Wounded Warrior Project a Scam?

When the CEO of a charity gets over $350,000, I am disinclined to donate to them. When a Charity spends this much money "Aggressively defending their brand" I am disinclined to donate to them
When a charity doesn't spend much money on what the are formed for, I am disinclined to donate.

Now, having had plenty of experience with WWP, and what they actually do (in my case, what they don't do) I for one do not want anything to do with them anymore. Period.

Do what you want. I am done with them.

I believe in what WWP does, but they are clearly morphing from their core mission to a corporate brand. Browbeating small groups that are doing good work is pretty dark territory for a charity that professes loadly from the rooftops what great work they do. I for one don't want my donations being spent on litigation.

People seem to be running a lot of math without providing a lot of context to the math.

It looks like 57.7% of the moneys earned go towards vets. How does that compare to similarly sized organizations? As an organization gets bigger, the logistics of said organization get bigger with it, and things like advertising, payroll, and technology are just going to start eating away at that 100% number. What is an acceptable %? 100% is unreasonable. But there has to be a number that actually makes sense below that that is based on logic and the needs of the veterans as well.

That brings us to payroll. We have to staff the organization. There has to be a CEO, and other key positions, and they must be compensated adequately. Using a SIMPLE comparison, a CEO, and any of the C level positions are generally equivilant to those of General level officers, and should probably be compensated at a similar level. Let's say there are 3 of those. The remaining 12 would be at the O6~ level for a nationwide organization. I believe that is a fair assumption for a $300M company.

Again using very simple math, an O7 (@30 years) makes $12500/month +BAH (call it $3k) for about $186k a year. A O6 makes $11k/month which brings them to 168k using similar math. So payroll, isn't necessarily outside norms.

As for whether or not the CEO has served. Does it matter? If he is actually taking care of veterans, increasing the funding available to veterans (which according to the the data appears to be the case), is this an actual issue? We're constantly surrounded by people who didn't actively serve. Many of us are married to those who weren't in the military. Would we have a problem with him if his wife was in? That said, I think this point of argument just needs to go away. He's either qualified or he's not.

Now, as for the litigious parts. I'm split on this. If another organization is reaping the benefits of their advertising, by essentially "trademark infringing" I can understand where they are coming from, however... there's a point where you just become a bully as well. And it sounds like the complaints "may" be valid. However when you use common words as your name, things like this are going to happen.

I was disturbed to hear their stand on the 2nd amendment and gun control. We were disappointed when the Leslie Coleman, PR director for WWP, said they couldn’t come on the show, but that happens. Schedules don’t mesh, things happen, but that’s not uncommon. No big deal. Except that Ms. Coleman said they were declining because we “are related to firearms.”

“While we appreciate the interest in having a WWP representative on your show on Veterans Day we are not able to participate in interviews or activities with media/organizations that are related to firearms,” said Ms. Coleman in her email. The wwp made a statement concerning this but it leaves one wondering

When any organization threatens the profit margins (or maybe, the payroll) of the WWP, there will be consequences! Do your homework, folks: There are better ways to route your time, talent, and resource$.

I think the original good that WWP did has been overshadowed by their behavior of late. From the high paid executives, to the lack of funding reaching Veterans, and now this. It seems that the organization has grown too large and, as often happens with these things, they have become greedy. I have always donated to the little guy in town because I feel that you can actually see the results but my opinion of WWP is certainly changing....

During my second deployment, I had approximately 30 soldiers sent home from combat wounded. The wounded warrior Project played a huge role in encouraging them through some very difficult times. Like any organization, they have their flaws. I appreciate the fact that there are improvements needed, but let's be careful about throwing stones.

This article seems to disprove the theory.

As someone that works in the Veteran Advocacy space, to me the WWP is in a weird position. Yes, they are probably the best known Veterans' Support Organization in America. Their logo is splashed across everything from clothes to ketchup bottles. Celebrities are on TV helping to ask for funds for the WWP and the fact remains that when it first started, the WWP did some great things providing some much needed things to those service members that found themselves removed from the battle field with little more than the torn uniform on their back.

Fast forward 10 years and personally, I feel the WWP as lost sight of their original object and started taking on more than they can and/or meant to. Stories of the WWP refusing to send someone to pick up a donation because it wasn't of a certain dollar level are everywhere. Veterans are starting to turn away because they feel the WWP has lost touch with them. They have become so big that they aren't approachable. This is a big shame because the Project can really make a strong impact on Veterans if they paused and reevaluated their overall mission.

Personally, I benefited from one of those trips put on the WWP. About 2 years ago, I found myself laid off and stressing because I didn't have a job. That same week I got an email from the WWP saying I could put my name in to be picked for a trip to Chicago to watch the Big 10 Basketball tournament. The next day, I got a call asking for information so they could book my flight and it was awesome. I spent the week watching some great college basketball from the court. They put us in a very nice hotel and paid for our taxis to and from the airport. We toured the city and the 12 of us bounded for that week. But that was it. No follow up from the WWP since. That is where the Project is failing. Sure, that one week was awesome and it did without a doubt help me. But now, 2 years later, nothing. No emails or calls from the Project to see how I am doing and whatnot.

Like I said, I think the WWP has lost sight of their initial objective and have become so big that now rather than being inviting to Veterans we are looking at them as the big elephant in the room and really looking into their intentions.

I am always skeptical of "big name" non-profits due to the sheer marketing that goes behind these efforts and how they have a hard time disclosing their profit/loss margins clearly. I've found more effectiveness on the local level, such as in Minnesota with the Minnesota Military Appreciation Fund (http://www.thankmntroops.org/). I actually have been a beneficiary of this fund as I received a gift from them when I was struggling early on post-college and barely employed. It wasn't a lot as they were very new then as well, but it helped greatly then and I was extremely thankful.

Otherwise my point would be to research any foundation first before putting anything to them. There are many organizations and "non-profits" out there ready to exploit the sacrifices that soldiers, veterans and their/our families have made to serve this country. Sad to say, but always true.