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 organization initially denied the accusations and demanded retractions, but then went silent. It's really about the resilience, the exceptionalism of our warriors.". People could spend money on the most ridiculous thing and no one batted an eye, said Connie Chapman, who was in charge of the charitys Seattle office for two years. 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. Some were injured or became. 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. 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. or redistributed. He also told CBS News that the charity did not spend money on alcohol or engages in any other kind of excessive spending. They began raising millions of dollars and broadening their services to include adaptive sports for disabled veterans, employment and benefits help, and retreats to teach veterans to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. "We wrap our arms around those that want to help veterans now, versus looking to protect our brand at every inch and ounce of measure," he said. 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. 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. He was not in the room at the time but was held responsible for the fight, his boss at the time, Mr. Chick, said in an interview. Mr. Nardizzi and Mr. Giordano did not return repeated calls to their cellphones. It got under my skin, started eating at me, he said. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. I'm a warrior. 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. Two former employees, who were so fearful of retaliation they asked that CBS News not show their faces on camera, said spending has skyrocketed since Steven Nardizzi took over as CEO in 2009, pointing to the 2014 annual meeting at a luxury resort in Colorado Springs. 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. By giving back, I was helping myself and helping other vets.. Besides devastating both donors and wounded veterans, this news could undercut public support for the nonprofit sector as a whole. 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. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. 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. In its commercials, Wounded Warrior Project appeals to the American public's generosity, and it works. Annually, the group receives more than $300 million in donations (Cerully, Smith, Wilks, & Giglio, 2015). But newly released numbers for fiscal 2018 show a bounce in the right direction, up 16% to $246 million. "[Now], I would tell you to look at the organization, the changes they've made and make an educated decision. Now, they're doing that follow-up, and they have the capacity to deal with the mental health issues," he said. " 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. On March 18, 2016, The New York Times published an article titled, "Senator Wants Data on Wounded Warrior Project, a Charity Under Fire." Then it took him weeks to track down the nurse who was supposedly overseeing his case, as he tells Retro Report. 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. Have they proved reliable in the past? It also began to focus on programs like group bike rides and concert-ticket handouts that left many staff members wondering about how much they were helping veterans. By Lindsey Ellefson Jan 27th, 2016, 9:00 pm. Legal Statement. In January, Charity Navigator, a group that oversees nonprofit organizations, placed Wounded Warrior Project on its watch list, Fox News reported, citing a separate CBS report. "Wounded Warrior Project helped me reclaim my life," one reads, over a photo of single-amputee wounded veteran Sean Karpf, smiling proudly. Today, The New York Times released a damning report on the renowned . It did not dispute findings reported by The Times, including that the organization had fired a number of wounded veterans with little cause. "He rappelled down the side of a building at one of the all hands events. Nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator says Wounded Warrior Project spends just 60 percent of its budget on veterans. 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. After Public Crisis and Fall from Grace, Wounded . During WWP's nadir and through its turnaround, its roster of wounded warriors and "family support members" has only grown -- a fact that speaks as much to the persistent and growing need as it does to the organization's success in the space. At least half a dozen former employees said they were let go after raising questions about ineffective programs or spending. 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. These houses are used to alleviate the out-of-pocket costs of families of veterans and wounded soldiers who are receiving treatment at medical facilities. Its a hard balance, but I think we strike the right balance, he said. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Soon after the amputation, he said, he was racked by haunting emotions from Iraq and checked himself into suicide watch at a psychiatric ward. Trace Adkins has been an advocate for Wounded Warrior, an organization that advocates for veterans. series about Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As this weeks Retro Report video explains, the biggest scandal in recent times involving the care of wounded American troops was actually worsened because medicine on the battlefront had made such remarkable advances. Wounded Warrior Project says 80% of their money is spent on programs for veterans. Today, after major reforms, what has changed for Americas injured soldiers? 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 corporate culture, Fred Kane, one of its major fund-raisers, was stunned by the organizations response. 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 . Today, the charity has 22 locations offering programs to help veterans readjust to society, attend school, find work and participate in athletics. Do the sources know the information? But, he says, he doesn't regret what he did; he still believes his assessment of WWP at the time was accurate and his intervention necessary. Ask anyone with a personal stake in the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), the organization founded in 2003 to provide programs and services for injured U.S. military personnel. Now I wonder how employees can live lavishly off a large percentage of the contributions that should be serving people in need. "We have met with DoD a couple times, when I first came on board, to talk about how we can help inspire young people to serve," he said. " Peter J. Johnson Jr on the firing of WWP's CEO and COO. The organization also conducts copious surveys and focus groups among warriors, peer veterans' organizations and others in the military community. 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L.A. County Sheriff: 30% of workforce "unavailable". They also help WWP track how the needs of veterans are changing with time. Part of the organizations drive for growth has been a tough stance toward workers considered unproductive or disloyal. 76% OF WARRIORS EXPERIENCED FEWER PTSD SYMPTOMS after receiving treatment through Warrior Care Network 2 But some employees assert that the productivity goals were set so high that they eroded program quality. In 2007, the scandalous treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center shocked the nation. The same push for numbers hit a program that brings wounded veterans together for social events. But Linnington maintains it's not just about the bottom line for him. Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. Notably, at its lowest point following the whistleblower reports and leadership churn, WWP's funding still dwarfed that of virtually every other organization in the space. Whats their motivation for telling us? Regarding the criticism that WWP's portrayal of veterans in the past overemphasized traumatic wounds and veterans in need of lifelong help and support, Linnington said the organization's advertising approach is now different. SVA leaders joined WWP at the White House in April for the latter organization's 12th annual warrior ride. 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. From so much bad came some good, as the military medical health care system was reorganized. In the wake of the charity's scandal, Wounded Warrior Project not only ousted its two top executive officers but also slimmed its executive staff by 50 percent overall. Perpetuating the myth that the worth of a nonprofit organization boils down to what it spends on overhead is simply indefensible. He said you better do this or you are going to look disloyal to the organization, Mr. Chick said. 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.