Wounded Warrior Project - Anti2A Org

[maverick2076]

I'd suggest your dollars would be put to better use finding a local veterans prgram and donating. I am a member of the Combat Vets Motorcycle Association. When we do our fundraisers here in Houston, they all go to local veterans programs, such as the De Goerge at Union Station. http://www.houscorp.com/housing-for-vet ... ation.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MasterOfNone]

Looks like this story is making news:

http://www.examiner.com/article/wounded ... g-gun-talk

Critical comments on the WWP Facebook page as previously-supportive gun owners discover its anti-gun policy are growing, and the negative sentiment will endanger the good work their organization does if that continues.

“I am distancing myself from WWP due to their stand on firearms,” supporter Rick Bandy wrote. “The magnet you sent me has been removed from my car!”

“Why all of a sudden do you distance yourself from gun owners?” wrote Frank Newingham, formerly of the United States Air Force. “You had no problem from taking money from the Playboy mansion, Ranger Proof and GPI Custom Gunworks, and several hundred thousand from other various major gun manufacturers. If you are running from our rights then you are running from America! I will never give your organization another dime! Everything you get pays your CEO his $300k annual salary anyways. This message is sent by a veteran!!”

And more.

[Chemist45]

The man who won the rifle at last year's LaRue Tactical event announced that he would be raffling it off and the proceeds would go to WWP.
I'm sure they took his money.
I'm also sure I won't be sending any more money to WWP.
$330K for a CEO?
Clearly they don't need my money any more.

[Rex B]

All good information

As for Fisher House, glad to see they are on the "good" list.
They have a way you can transfer your unused frequent flyer miles to them, and I'm about to do that.

[powerboatr]

Geez,

First AARP

Then USAA

And now WWP

Actually I think Leslie is misinterpreting their policy, which clearly states "WWP does not co-brand, create cause marketing campaigns or receive a percentage or a portion of proceeds from companies in which the product or message is sexual, political or religious in nature, or from alcohol or firearms companies."

The policy reads that they do not " . . . receive proceeds from . . . firearms companies." which would make her answer pure nonsense, as an appearance on Tom's show would not be receiving proceeds from firearms companies, which would also indicate to me that she is anti-gun herself and using their policy to advance her personal agenda.

I would suggest escalation above her level.

add progressive insurance to

[powerboatr]

Geez,

First AARP

Then USAA

And now WWP

Actually I think Leslie is misinterpreting their policy, which clearly states "WWP does not co-brand, create cause marketing campaigns or receive a percentage or a portion of proceeds from companies in which the product or message is sexual, political or religious in nature, or from alcohol or firearms companies."

The policy reads that they do not " . . . receive proceeds from . . . firearms companies." which would make her answer pure nonsense, as an appearance on Tom's show would not be receiving proceeds from firearms companies, which would also indicate to me that she is anti-gun herself and using their policy to advance her personal agenda.

I would suggest escalation above her level.

add progressive insurance to the group of unfriendly

[AEA]

It's obvious we need a database with all of these that can be added to and searched (all in one place) as more come to light.

Something like Texas 30.06 com but for Companies that do business with the Public.

[Heartland Patriot]

I emailed them...this is the reply I got in my inbox. Thought I would share it with you folks.

Good evening –

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the situation.

The exchange has brought to light that there are differences in how the issue was handled within Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP).

WWP wholeheartedly supports the Constitution of the United States of America, which includes the Second Amendment. We recognize these are the freedoms our Alumni fought and sacrificed to protect.

WWP has a long history of facilitating therapeutic hunting and outdoor opportunities for Wounded Warriors as well as fundraising activities that involve firearms.

Wounded Warrior Project Executive Director Steve Nardizzi will be on Gun Talk Radio this coming Sunday to set the record straight.

Thank you again for your consideration.

LESLIE A. COLEMAN
public relations director

O: 904.405.1433
M: 904.654.8138
F: 904.296.7347

Wounded Warrior Project
4899 Belfort Road, Suite 300
Jacksonville, Florida 32256

Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
woundedwarriorproject.org

[AEA]

LESLIE A. COLEMAN sounds just like another Susan Rice.........

They got caught ("with their hands in the cookie jar") and are scrambling now......rolling it back!

If anyone listens to that radio show please post the jest of his announcement. If it is not "THE SIGNS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AT ALL WWP PROPERTIES" then it is NOT acceptable.

