Posted on 12/30/2015 12:51:34 PM PST by PROCON
Everyone wants to support American vets and when you hear about the great work Wounded Warriors Project does for our own American vets, well, ... you just can't fight the urge to dig deep and give to support the cause. But who/what are you really supporting? Not so much the vets....
DC Clothesline: In the first version of this article, I used the 2012-2013 Wounded Warrior Project 990 Tax Forms. This updated version is using the 2013-2014 Wounded Warrior Project 990 Tax Forms. (Thank you, David Isakson, for all of your assistance) I had made some errors in my original reporting; I am not a forensic accountant and had misread some of the figures or gotten the figures from the wrong columns. I will not be making those mistakes again. The 2012-2013 and the 2013-2014 tax forms are hyperlinked, so feel free to peruse the documents for yourselves. We should not be surprised to find out that yet another 'charity' claiming to 'help' Veterans is more interested in the salaries of their executives and funding the vicious cycle of advertisement...raise funds...spend it on advertisement...raise funds...ad nauseum. But just the raw figures from their own reporting:
FOR THE YEAR 2012-1013
REVENUE: $234,682,943.00
EXPENSES: $158,073,943.00
TOTAL PROFITS: $ 76,609,000.00
FOR THE YEAR 2013-2014
REVENUE: $342,066,114.00
EXPENSES: $248,005,493.00
TOTAL PROFITS: $ 94,060,675.00
TOTAL AMOUNT GOING TO ORGANIZATIONS IN 2013:
$16,849,420.00
TOTAL AMOUNT GOING TO ORGANIZATIONS IN 2014:
$41,305,308.00
TOTAL AMOUNT GOING TO INDIVIDUAL VETERANS IN 2013:
$853,365.00
TOTAL AMOUNT GOING TO INDIVIDUAL VETERANS IN 2014:
$804,393.00
Now, how about some brass tacks about what just their top three executives make per year in salaries alone, not including bonuses, retirement, and insurance.
STEVEN NARDIZZI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR $375,000.00 in 2013
STEVEN NARDIZZI CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER $473,015.00 in 2014
ALBION GIORDANO DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR $337,500.00 in 2013
ALBION GIORDANO CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER $369,030.00 in 2014
JEREMY CHWAT CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER $218,267.00 in 2013
JEREMY CHWAT CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER $262,750.00 in 2014
These are STRICTLY the amounts and descriptions from their own tax forms. This does not even begin to cover their beautiful, modern building or the seven lawsuits that they have launched against much smaller, higher rated Veterans non-profit groups, who either used the words 'wounded warrior' somewhere in their name or used a silhouette of soldiers in their logos.
***But of the more than 56,000 veterans the group counts as "alumni," meaning that they have been registered with the organization, many don't directly engage with WWP. Less than two-thirds (62 percent) of alumni participated in at least one WWP activity or service in the past year, according to a survey of alumni the group shared with the Beast. But according to their internal database, 78.9 percent of alumni have been involved with "engagements and interactions" with WWP this year.
The best advice I can give you is to do your own research. Find small charities that are well-ranked by Charity Navigator or Charity Watch. Stick with local charities with which you have developed an affiliation personally. One of the highest ranked and most respected Veterans charity is The Fisher House.
For the reporting year 2014:
Total Income $342,066,114
Grants (Total given to Wounded Warriors) $42,109,115
Other Organizations $41,305,308
Individuals $ 804,393
SALARIES (see pg 8, Part VII)
Steven Nardizzi $473,015
Albion Giordano $369,030
Ronald W. Burgess $234,992
That means about 87% of total income goes to other places than where it was intended.
Please, check out “WWP Form 990” on any search engine.
This is a link to the 2014 filing (pdf Form):
https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/media/879225/2014_form-990_wwp.pdf
I promise, if you give me $342 Million dollars for Wounded Warriors, more money would make it to the actual (individuals, see above) Wounded Warriors than that.
Nope not that much for any of those items - but remember you already have the number which is their profit for each year - you need to look and see if that is gross profit or net profit after taxes (that should be net after tax, but I could be wrong). However, taxes are based, AIR, on total revenue less deductions like: overhead, utilities, rent, bldg. maintenance, advertising to solicit donations, legal fees to protect their trademark.
