My Nonprofit Reviews

In the fiscal year ending 9/2013, WWP took in almost $235 million. Of that, it spent only $91 million on its programs - that is, on wounded warriors. It spent $57.7 million on fundraising, with of course a decent chunk of that going to the fundraising companies. Another $9 million went for administrative expenses. Its executive director scooped up $375,000 (including a 50% bonus) and the next top 10 execs made between $160K and $360K - again with bonuses greater than the annual incomes of many of the wounded warriors they claim to be helping. All told, of that $235 million, WWP spent $158 million. Do the math - $77 million left over! I don't doubt the organization does some good work, but with that kind of income it should be doing a lot more. I'm both saddened and hopeful for the wounded warriors I see in WWP's heart-tugging ads, and sickened by the knowledge that too many people are riding to riches on their backs. This kind of self-dealing is all too common in charities today - since when did it become normal for the CEO of a charity to make hundreds of thousands or even a million bucks a year? The pay scales are just another example of the infiltration of the Wall Street mentality into American charities (and hospitals, and universities, ad nauseam). For those at the top, charity work is not about charity but a lucrative career path. Shameful.