[E.Marquez]

Dear Sir or Ma'am

Your spin falls on deaf ears.. The true colors of WWP are coming through. WWP, something I, my soldiers, and units I've been in have supported previously..

No more... there are to many GOOD organizational available, ones that don't pay employees 6 figure salaries, donated money that SHOULD be going to the cause, not personal bank accounts.

All of that combined with WWP stance on firearms... You obviously are not interested in my support, nor those I can convince to part ways with your Business.... and that is what it is, a business, not a charity, not a organization to help and support wounded Military members, but a business model that exploits wounder Vets for business profit.

Followed up by them with

Erik, thank you so much for your service, and please extend our thanks to your fellow warriors as well. There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation floating around, so we went ahead and issued a statement about the issue of guns and our organization. I'm pasting it below, as well as some information about our organization's financial information. I hope it is helpful.

We've had a lot of questions recently that started when we declined an opportunity to appear on Gun Talk Radio. We want to clarify and help answer some questions. We have seen through this process that the language on our website and our response to the invitation to appear on the show weren’t clear, and we are working on clarifying our approach. There is now much inaccurate information about WWP being anti-gun rights, an issue as an apolitical organization we do not take a stance on. We understand and appreciate that many of our Alumni are gun owners, and we facilitate multiple hunting and outdoor opportunities for our Wounded Warriors throughout the year.

In the past, we made our logo available to appear on wide variety of products, including guns. As an organization, we owe it to our donors and constituents to maximize the return on investment of our dollars and brand. We are always looking at our business practices and whether we should continue with them in the future. In the case of cobranding, we've decided that we're not going to offer our logo to appear on weapons anymore - whether they're guns, knives, bows, swords, or any other type of weapon. There are still a few of the guns around for sale that had licensed our logo years ago, but there aren't any new ones being made. This is purely a business decision based on a review of a return on investment, especially when compared with other types of cobranding ventures.

Regarding the question of donations and events, we do permit fundraisers that are shooting- and gun-related, such as gun raffles, shooting competitions, etc., and we're incredibly appreciative of those who are willing to give their time to host or participate in an event. Likewise, we gratefully accept donations from companies and individuals connected with the gun industry.

As indicated above, we know that hunting and shooting sporting events can be very therapeutic for many of the Wounded Warriors we serve, and we're happy to work with the community to make these types of events available to our Alumni. Hunting and shooting sport enthusiasts are an incredibly supportive and generous community, and we've been honored by how often folks have opened their land and homes, and volunteered their time to make these types of events possible for our Alumni. We're so sorry if it seemed that we didn't appreciate that support with our confusing communication of a business decision. It certainly wasn't our intention!

I hope this post provides some clarity and helps answer some questions. We welcome the opportunity to have a warrior on Gun Talk Radio to discuss how hunting or events of the like have supported their recovery. We responded too quickly to his request and should have delved a bit deeper.

We're proud of our organization, and we stand behind our fundraising efforts. WWP continuously strives to keep administrative and fundraising costs associated with the operation of WWP as low as possible. Based on our fiscal year 2011 audited financial statements ending September 30, 2011, 82.8 percent of total expenditures went to provide services and programs for Wounded Warriors and their families. To view all of our financials, please visit http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/mi ... cials.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. WWP is accredited as meeting the 20 rigorous standards of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. We follow the BBB because we believe they have the most complete standards for charity governance, accountability and effectiveness. That is evidenced by the fact that other rating agencies such as Charity Navigator are revising their standards to be more consistent with BBB’s. Compensation for the organization’s Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director are set following IRS rules and are determined by an independent compensation committee of the Board of Directors. They look at comparison data from other nonprofits who are of like size and scope, industry wide surveys, and our annual performance to determine appropriate salary. Our salaries are consistent with industry standards. Wounded Warrior Project leads the industry in reporting publicly on the effectiveness of our programs. We have updated the "Mission" section on the WWP website to include easy to read program metrics and statistics. This is a great visual resource showcasing WWP and the impact our programs and services have on the Wounded Warriors and families we serve. You can go to: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/mi ... serve.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to see the impact we are making.

I don't doubt the do accomplish some good, I have work on some of there projects, road marched for the cause, seen the smiles on some wounded vets faces as they are provided day trip to Six Flags...

