Wounded Warrior Project’s Spending Under Critical Scrutiny

February 3, 2016

As reported by CBS News in its three-part investigation, The Wounded Warrior Project is being criticized for the amount it actually spends on projects that benefit veterans, for which the charity has raised nearly a billion dollars since 2003. As many as 40 former employees were interviewed by CBS News and roundly criticized the Project for wasteful spending practices and not living up to its mission of serving the needs of veterans. For example, since the current CEO took office in 2009, the Project’s conferences and meetings expenditures increased from $1.7 million in 2010 to $26 million in 2014. Although the Project claims its spends 80% of their donations on veterans’ programs, only 54% to 60% of such funds actually reach wounded service members after promotional items, advertising and shipping/postage costs are subtracted, according to CBS News. In 2014, the CEO was paid $496,415, which is not out of line with similarly-sized charities according to the news report. In addition, the charity has a large $248 million surplus, which CharityWatch, a charity evaluator, argues should be spent more on veterans programs. Because of these findings, Charity Navigator, another independent charity evaluator, placed the Project on its Watchlist.

The Project has objected to the findings, posting a statement to its website referring to CBSNews’s “false news reports” and, according to the above news reports, is a vocal critic of charity evaluators like CharityWatch and Charity Navigator. According to The Washington Post, the Project has promised a “thorough financial and policy review.”

Nicholas Mirkay