So as I calculate the $108 million is still unaccounted for in the paperwork you presented. Find an accountant either here or in the real world and ask him.
See my post (above). Form 990 is for tax free organizations. Check out the link. (I promise that I’m not a “Click Bait” person.)
Any input?
Ping.
So far nothing
Total Revenue $342,000,000
Net assets or fund balances $248,300,000
WWP is tax exempt. All the numbers on the 990 are just what happened. But there seems to be absolutely nothing to indicate were the difference between the two numbers or 108 mill went. Need an accountant or someone familiar with 990s to be sure.
Bonus link
Finding IRS form 990 go o Guidestar and make an account (free)
https://www.guidestar.org/Login.aspx
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| "If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy." |
BTTT
Exactly, the Form 990 is just the tip of the iceberg.
Executive salaries are exorbitant.
Quid pro quo “donations” are the majority “Grants”.
etc., etc.
Hats off,
HLB
I was thinking about this the other day. Fox News is inundated with ads seeking funds for every type of victim under the sun. And those ads are airing all day and night. That has to cost a good sum of money.
Yes. Donated to them three years ago. They are on my employer's "matching gifts" program which means they'll match my charitable donations to "qualified" organizations.
I prefer Fisher House which for some reason, due to some criteria that my employer's HR department cannot explain to me, my employer doesn't support.
Three years ago I sent my donation off to WWP along with the matching gift form FILLED IN FOR THEM to have them send it into my employer in order to receive the matching gift donation.
THEY NEVER SENT THE FORM IN. I followed up with them for several months and never received an answer as to WHY they never bothered to simply have a representative of WWP sign the form and send it back in.
Instead, WWP mailed, emailed (despite my never giving them an email address) and telemarketed the crap out of me for more donations.
Despite my having given them ONE donation THREE years ago, I still receive calendars, pens, a blanket and other trinkets all mailed directly to my home, instead of them using that money TO HELP OUR VETS which is why I donated to them in the first place.
As a result, our family now donates to Fisher House annually. We receive a polite thank you mail letter (for charitable donation purposes) and THAT'S IT. PERFECT! That would be the exact response I'd expect.
Before we donated to WWP, I'd seen a lot of complaints here on FR about how wasteful WWP is from many people's perspective, others have posted some powerful testimonies about what WWP has done for them, their family, or someone they know.
My "beef" with WWP is the money they WASTE marketing the crap outta me and that they NEVER took advantage of the matching gift program at my employer. Not just for my donation, many others I know at my employer.
Every year as I write out my charitable donation checks, I look for Fisher House on our corporate website for matching gift contributions and am saddened they aren't listed. That just means I write a little larger check and let it go.
One last comment: I personally want to make sure that every organization I send my hard earned money to uses the money I send them in the most efficient way. That means looking at how much of every dollar given goes directly to those they're claiming to help.
Charity Navigator gives Fisher House four stars.
I don't know how, but they give WWP three stars. IMO, WWP should be more like one star, but perhaps that's just me.
The best charitable donation is an INFORMED one, IMO.
I don’t give to them anymore, I heard too much of their donations go to overhead. I don’t care about their CEO making big bucks, if he is getting money to the people who need it, that is. But everything I have heard about them indicates it is a job mill for some. Just my opinion.
I have also heard they are anti-2nd amendment.
I usually turn to Fischer House and the Semper Fi Fund, and this year, Homes for Our Troops.
I have to admit, the Gary Sinese Charity looked attractive too. I just think the guy is great, and all the troops seem to adore him.
Yes...I got a chance to see them in action. Amazing. Great organization, Fisher House.
Dang it, I noticed my dictation software keeps putting in “Fischer” house...
Any input?
Heard about this being a lobby scam and have never dealt with them...
Same here.
I stopped giving to them. Their mailers with so-called free gifts are so expensive to produce. That money should be going to the Vets! Stop sending mailing labels, magnets, calendars, patches, cards etc!!
I also read that the salaries for the execs are huge. I find other organizations to give to - we
have a local group that spends directly on helping our local vets.
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