My concern is, they do just enough (spend just enough money on PR events) to "sell" the charity, and as they have clearly stated several times, WWP is a business. And Business decisions are made, to further the company.

Perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps the company CEO and his managers are running the Org LIKE a for profit business, so they can in turn use those monies collected to further support the cause.. .. and if it takes paying a CEO 6 figures to be able to run a successful ORG and put millions into the cause supporting wounded warriors then,well, ok...

All of that works so long as the latest PR spin from Executive Director Steve Nardizzi, is true and an actually part of the company model.

[AEA]

"hunting and shooting sporting............hunting and shooting sporting............hunting and shooting sporting"..........etc.

See anything there about LEGAL Licensed Personal Defense?

See anything there about the 30.06 signs on their properties?

Typical Leftist rhetoric....talk about any and all you can except to address the real subject.

[C-dub]

LESLIE A. COLEMAN sounds just like another Susan Rice.........

They got caught ("with their hands in the cookie jar") and are scrambling now......rolling it back!

If anyone listens to that radio show please post the jest of his announcement. If it is not "THE SIGNS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AT ALL WWP PROPERTIES" then it is NOT acceptable.

Removing the 30.06 signs would be a good first step. Reducing the percentage they spend on overhead like salaries would be another huge step. I guess I could give them a little leeway on the amount spent on fundraising depending on how much they do raise. Spending more on fundraising to gain more donations isn't as bad as spending $320k/year to the CEO in my opinion.

[E.Marquez]

LESLIE A. COLEMAN sounds just like another Susan Rice.........

They got caught ("with their hands in the cookie jar") and are scrambling now......rolling it back!

If anyone listens to that radio show please post the jest of his announcement. If it is not "THE SIGNS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AT ALL WWP PROPERTIES" then it is NOT acceptable.

Removing the 30.06 signs would be a good first step. Reducing the percentage they spend on overhead like salaries would be another huge step. I guess I could give them a little leeway on the amount spent on fundraising depending on how much they do raise. Spending more on fundraising to gain more donations isn't as bad as spending $320k/year to the CEO in my opinion.

If the other issues can be fixed, I can live with a CEO getting paid $319K, if he (she) is capable of running a Org that can build, collect, and donate
more then 89,000,000.00 to wounded warriors.

Top paid..
RONALD W. BURGESS
CFO $126,015. Plus $16,131.
STEVEN NARDIZZI
CEO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR $319,692. Plus $21,118.
BRUCE NITSCHE
EVP, SPECIAL PROJECTS $135,678. Plus $10,313.
JOHN ROBERTS
EVP, MENTAL HEALTH $140,350. Plus $22,136.
RALPH J IBSON
SENIOR FELLOW $151,125. Plus $16,319.
CHRISTINE HILL
EVP, CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS $146,250. Plus $16,900.
VICTORIA NEMERSON
EVP, GENERAL COUNSEL $157,303. Plus $12,150.

You can see all that and more on http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/mi ... cials.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jimlongley]

We've had a lot of questions recently that started when we declined an opportunity to appear on Gun Talk Radio. We want to clarify and help answer some questions. We have seen through this process that the language on our website and our response to the invitation to appear on the show weren’t clear, and we are working on clarifying our approach. There is now much inaccurate information about WWP being anti-gun rights, an issue as an apolitical organization we do not take a stance on. We understand and appreciate that many of our Alumni are gun owners, and we facilitate multiple hunting and outdoor opportunities for our Wounded Warriors throughout the year.

Did anyone else see a clarification? I sure didn't: I saw an explanation about co-branding, which is not the topic; and I saw nothing specific about "guns and our organization" only hunting and shooting sports.

The $300k plus salaries are not much of a surprise, all of these organizations use the same excuse, that they need to pay what the others pay in order to secure good management. This always sounds like an excuse to me, rather than a reason, and also always leads me to question the dedication of their management. Do any of our forum administrators garner such high wages for their work?

Sounds like an anti-gun organization that is seeing its revenue stream suddenly cut off and is saying "feel good" words to placate us.

Unless and until I see a definitive "We unequivocally support the Right to Keep and Bear Arms." statement they are not getting another cent from me.

[AEA]

Unless and until I see a definitive "We unequivocally support the Right to Keep and Bear Arms." statement they are not getting another cent from me.

AND remove all 30.06 (and other types for other States) from ALL of their Properties! The Main point that they keep overlooking........