The Wounded Warrior Project said Mr. Longoria was terminated at Mr. Chicks recommendation. He changes his habits and routine around Jacksonville, Florida, he said, to avoid running into former organization co-workers. 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. 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. 3. 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. Some were injured or became. 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. - Fox News wounded-warrior-projects-top-execs. 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. 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. In September 2016, Forbes published a pre-emptive obituary to the organization: "The Gutting Of Wounded Warrior: How To Kill A Charity.". So WW cut their spending- not to themselves, but to the people who needed their money most. 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. That year, he doubled the spending on fund-raising and started running television ads imploring viewers to send in donations. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. "They were using the smallest percentage of wounded veterans to suck money out of hard-working Americans," he said. "These are groups that just get together over a pizza and a soda, to talk about the issues that are affecting them and their families, and look for ways to support each other.". According to data provided by Plenzler, a 2018 study on the organization's reputation within the veterans service organization community found that 83% of participants considered WWP a respected part of the military and veterans nonprofit space, up from just 13% in 2017. just hours before the New York Times ran a story about the . You do not reflect the sentiments of the more than 80,000 wounded soldiers we have helped, focusing instead on a few malcontents. You had the same few guys who loved going to free events.. It was like he had been kidnapped, said one employee who did not want to speak publicly because she feared being fired. He was fired in 2014 for what executives told him was insubordination. ', Her reply, he said, was, We can see in the computer that you went to all of your appointments, but nobody knows where you are.. 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. Then, in late January 2016, a pair of damning high-profile news reports hit like a one-two punch, throwing the organization into turmoil. But I am concerned about our ability to meet our obligations in the future.. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. 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. We put warriors on a pedestal and the nation wrapped its arms around that concept.. The Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation provides more than 98 percent toveterans. 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. Her termination was so abrupt that her work phone and credit card were shut off while she was leading an event. Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. 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.". Since 2009, the group raised nearly $1 billion. or redistributed. The organization fired Mr. Chick later the same day for insubordination. Her comment was, Where have you been? And I said, What do you mean where have I been? The development was confirmed by Abernathy MacGregor, a public relations firm hired to represent the veterans charity. "The warriors that joined Wounded Warrior Project, you know, in 2003 are today 15 years older than they were when they joined. Kules added 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. His tweets and Facebook posts stopped. Ive gone to all of my appointments. Retro Report has a staff of 13 journalists and 10 contributors led by Kyra Darnton, a former 60 Minutes producer. The problem is the horns effect, one of the many thinking errors that are a consequence of how our brains are structured. Millette, the former WWP staff member who publicly blew the whistle on the organization, said his decision to speak out came at great personal cost. The veterans collected donations at those events. I would fly to New York for less than a day to report to my supervisor.. John Melia, founder of the Wounded Warrior Project, addressing the Wounded and Injured Veterans Summit in Auburn, Ala., in 2006. 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. Its founder, John Melia, was a Marine veteran who had been injured in a helicopter crash off the coast of Somalia in 1992. Ms. Humphrey, an Iraq veteran with PTSD, was fired in 2013. 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. Is Wounded Warrior Project a legitimate charity? By 2009, the group had grown to about 50 employees and $21 million in revenue. Wounded Warrior Project executives fired in spending scandal. "When the negative media event hit in January-February-March of 2016, public support dropped 50%," he said. 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. Two great sources to check are: The Better Business Bureau's Give.org charity guide (you can also access it through bbb.org ). 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. Can we corroborate the information? The Wounded Warrior Project cuts a different profile. Both bills passed in amended forms that did not significantly affect the charity, Mr. Nardizzi said. Do the sources know the information? New York Times Reporter Paid $51 Million for Ryan Seacrest's LA . "I was always grateful for that mission," Linnington said. