The most recent financial report on Wounded Warrior's web site shows $372 million in donations for the 2014-15 fiscal year. The Annual Warrior Survey from Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) shows post-9/11 wounded warriors face increasing financial hardship. Kaine, in the recent interview, also questioned Nardizzis apparent public absence while his organization has been under scrutiny. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator says Wounded Warrior Project spends just 60 percent of its budget on veterans. reported that the Wounded Warrior Project. 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. Report Calls Out Wounded Warrior Project for Excessive, 'Lavish' Spending. Mr. Nardizzi fired Ms. Chapman, an Iraq veteran with PTSD, in 2012 as part of a management restructuring, she said. 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.". 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. 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. Many Americans gave their trust and. Anyone can read what you share. 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.. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. For fiscal year 2015, Wounded Warrior reported a 92.9 percent satisfaction rate with the organizations services. "It's like walking through a minefield, donating to an efficient veterans charity," he said. 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. Former employees said they questioned the charitys focus on money and marketing techniques. January 27, 2016 / 8:32 PM / CBS News. All Rights Reserved. Re Helping Veterans Recover, Spending Lavishly on Itself (front page, Jan. 28): I was saddened to read of the wasteful spending at the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project is in hot water. Its founder, John Melia, was a Marine veteran who had been injured in a helicopter crash off the coast of Somalia in 1992. But as donations poured in, many former employees say the group became wasteful. It is a nonprofit video news organization that aims to provide a thoughtful counterweight to todays 24/7 news cycle. Do the sources know the information? "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. Today, after major reforms, what has changed for Americas injured soldiers? In early January of 2016, both The New York Times and CBS Evening News ran stories exposing the unethical spending habits of WWP. "That report also made clear that the Wounded Warrior Project had made some positive steps to regain the public's trust. 76% OF WARRIORS EXPERIENCED FEWER PTSD SYMPTOMS after receiving treatment through Warrior Care Network 2 Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. Sometimes employees make poor choices that cant be overlooked, Ms. Tezel said. "Their mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors, but what the public doesn't see is how they spend their money," he said. But whether those fixes went far enough is, as the video demonstrates, still not clear. The organization will still take action in cases of suspected fraud, he said. Look at how they're focused on the real, important issues that have to do with veterans, and go from there.". 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. But it added that such events would be curtailed in the future.. saved my life, he said. Mr. Millette said the charity encouraged him to highlight its role in helping him recover from PTSD and traumatic brain injury. At least half a dozen former employees said they were let go after raising questions about ineffective programs or spending. The veterans collected donations at those events. 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. March 11, 2016 When the Wounded Warrior Project was hit in January with multiple accusations in the news media of lavish spending on travel, conferences and public relations, and a toxic. One 2013 commercial, "Sacrifices," featured footage of a veteran with severe traumatic brain injury struggling to walk assisted and to enter a car, and of another vet with body-encompassing burn injuries reaching for his prosthetic ears to put them on. "Donors would be unhappy that so much of their money wasn't being used given the plight of veterans," he said. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Already, more than $6.9 million in grants has been awarded for this fiscal year. Wounded Warrior Project's Top Execs Fired After Spending Scandal Wounded Warrior Project Denies Claims of Waste, Lavish Spending Wounded Warrior Project Accused of Wasting Donor Money. His tweets and Facebook posts stopped. Copyright 2023 Military.com. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. I don't know, and frankly, that's not what I'm worried about. 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. "Veterans, our lives, literally, depend on it.". 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. William Chick, a former supervisor, spent five years with the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project spent more than $34 million on fund-raising in 2014, according to tax records. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, 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.". 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. Legal Statement. Right now we are in a position where we can still meet our obligations, he said. Where was Steve Nardizzi and why didnt he face the reporter? Mr. Kane asked, naming the outspoken chief executive who had been accused of much of the excess. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Since Wounded Warrior Project chief executive Steven Nardizzi and chief operating officer Al Giordano were fired by the board on Thursday, donations to the group have fallen, The New York Times reports. "They were using the smallest percentage of wounded veterans to suck money out of hard-working Americans," he said. In all those areas, Linnington said Wounded Warrior Project is making strides. "The warriors that joined Wounded Warrior Project, you know, in 2003 are today 15 years older than they were when they joined. The veterans charity group fired CEO Steven Nardizzi and COO Al Giordano late last week, following a January . The spending began to attract attention. "Four years ago, I would have told you to keep your money in your pocket and take it somewhere else," he said. The Wounded Warrior Project is working to rebuild trust with its donors and veterans. 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. I look at companies like Starbucks thats the model, Mr. Nardizzi said. Annually, the group receives more than $300 million in donations (Cerully, Smith, Wilks, & Giglio, 2015). