I wrote an article at the end of 2014 “Stop Donating To The Wounded Warrior Project – They’re a Fraud” discussing how little of the donations that the Wounded Warrior Project gets actually goes to helping veterans in need.
From the hundreds of comments that article received, a vase majority of people echoed their own personal frustration in dealing with the Wounded Warrior Project and how they were made to feel more like stage props for fundraising campaigns than actual human beings in need.
Of course, there were a few vehement, “head in the sand” supporters of the WWP who accused me of being anti veteran (even though I am a vet myself) and of anyone who said anything bad about the WWP as being ungrateful or having a nefarious ulterior motive.
Even when I engaged these blind followers and told them about how the breakdown of money is spent they turned a deaf ear or even worse, claimed that only spending 47-52% of donations to ACTUALLY use for the purported cause was GOOD, because other charities were worse.
Unsurprising they became obstinate when I rattle off a number of veteran charities that spend over 90% of donations directly helping vets. Places like the Phoenix Patriot Foundation or Fisher House.
Organizations, by the way, that I have no connection with whatsoever, save for my admiration on how much they are TRULY dedicated to helping vets.
But I digress. As they say, seeing is believing so I went to the Wounded Warrior Project website and took their tax return from 2013. The year I initially cited in my previous article and will show anyone who reads this where the money actually goes…and where it doesn’t.
First, how much money comes in to the Wounded Warrior Project:
As you can see at line 1b, total revenue, the money that the Wounded Warrior Project brings in is $234,682,943. Over 200 MILLION dollars in a year.
Now, how was that money spent? Let’s first look at what goes toward helping vets:
If you look at 4a thru 4d you will see what the Wounded Warrior Project does for vets and how much it spends on each program. Now, I have heard some complain that the alumni association is really just a fundraising booster program, which would explain why over $30 million dollars is directed towards that, but if someone would like to support or refute that claim in the comment section I’m sure everyone would like to hear about it.
But let’s look passed that for a moment and actually look at the numbers.
Alumni: $31,466,113
Combat Stress Recovery: $16,127,622
Soldier Ride: $8,824,978
Other Program Services: $60,780,024
Remember, the Wounded Warrior Project pulled in $234,682,943 in donations.
That means only 49.93% of money that the WWP raised actually went to helping wounded vets.
Where, pray tell, did the rest of the money go.
Let’s head to page 10 of the tax form, the expense report:
Now we’re getting somewhere.
Compensation and benefits for WWP employees and directors: $26,182,966.
Employees and directors get MORE money than all of the services provided except for the alumni association. The program that people complain about is all about making money…ironic.
$15, 218,191 for office space?
Nearly $2 MILLION for I.T?
Just under $5 MILLION for occupancy costs?
$6,377,443 in way of travel expenses? And those travel expenses are NOT for sending wounded vets around the country because that expense would be listed in the program expenses. No, these travel expenses are WWP employees jet setting around the country.
But now we get to the most egregious of the costs.
Consulting costs: $33,081,349
They spend more on consulting than they do on any one program service for vets.
Not to mention their meeting and events in which they blow through nearly $17 MILLION of your donated money to through themselves parties.
You can read the rest for yourself, but all in all the total expenses for “running” the Wounded Warrior Project total $158,073,943.
As you may recall, the WWP, by their own admission, spend less than $118,000,000 on the actual programs and services for vets that people donate money towards.
The following document gives a nice summation to the true intent of the Wounded Warrior Project as well as, in my eyes, giving a nice slap to the face, to all veterans they claim to support.
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