Council (CDC), which distributed an 11-page “preliminary media advisory” defending the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) and its terminated leadership from what CDC calls “material errors and omissions uncovered in media reporting” about WWP. The advisory specifically criticizes CBS’s and the New York Times’ reporting, which questioned WWP’s spending on fundraising and overhead costs as opposed to dedicating more of its budget to the wounded veterans for which the charity was formed. We should say that we are not addressing the points made in that missive here, but rather raising questions about the relationship between the two organizations that caused the Wounded Warrior Project to make a sizable grant to the Charity Resource Council in 2013–2014 when apparently no one else was doing the same. This was first reported by the New York Times in January, but as the situation has evolved it becomes an ever more important question. The advisory did contain a disclosure of significant support in 2014."



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Board Chair Takes Helm at Wounded Warrior—but Donors Have the Floor | Nonprofit Quarterly

Board Chair Takes Helm at Wounded Warrior—but Donors Have the Floor | Nonprofit Quarterly:



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Vet Groups Worried About Donations After Wounded Warrior Firings - NBC News

Vet Groups Worried About Donations After Wounded Warrior Firings - NBC News: "s the Wounded Warrior Project suffers fallout following the ousting of two top executive in the wake of a spending scandal, other charities that work with American veterans were left wondering whether the high-flying non-profit's fall from grace would affect them.

"We have no idea. I think that's the question every organization in the military and veteran support space is asking today," said Joyce Raezer, executive director of the National Military Families Association. "We would certainly hope that the American public says we still need to support military families and vets through nonprofits, because there's so much need. But nobody knows how this is going to affect donor behavior at this point.""



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Wounded Warrior Project Fires CEO, COO Amid Controversy - NonProfit PRO

Wounded Warrior Project Fires CEO, COO Amid Controversy - NonProfit PRO: "Wounded Warrior Project Fires CEO, COO Amid Controversy"



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Wounded Warrior fires execs over spending accusations - WTOP

Wounded Warrior fires execs over spending accusations - WTOP:



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CEO, COO Out At Wounded Warrior ProjectThe NonProfit Times

CEO, COO Out At Wounded Warrior ProjectThe NonProfit Times:



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Ouster of Wounded Warrior CEO and COO Follows Preliminary Audit Findings | Nonprofit Quarterly

Ouster of Wounded Warrior CEO and COO Follows Preliminary Audit Findings | Nonprofit Quarterly: "Reportedly, the preliminary results of both a financial and policy audit are now in, and the board yesterday fired not only CEO Steve Nardizzi, but also COO Al Giordano. We do not yet know what those findings may have included, or whether they actually caused the firing but the charges leveled against the organization include extravagant spending on staff conferences and events and spending too little on programs for veteran and too much on fundraising. (A Daily Beast article details some of the spending habits of the organization.)"



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Top Wounded Warrior donor calls for CEO's resignation - CBS News

Top Wounded Warrior donor calls for CEO's resignation - CBS News: "CBS News has learned Fred Kane is one of several major donors who are ending their support, and he wants answers from the group's board of directors.

Sources with direct knowledge of the charity's operations said the board signs off on all of the charity's major spending, including expensive staff retreats."



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Wounded Warrior charity downgraded | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

Wounded Warrior charity downgraded | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com: "A San Diego nonprofit that evaluates military charities and recommends them for support is criticizing spending practices at the Wounded Warrior Project.

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The Patriots Initiative, which relies on both qualitative and quantitative research to judge the effectiveness of charities that serve veterans and members of the armed forces, said there is no excuse for certain spending by Wounded Warrior officials, recently reported in the media."



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Counting on Charity: Wounded Warrior Project Roundup

Counting on Charity: Wounded Warrior Project Roundup: "Wounded Warrior Project Roundup
Starting with the one-two punch of critiques by CBS and The New York Times, the once pristine Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has faced substantial scrutiny over the past month.  Now that the dust has somewhat settled on the accusations, I want to provide a brief summary of where things stand from my viewpoint."



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Wounded Warrior Hires PR Firm to “Manage” the Crisis They’ve Created—What Can We Expect? | Nonprofit Quarterly

Wounded Warrior Hires PR Firm to “Manage” the Crisis They’ve Created—What Can We Expect? | Nonprofit Quarterly:



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Wounded Warrior CEO Rips Rating Systems as ‘Ineffective and Misinformed’ - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Wounded Warrior CEO Rips Rating Systems as ‘Ineffective and Misinformed’ - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Working against the prevailing view that overhead is bad and spending money on fundraising signals inefficiency or fraud, the Wounded Warrior Project made significant investments in its fundraising operation, he said. It has grown revenue by about 65 percent each year since and is on track to bring in more than $300-million this year, he said.

Mr. Nardizzi made the comments Thursday at the Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference in Maryland.