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Trace Adkins has been an advocate for Wounded Warrior, an organization that advocates for veterans. Wounded Warrior Project hit back at the initial report Wednesday evening, posting online a letter to CBS News demanding a retraction. He has never spoken publicly about his disagreements with Mr. Nardizzi, and declined to be interviewed. 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. 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. 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. just hours before the New York Times ran a story about the . Mr. Nardizzi said his staff was constantly monitoring metrics to try to get the most out of every dollar donated. What happened next is something out of Billy Lynns Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain, the Catch-22 of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. So we had to rebuild.". series about Walter Reed Army Medical Center. 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. Legal Statement. Then, in late January 2016, a pair of damning high-profile news reports hit like a one-two punch, throwing the organization into turmoil. Ive Ive never left the hospital grounds. 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. 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. 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. 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. Magazines, Digital The story broke in The Washington Post in the winter of 2007, with a series about Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Our average age is 38 years old," Linnington said. As a result, some philanthropic watchdog groups have criticized the Wounded Warrior Project for spending too heavily on itself. But, as it turned out, reports of the death of Wounded Warrior Project have been greatly exaggerated. 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. He changes his habits and routine around Jacksonville, Florida, he said, to avoid running into former organization co-workers. His report slammed the organization for not being transparent with donors about tens of millions that had been placed in reserve and not spent; and for "excessive" amounts of money spent on travel, fundraising and staff activities. Some were injured or became. He also told CBS News that the charity did not spend money on alcohol or engages in any other kind of excessive spending. Have they proved reliable in the past? (Linnington said more than 72% of WWP spending currently goes toward programs.). But like other former employees, he said the group swiftly fired anyone leaders considered a bad cultural fit.. The New York Times' recent investigation into the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has sent rumbles throughout through the philanthropy community. Wounded Warrior Project has earned a 86% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. Now I wonder how employees can live lavishly off a large percentage of the contributions that should be serving people in need. 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. They were celebrating their biggest year yet: $225 million raised and a work force that had nearly doubled. 3. Religion and Technology Should Unite for the Greater Good, The 25 Defining Works of the Black Renaissance. The country's most prominent veteran's . 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. 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. Its chief operating officer, Albion Giordano, earned just over $369,000. Its a fund-raising machine that is a grant-maker for a number of other veterans organizations, said Phillip Carter, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, which also gets funding from the organization. This helps prevent another common thinking error called scope neglect, in which our brains fail to ensure that our emotions correspond to the actual impact made by our donations. "We have 55 peer support groups across the country that meet regularly," he said. Jan 26, 2023. In January both The New York Times and CBS News reported that the Wounded Warrior Project, which raised more than $372 million in 2015, had spent millions on travel, dinners, entertainment and lavish staff meetings, like one at the five-star Broadmoor hotel in Colorado, where Mr. Nardizzi made his entrance by rappelling from a tower. Show your support for Wounded Warrior Project with this tee! In July, along with the publication of a new financial statement for fiscal 2018 showing revenues of $246 million, WWP received an updated score from the watchdog organization Charity Navigator, up to 86.45 out of 100 from 86.02 the previous year. All rights reserved. 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.". This claim is false. It is perfectly reasonable to hold Wounded Warrior or any other organization nonprofit, for-profit or governmental accountable for lavish spending or gaming its own metrics. Recent reports from The New York Times and CBS alleged that the nonprofit has been misspending its donations on lavish conferences and unnecessary business trips for employees.. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Parade participants representing The Wounded Warriors Project carry the American flag for the Veteran's Day, November 11, 2012 in New York. This year, WWP surpassed the 100,000 mark in terms of veterans they provide assistance to. Have they proved reliable in the past? He was fired in 2014 for what executives told him was insubordination. 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. 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. 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. In 2007, the scandalous treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center shocked the nation. In fact, they are one of the largest programs out there for wounded veterans. For fiscal year 2015, Wounded Warrior reported a 92.9 percent. But after recent tax forms reflected questionable spending by the veterans charity on staff expenditures, including $26 million on conferences and meetings at luxury hotels in 2014 alone, Fred Kane called for Nardizzi to be fired.The expenditure on conferences and travel was up from just $1.7 million in 2010, according to reports. You'll recall that,. Compared with service members who served in Vietnam, troops sustaining combat wounds in Iraq and Afghanistan had roughly twice the chance of surviving. Her comment was, Where have you been? And I said, What do you mean where have I been? You had the same few guys who loved going to free events.. 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. 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. 