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Recently, however, they have been accused of being a scam and donating an insignificant portion of their funds to their declared cause. So we had to rebuild.". In news media accounts and at a Congressional hearing, the No. Grants to veterans'. The programs it did create for veterans often served more as showpieces for marketing than as efforts to address the actual needs of veterans. 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. 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. Today, after major reforms, what has changed for Americas injured soldiers? 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. 1 witness for the wounded was Staff Sgt. As WWP has worked to become more collaborative with other organizations, Linnington indicated it has also pulled back from the aggressively protective posture regarding brand and logo that drew criticism in the past. He also told CBS News that the charity did not spend money on alcohol or engages in any other kind of excessive spending. Dan Shannon of the Army, a father of three, who had served in Iraq, and, on Nov. 13, 2004, took a direct hit from an AK-47. He was medevaced out of Iraq, but only nine days after his near-fatal injury, the Walter Reed staff discharged him into outpatient status. 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. 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. GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Steve Nardizzi's entrepreneurial approach to charity work transformed the Wounded Warrior Project, which began as a shoestring effort to provide underwear and CD players to. 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. Dinners and alcoholjust total excess." The video project was started with a grant from Christopher Buck. Jan 26, 2023. The organization slashed all-hands training costs from $987,000 in 2016 to $110,000 in 2019 for a staff of nearly 700, according to numbers provided to Military.com, in direct response to public criticism. Current price: $30.00. There was no one there to tell us what was going on or how we were going to get through this.. Trace Adkins has been an advocate for Wounded Warrior, an organization that advocates for veterans. It is a nonprofit video news organization that aims to provide a thoughtful counterweight to todays 24/7 news cycle. The spending began to attract attention. 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. While top executives kept a low profile, the organizations board pursued an independent investigation, conducted by outside lawyers who combed through financial filings and interviewed more than 50 current and former employees. "We focus our advertising campaign on warriors that have succeeded. "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. I'm a warrior. Where is this guy? The groups founder, a wounded Marine named John Melia, announced late Friday that he was interested in returning to the organization, which he left in 2009 after a dispute with Mr. Nardizzi and Mr. Giordano. "Yeah. 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. 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. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal refers to a series of allegations of unsatisfactory conditions, treatment of patients, and management at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, D.C. culminating in two articles published by The Washington Post in February 2007. Like Charity Navigator, Charity Watch is critical of WWP's fundraising efficiency, which it considers to be on the low end of acceptable. In early 2016, New York Times Reporter Dave Philipps was working on a story about the Wounded Warrior Project which seemed like it would initially be a public interest piece discussing the work of this popular charity. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator says Wounded Warrior Project spends just 60 percent of its budget on veterans. "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," he said. 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. Show your support for Wounded Warrior Project with this tee! Legal Statement. By Friday afternoon, both phones had been disconnected. He was impressed, he said, that so many of those nighttime arrival flights would be greeted by WWP staff members, and that he'd also see WWP teammates visiting veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. 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. This year, WWP surpassed the 100,000 mark in terms of veterans they provide assistance to. The percentage of respondents who stated that WWP was effective at collaborating with other military and veteran nonprofits jumped from 63% to 85% from 2017 to 2018. By the time I left, we were just throwing guys in jobs to check off a box and hit the numbers.. He is a 1998 Elgin High School graduate who served in the Marine Corp. for eight years and . Millette is now best known as a whistleblower who went on the record to decry what he saw as WWP's lavish spending and interest in nurturing its public image, rather than providing meaningful support to its constituents. 