Veterans

Wounded Warrior Project's top execs reportedly fired amid lavish spending scandal


http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/10/wounded-warrior-projects-top-execs-reportedly-fired-amid-lavish-spending-scandal.html?intcmp=hpbt1/
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The two top executives of the Wounded Warrior Project — among the largest veterans charities in the country — were fired Thursday after an investigation into accusations of lavish spending on parties, hotel and travel, CBS News reported.

Wounded Warrior Project's CEO, Steven Nardizzi, and COO, Al Giordano, were fired by the charity's board amid criticisms about how it spends more than $800 million raised in donations in the past four years, CBS News reported.The charity's board of directors made their decision after a meeting in New York City, where they received preliminary results of a financial and policy audit, sources told CBS News.

The charity came under fire after an earlier CBS News investigation in January revealed large amounts of spending on administration, meetings, and travel.

Army Staff Sergeant Erick Millette, who returned from Iraq in 2006 with a bronze star and a purple heart, told CBS News at the time he admired the charity’s work and took a job with the group in 2014 but quit after two years.

"Their mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors, but what the public doesn't see is how they spend their money," he said.

Millette said he witnessed lavish spending on staff, with big “catered” parties.

"Going to a nice fancy restaurant is not team building. Staying at a lavish hotel at the beach here in Jacksonville, and requiring staff that lives in the area to stay at the hotel is not team building," he told CBS News.

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.

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.

"He rappelled down the side of a building at one of the all hands events. He's come in on a Segway, he's come in on a horse,” one employee told CBS News.

About 500 staff members attended the four-day conference in Colorado, which CBS News reported cost about $3 million.

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.

The two "execs" should be lynched.

It is a disgrace , an insult & a crime. angry:

So sad. I thought the charity was better than this.

ROTTEN

Wounded Warrior Project Spent $250,000 on Candy and Even More on Gimmicks

03.11.161

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/11/wounded-warrior-project-spent-250-000-on-candy-and-even-more-on-gimmicks.html/

The Wounded Warrior Project’s board of directors fired the charity’s chief executive officer and chief operating officer Thursday following years of scandal and suspect management.

Chief Executive Officer Steven Nardizzi and Chief Operating Officer Al Giordano were fired Thursday, CBS News first reported.

The board of directors has hired external legal counsel and forensic accountants to provide an independent review of allegations in the media, the organization said in a Thursday press release. “The review also found that some policies, procedures and controls at WWP have not kept pace with the organization’s rapid growth in recent years and are in need of strengthening,” the charity acknowledged.

The massive charity spent lavishly on snacks, company retreats, and more, whistleblowers told The Daily Beast. The charity had a quarter-million-dollar annual budget for candy and soda, and spent untold sums on staff field trips and elaborately produced music videos promoting executives.

The Wounded Warrior Project raised more than $340 million in 2014, making it one of the largest veterans’ charities in America. Its ubiquitous television commercials and product placement made it a household name, leading many Americans to donate to the group, thinking the vast majority of their contributions would go toward helping veterans.

Instead, less than 60 percent of the charity’s funds went directly to veterans’ programs (top-rated charities routinely spend more than 90 percent on programming). Meanwhile, Nardizzi collected an annual salary of more than $470,000.

Loads more was spent on staff. The charity spent some $250,000 a year on snacks and soda, according to an email from a senior executive. The email, provided by a source, was sent as part of a discussion about whether the charity’s employees were gaining weight thanks to all the junk food. Emails reveal that the organization spent more than $46,000 on snacks at its Jacksonville, Florida, headquarters in summer 2015.

The Wounded Warrior Project’s staff burned off some of those calories in mandatory, bi-weekly “fun” outings, which included scavenger hunts, walking tours, room-escape challenges, costume contests, bowling events, go-karting, and “laughter yoga”—all, according to two sources, at donors’ expense.

“I think it’s disgusting,” Erick Millette, a former Wounded Warrior Project employee, told The Daily Beast. “It’s not team-building. You don’t learn anything about your teammates, you don’t learn anything about how to better serve—you just have a good time at donors’ expense, you have a good meal, and then everyone drinks.”

Millette was in the U.S. Army for more than 11 years, including a 2006 tour in Iraq where he was wounded and subsequently received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. The veteran worked for the charity as a Warrior Speaks spokesperson, sharing his story with audiences around the country. Millette said he quit out of disgust, accepting a pay cut because he “didn’t feel we were making an impact or providing the services we said we were providing.”

The Wounded Warrior Project has also been criticized for programs that don’t meet the needs of veterans, holding events that don’t address the core challenges that come with leaving military service. In a December 2015 conference call with staff, a transcript of which was provided to The Daily Beast, National Alumni Director Ryan Kules explained in detail the sorts of programs that were underway.

“In Minnesota this week family members will enjoy a haircut and relaxation-based spa service of their choice… in Anchorage, 25 alumni and their families will attend a local Fairbanks presentation of the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Thirty-five warriors and guests will spend the evening working on their bowling scores… in Colorado Springs. They’ll enjoy a meal during the game and have time afterwards for laser tag and arcade games…

The worst of this, is that this sort of behavior and it's discovery, usually leads to the near collapse of the originally worthy endeavor.

It also, by the way, should be added to the list of reasons why people who tell you that everything should be privatized, and done by independent corporations, should be tied to trees and used for target practice. At least for water balloon target practice.

Hhhaaa ..
Balloons.. Get your balloons here..

No surprise really this charity has been under the gun for the last couple of years. Saying that the bulk of the money does not go to the Vet's.

There should be a law of how much Charity's should have to actually donate in order to be a charity... Many of them a very small percent goes to the cause...

While the CEO's and other enjoy all that money donated~~

Another reason you always research before you donate... There are a lot of really good ones to donate too that actually help the vets..

No worries, just reroute your money to the D.A.V. over 90% of donations go to Wounded American Warriors. It has actual veterans running it.

And it's been established a long long time ago. Checkit. DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS

Probably many more like this one.

Here checkit out.
The Disabled American Veterans, or DAV, is an organization chartered by the United States Congress for disabled military veterans of the United States Armed Forces that helps them and their families through various means. Wikipedia

DAV.GOV