First: donations to Wounded Warriors fell by $70 million from 2015 to 2016. That year, he doubled the spending on fund-raising and started running television ads imploring viewers to send in donations. 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. He was medevaced out of Iraq, but only nine days after his near-fatal injury, the Walter Reed staff discharged him into outpatient status. Then it took him weeks to track down the nurse who was supposedly overseeing his case, as he tells Retro Report. The organization initially denied the accusations and demanded retractions, but then went silent. 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. In recent years, that dated thinking has been torn apart, appropriately replaced by the expectation that this sector should be judged on how effectively organizations solve social and environmental problems. The annual surveys of the wounded warriors the organization serves help direct its focus, Linnington says. 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. The Wounded Warrior Project, WWP, is a not-for-profit charity that aims to assist wounded veterans with their needs. As donations increased, Wounded Warrior Project executives began using data to measure staff productivity. 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. But newly released numbers for fiscal 2018 show a bounce in the right direction, up 16% to $246 million. The Wounded Warrior Project is in hot water. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Show your support for Wounded Warrior Project with this tee! 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. While Military.com was unable to review survey findings in full, Plenzler said the 2018 study also found participants overwhelmingly considered WWP to be effective in two areas on which organizational leaders have chosen to focus more sharply: advocacy for caregiver legislation (93%), and advocacy on legislation regarding veterans' medical conditions related to burn pit exposure on deployments (86%). The Wounded Warrior Project is a legitimate multimillion-dollar nonprofit organization with nationwide recognition that helps wounded, ill and injured veterans. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. 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. But he acknowledged that was likely a function of WWP's phenomenally rapid growth and expansion. 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. Many soldiers have told me they would have committed suicide were it not for the Wounded Warrior Project. The Warriors to Work program, for instance, was intended to provide one-on-one counseling to develop rsums and interview skills, then place veterans in suitable jobs. To best effectuate these changes and help restore trust in the organization among all of the constituencies WWP serves, the Board determined the organization would benefit from new leadership, and WWP CEO Steve Nardizzi and COO Al Giordano are no longer with the organization, the statementsaid. What I'm worried about is, how can we be the most effective in meeting the needs of our warriors in whatever resources we have?". The Wounded Warrior Project program provides adapted equipment for injured veterans to cycle together. The most recent financial report on Wounded Warrior's web site shows $372 million in donations for the 2014-15 fiscal year. New York Times Reporter Paid $51 Million for Ryan Seacrest's LA . 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. We must also pressure nonprofits to be transparent about their activities and finances and measure the impact of their work. Donations plummeted. By Lindsey Ellefson Jan 27th, 2016, 9:00 pm. "TAPS believed these cancers were due to [toxic exposure]. reported that the Wounded Warrior Project. Once the allegations were brought to our attention, we moved quickly, said the chairman of the board, Anthony Odierno, a retired Army captain who was wounded in Iraq and was helped by the Wounded Warrior Project during its early years. The charity grew to offer more services in more locations, but in the process, former employees said, it became wasteful, spending millions on travel, food, drinks and team-building trips for staff members. Employees say Mr. Nardizzi vanished from view, refusing to talk to the news media, stopping his weekly addresses to the staff, and even disappearing from the halls of the groups offices. "Going to a nice fancy restaurant is not team building. Why don't you offer services to ALL 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.". Its television commercials with scenes of men, women and their families coping with deep emotional pain pull at the heart and purse strings. Today, The New York Times released a damning report on the renowned . Name recognition that went beyond the military community, thanks in large part to tightly produced and memorable TV ads. Wounded Warrior Project's Chief Executive Officer Steven Nardizzi reported a salary of $473,000. But Linnington said the organization is closely tracking engagement, and estimated that 30% of members were actively engaged in WWP community events or taking advantage of free programs. Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, an outspoken accountability advocate who oversaw a Senate probe into WWP released in 2017, struck a hopeful note in a statement to Military.com. 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.. The group did lose points on its fundraising score, with roughly 22 cents spent to make a dollar, per the most recent available data. 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. It also closed. "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.". Trace Adkins talks about his support of U.S. veterans through the Wounded Warrior Project in Rolling Stone's third Salute to . 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 . And it has become a brand name, its logo emblazoned on sneakers, paper towel packs and television commercials that run dozens of times. 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. 4. And it took all this bone and everything with it and, of course, my left eye it took with it.. 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. Former employees said they questioned the charitys focus on money and marketing techniques. Wounded Warrior Project's CEO, Steven Nardizzi, and COO, Al Giordano, were fired by the charity's board amid criticisms about how it spent more than $800 million in donations over the last four years. 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. Ideally, though, the ratio should be higher. Retro Report has a staff of 13 journalists and 10 contributors led by Kyra Darnton, a former 60 Minutes producer. For fiscal year 2015, Wounded Warrior reported a 92.9 percent satisfaction rate with the organizations services. True Royal 80/20 Poly/Cotton Left Chest/Sleeve Design Screenprint. IN JANUARY, when I wrote about a publisher's creative team-up involving Wounded Warrior . 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. Part of the organizations drive for growth has been a tough stance toward workers considered unproductive or disloyal. While WWP's portrayal of veterans has never stripped them of their dignity, some ad campaigns in the early 2010s emphasized images of wounded warriors in the context of caregivers and included interviews with vets discussing daily struggles and needs that went unmet. CBS News' investigation into the Wounded Warrior Project's spending on veterans has sparked heated debate online. 