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. On March 14, 2016, CBS This Morning published an article titled, "Wounded Warrior Project chair on recovery from spending scandal." For more information, please see the CBS This Morning article. Report Calls Out Wounded Warrior Project for Excessive, 'Lavish' Spending. The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a fast growing and media-savvy charity serving veterans, has recently been in the news and not in a good way. Former staff members said they had less time to develop therapeutic programs and so relied on giving veterans tickets to concerts and sporting events. Soon after the amputation, he said, he was racked by haunting emotions from Iraq and checked himself into suicide watch at a psychiatric ward. 6. "Before, you'd have a retreat and, after that, it was nothing. If the same warrior attends six different events, you could record that as six warriors served, said Renee Humphrey, who oversaw alumni outreach in Southern California for about four years. According to The Times, former employees claim the organization spent millions every year on travel, dinners, hotels and conferencesall of which were over-the-top and . Mr. Nardizzi fought back. Today, the charity has 22 locations offering programs to help veterans readjust to society, attend school, find work and participate in athletics. from the invisible wounds of scandal The same push for numbers hit a program that brings wounded veterans together for social events. By 2014, the group was spending $7.5 million per year on travel, according to tax forms. The easiest way to do this is to take the perspective of a savvy investor and research donation options to make sure you do the most good per dollar donated. Charity Navigator, which rates thousands of charities, based on how . To fill seats, they often invited the same veterans. As donations increased, Wounded Warrior Project executives began using data to measure staff productivity. The Walter Reed Story, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/booming/and-this-was-called-care-the-walter-reed-story.html. Part of the organizations drive for growth has been a tough stance toward workers considered unproductive or disloyal. Army Staff Sergeant Erick Millette, who returned from Iraq in 2006 with a bronze star and a purple heart, told CBS News at the time he admired the charitys work and took a job with the group in 2014 but quit after two years. The crisis this week centers on nonprofit Wounded Warrior Project and its response to news reports critical of how the organization that helps wounded U.S. veterans spends the money it gets in . Another time a woman called to donate part of her sons life insurance after he was killed in Afghanistan, he said. We must also pressure nonprofits to be transparent about their activities and finances and measure the impact of their work. The charity came under fire after an earlier CBS News investigation in January revealed large amounts of spending on administration, meetings, and travel. Although detailed defenses of Wounded Warrior Project have been mounted -- including a lengthy independent report from nonprofit expert Doug White, published in September 2016 -- Linnington spends little time trying to relitigate the past. Perpetuating the myth that the worth of a nonprofit organization boils down to what it spends on overhead is simply indefensible. Mr. Giordano tried to refute the news media accounts, Mr. Kane said, and explained that the executives silence had been recommended by a public relations firm as a way to defuse criticism. 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. After Vietnam, many focused on advocacy in Washington. Board members called a few former employees this week to thank them for coming forward. 4. 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 Wounded Warrior Project is a legitimate multimillion-dollar nonprofit organization with nationwide recognition that helps wounded, ill and injured veterans. Kaine, in the recent interview, also questioned Nardizzis apparent public absence while his organization has been under scrutiny. Mr. Chick, who was fired in 2012 after a dispute with his supervisor, said he saw the Wounded Warrior Project help hundreds of veterans. It also began to focus on programs like group bike rides and concert-ticket handouts that left many staff members wondering about how much they were helping veterans. They just took me to a Red Sox game and on a weekend retreat.. While the organization keeps a rating of three out of four stars, the numerical score reflects marginal improvements in program expense growth, Magdalena Kurnyta, a Charity Navigator associate program analyst, told Military.com. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Magazines, Digital They also help WWP track how the needs of veterans are changing with time. Its chief operating officer, Albion Giordano, earned just over $369,000. See a recent article in the New York Times and a blog post from GuideStar CEO Jacob Herald. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Where is WWP located? 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This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies. How was the organization founded and by whom? 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. These houses are used to alleviate the out-of-pocket costs of families of veterans and wounded soldiers who are receiving treatment at medical facilities. Chief Financial Officer . All rights reserved. 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. According to Charity Watch, the Wounded Warrior Project is, in fact, rated C. To stop donating to it is a response that makes sense. Several Effective Altruist organizations, including The Life You Can Save and GiveWell, provide information to donors about the impact of various charities addressing global poverty. This weeks Retro Report is the 13th in a documentary series. Over the past few years, WWP staff members have treated themselves to nights at five-star hotels, booked first class cross-country flights to attend minor meetings in-person, attended lavish conferences, and spent nearly 40 percent of their donations . First: donations to Wounded Warriors fell by $70 million from 2015 to 2016.