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. Mr. Nardizzi took over the organization, based in Jacksonville, Fla., in 2009. He started by handing out backpacks of comfort items to wounded troops. Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. Wounded Warrior Project executives fired in spending scandal. But some employees assert that the productivity goals were set so high that they eroded program quality. The statement also said apreliminary financial audit found that some policies, procedures and controls at WWP have not kept pace with the organizations rapid growth in recent years and are in need of strengthening.. Plenzler said spending on that program so far has totaled $100 million, with another $165 million committed over the next five years. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. They would just come up with numbers based on nothing, Mr. Lessard said. Another time a woman called to donate part of her sons life insurance after he was killed in Afghanistan, he said. Anyone can read what you share. In 2014, the Wounded Warrior Project lobbied in California and Florida to fight proposals that would have required nonprofits to increase financial transparency. The organization fired Mr. Chick later the same day for insubordination. 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. How do we help them? 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. He said the charity swiftly fired anyone that leaders considered a bad cultural fit.. Peter J. Johnson Jr on the firing of WWP's CEO and COO. On the opening night, before three days of strategy sessions and team-building field trips, the staff gathered in the hotel courtyard. It was a very coercive conversation.. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. 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. According to the charity's tax forms obtained by CBS News, spending on conferences and meetings went from $1.7 million in 2010, to $26 million in 2014, which is the same amount the group spends on combat stress recovery. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Do you have a location near me? Out in Los Angeles, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva sent out a warning over the weekend. WWP also put up strong numbers in financial health, with controlled spending on administrative expenses and a healthy reserve of capital, which speaks to the organization's ability to sustain itself over time. 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. Can we corroborate the information? It's really about the resilience, the exceptionalism of our warriors.". In an interview at the organizations four-story headquarters in a palm-lined office park in Jacksonville, Fla., Mr. Nardizzi, 45, said spending on fund-raising and other expenses not directly related to veterans programs has enabled the Wounded Warrior Project to grow faster and serve more people. New York Times Reporter Paid $51 Million for Ryan Seacrest's LA . 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. To continue addressing these social needs and address the distrust caused by nonprofit scandals, we need to improve our nonprofit sector. 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?". 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. True Royal 80/20 Poly/Cotton Left Chest/Sleeve Design Screenprint. The eRumor's claim that the organization spends just 3.5% of its total income on grants for individuals and veteran organizations is . Wounded Warrior Project FAQs 1. 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. 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. 1 witness for the wounded was Staff Sgt. Like Charity Navigator, Charity Watch is critical of WWP's fundraising efficiency, which it considers to be on the low end of acceptable. Show your support for Wounded Warrior Project with this tee! He noted, approvingly, that as of 2018, 64% of WWP spending goes to fund programs, up from about 54% in 2016. 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 . It wasn't just about lavish all-hands gatherings, although those quickly became a thing of the past. Mr. Kane said he lambasted Mr. Giordano for hiding behind a wounded veteran on camera and said he would cancel his donations. Some of its own employees have criticized it, too. Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is the President of Intentional Insights, an education nonprofit, and a tenure-track professor at Ohio State University. He watched a young former Army captain who had lost an arm and a leg in Afghanistan offer CBS News awkwardly recited defenses of the group, the nations largest and fastest-growing charity for veterans. 6. 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 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 . He noted approvingly that the organization has hired more mental health professionals to do follow-up with wounded warriors, and invested dynamically in meeting the needs of female 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. 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. 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. He was medevaced out of Iraq, but only nine days after his near-fatal injury, the Walter Reed staff discharged him into outpatient status. 7. His marriage fell apart as the result of the pressure, he said; he received personal threats. In 2016, they had a bit of controversy, when they fired s. At the end of 2015, there were 96,695 individuals in WWP's database; by the end of 2018, there were 155,302, with growth staying fairly consistent year-over-year. "We're looking for under 10 cents," she said. "Obviously, we're trying to regain trust with the warriors, first and foremost," Linnington told Military.com earlier this year. Market data provided by Factset. Why don't you offer services to ALL veterans? The videos are typically 10 to 12 minutes long. 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. Seeing them do that restores my faith in the organization.". 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. 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 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. 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. 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. He didnt want to leave, but it was obvious something was going to happen, Ms. Melia said. I have met over 1,000 soldiers and their caregivers whose lives have been positively affected by the organization. With millions of good Samaritans regularly donating a portion of their paycheck to good causes, charities are booming unfortunately, not all of the money going into them is coming out the way we think.