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. 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. That's thanks in part to a soul-searchingly earnest restructuring effort helmed by CEO Mike Linnington, a retired three-star Army general who arrived at the organization in 2016 with a mandate to turn things around. When was Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) founded? The two top . A report on spending scandal exposed by News4Jax and national media outlets in January blames the Wounded Warrior Project's board, former employees who spoke about the charity's spending practices . 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 subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. These organizations have always been known to spend very little on anything but the veterans and their families, and the general public will now be terribly suspicious and wary. Michel duCille/Washington Post, via Getty Images. 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. Sept. 30, 2013 As this week's Retro Report video explains, the biggest scandal in recent times involving the care of wounded American troops was actually worsened because medicine on the. Plenzler said spending on that program so far has totaled $100 million, with another $165 million committed over the next five years. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, The real tragedy of this scandal is the impact it will have on donors willingness to give to the many worthwhile and more frugal organizations helping our veterans. The 270 Wounded Warriors competing in a variety of sports from June 19-28 at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, come from every branch of military service. Your article zoned in on some disgruntled former employees rather than the roughly 500 staff members who work tirelessly to honor and empower our wounded. 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. Millette said he witnessed lavish spending on staff, with big catered parties. However, everything changed when CBS News started researching its own story about the Wounded Warrior Project, one with a . 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. On March 18, 2016, The New York Times published an article titled, "Senator Wants Data on Wounded Warrior Project, a Charity Under Fire." Wounded Warrior Project rocked by fundraising scandal Wounded Warrior Project probed for lavish spending while vets suffer The U.S. Attorney's Office in Indiana has brought charges. The organization will still take action in cases of suspected fraud, he said. It was litigious, suing other veterans' organizations that featured a logo that evoked its own, a service member in silhouette carrying a wounded comrade on his back. Show your support for Wounded Warrior Project with this tee! Some of its own employees have criticized it, too. 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. But as donations poured in, many former employees say the group became wasteful. 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. "I was always grateful for that mission," Linnington said. Both ad campaigns depict a real part of the wounded veteran experience, and WWP staff acknowledge that donors respond more to portrayals of those with the greatest need. Money poured in. They would just come up with numbers based on nothing, Mr. Lessard said. Copyright 2023 Military.com. Chief Financial Officer . They just took me to a Red Sox game and on a weekend retreat.. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Magazines, Digital Slightly more than half of the Kanes' donations directly benefitted veterans, according to CBS News. 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 . 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. Perpetuating the myth that the worth of a nonprofit organization boils down to what it spends on overhead is simply indefensible. from the invisible wounds of scandal On the ratings service Charity Navigator, the Wounded Warriors Project earns an overall score of 84.5 out of 100, good for three stars. 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 did not dispute findings reported by The Times, including that the organization had fired a number of wounded veterans with little cause. Whats their motivation for telling us? Kurnyta noted the organization had a near-perfect score in transparency: 97 out of 100. You do not reflect the sentiments of the more than 80,000 wounded soldiers we have helped, focusing instead on a few malcontents. Linnington, who retired from the Army in 2015 and served as the first permanent director of the Pentagon's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency before taking the helm at Wounded Warrior Project, said he made the move over to the organization because of the positive impression it had made on him while he was still on active duty. As Wounded Warrior Project battles allegations its former executives violated public trust, they face the real fear that donations will start to dry up. The board of Wounded Warrior Project, a well-known veteran-support charity, parted ways with its chief executive and another top official after a board-commissioned review found the nonprofit. One current employee said her last-minute ticket cost $7,000. 2. And though critics argue that the standards used by watchdog organizations to assess nonprofits are overly subjective and sometimes unfairly punitive, staff with two accountability groups who spoke with Military.com were generally bullish about Wounded Warrior Project's practices and outlook. 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. Report Calls Out Wounded Warrior Project for Excessive, 'Lavish' Spending. The two top executives of the Wounded Warrior Project among the largest veterans charities in the country were fired Thursday after an investigation into accusations of lavish spending on. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack. The councils mission includes defending charity spending on overhead and executive salaries, its website says. 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. I have been involved with the Wounded Warrior Project for over 12 years. In an effort to narrow its focus, WWP has dropped some efforts in favor of supporting other organizations that specialize. It made me sick, Mr. Kane said Friday in an interview. Other respected charities . 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. Do you have a location near me? "Four years ago, I would have told you to keep your money in your pocket and take it somewhere else," he said. Its a hard balance, but I think we strike the right balance, he said. Charity Navigator also assessed that Wounded Warriors total revenue for 2014 was well over $340 million. All rights reserved. At least half a dozen former employees said they were let go after raising questions about ineffective programs or spending. Kane said he has cut charitable ties with the Wounded Warrior Project, embarking on a new charge to effect change at the organization.
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