I was just thinking about this charity the other day and wondering what percentage actually goes to help wounded warriors. Thank you for the info!

I have read that the Salvation Army is the only charity that gives close to 100%.

I can’t get enthused about the Wounded Warrior or any other similar group. It is a shame so many have died and suffered lifelong injuries for themselves and their families by being, what I have to say is, sucked into the patriotism mentality and fighting wars for politicians. The U.S. has not even been involved with a war authorized by the Constitution since World War II, and even that was a poorly thought out endeavor.

I feel particularly sorry for those drafted and told either fight to the death for us or we kill you. They had no choice. And that was here in the land of the free. Something to keep in mind on July 4.

But even those who were not drafted, Pat Tillman, for example, went to war with some sort of emotional drive to serve the country without thinking through if they were, in fact, serving the country. After losing hundreds of thousands to death injuries in Vietnam war, now it is a tourist destination. Exactly what did those casualties do for the U.S.?

I think Saint-Exupéry, in “Wind, Sand and Stars,” in 1939 explained it well:

“With more or less awareness, all men feel the need to come alive. But most of the methods suggested for bringing this about are snares and delusions. Men can of course be stirred into life by being dressed up in uniform and made to blare out chants of war. It must be confessed that this is one way for men to break bread with comrades and to find what they are seeking, which is a sense of something universal, of self-fulfilment. But of this bread men die.

“It is easy to dig up wooden idols and revive ancient and more or less workable myths like Pan-Germanism or the Roman Empire. The Germans can intoxicate themselves with the intoxication of being Germans and compatriots of Beethoven. A stoker in the hold of a freighter can be made drunk with this drink. What is more difficult is to bring up a Beethoven out of the stokehold. These idols, in sum, are carnivorous idols. The man who dies for the progress of science or the healing of the sick serves life in his very dying. It may be glorious to die for the expansion of territory, but modern warfare destroys what it claims to foster. The day is gone when men sent life coursing through the veins of a race by the sacrifice of a little blood. War carried on by gas and bombing is no longer war, it is a kind of bloody surgery.

“Each side settles down behind a concrete wall and finds nothing better to do than to send forth, night after night, squadrons of planes to bomb the guts of the other side, blow up its factories, paralyze its production, and abolish its trade. Such a war is won by him who rots last but in the end both rot together.

“In a world become a desert we thirst for comradeship. It is the savor of bread broken with comrades that makes us accept the values of war. But there are other ways than war to bring us the warmth of a race, shoulder to shoulder, towards an identical goal. War has tricked us.”

Sounds like he should really make $300K anally!

I too, donated heavily to this charity,. It was sponsored by our company, and they Marine Corporal, with god-awful burns presented to us to show the value.

Very irritating that this, like many other charities, are really just the leadership begging, using needy icons for sympathy!

Thanks for the info!

The Wounded Warriors Project has a great name. It also has a great commercial with the mellow bass voice of Trace Atkins talking and singing while showing recovering limbless soldiers. Who wouldn't be moved? I have thought about a contribution to them. I will no longer even think about it.

I've been back and forth on The Wounded Warrior Project. I've heard and read they do okay and then that it’s really for some executives and their friends. Seems a majority of charities have great staffs with CEO's to run the business and them and their friends can draw some pretty nice salaries. After all you need the talent to pull in the money in any business is the theory. But 50% plus or minus of the proceeds going to the cause doesn't particularly excite me in the least. FOX and many, many, other stations carry a lot of commercials for WWP, almost as many as the commercial for vehicle insurance by the weirdo in the white uniform. I had that insurance a long time ago and dropped them after a dispute. Their advertising budgets have to be tremendous. Could not insurance cost a lot less money without the constant advertising every hour of every day on every station?

The government, through the VA, helps wounded warriors, but in many cases it is not enough. I was having some issues a few years ago so was advised to go to the VA and sign up on the Agent Orange Registry. That got me a complete physical and psychological evaluation. They found issues but in order to get VA Medical to address them I had to file a claim for service related issues which they determine are disabilities. I got a partial disability rating which gives me a fair monthly tax free income, plus I get VA Medical and drug coverage for a very small co-pay. This is more than enough for most wounded warriors but there are others that need much more. That’s where a real charity can help.

I believe a charity should be run by a CEO, someone who has already proven their ability to lead and to make money for the organization, someone that has already made their own fortune in a legitimate position and might actually not draw a salary at all, or draw a minimal salary, say one dollar a year. Someone like Mitt Romney, or even the guy with the funny hair that’s running for president now, would make perfect candidates to run a big charity. They could get their rich friends to help with the administration.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) buys those little VFW Buddy Poppies out of their own funds, not from the donation money, and offers them to the public a couple times a year. My Post for example pulls in some pretty healthy cash donations which go into a fund that is given out to needy vets and or their families. 100% of the money goes out to help the vets. No one gets a cut, no one gets a wage, the administrators are all (usually vets) volunteers. There are other charities that benefit veterans as well at a low cost for overhead. So I would say when you see someone giving out those poppies, be generous. I was privileged with my daughter to sit in front of a market one Memorial Day and give out those poppies. We did not sell them and anyone that wanted one got one, no donation necessary. It was a great feeling for me when someone came by and stuffed a hundred dollar bill in the can and didn’t even want the poppy. It was a great feeling to see many people putting in 20’s, 10, 5’s, even 1’s, and some kids giving their change. One told me that I shouldn’t be thanking him as he thanked me while stuffing the can. I know where my donations will go in their entirety to the cause. The VFW helps local veterans directly as well, no overhead. There are others that are way above the fifty percent's.

If we can get a new definition for marriage, I’m sure we should be able to redefine charity too. Personally I just don’t think 50% qualifies as a charity. Gotta go, going to the 4th of July Parade in Kirkland, WA in a couple hours. And yesterday the pipe between the house and the street broke, so no water in the house. It will be Monday before it can be replaced. Why does this always happen on a Friday, and usually on a Friday before a holiday?

They spend money suing people who criticize them.

They are currently sitting in almost $250,000,000 in assets (donation siting that are not being used) and in the last reporting year they have an excess of $100,000,000 in money they raised versus what went to "projects".

Also, the WW project is also anti-gun ownership. I stopped supporting them when I found out about this 2 years ago. Very sad for the true heroes...

This organization is also anti firearms. In know this first hand because of where my husband works. The company was going to donate a substantial amount of money, but WWP wouldn't accept it because it was coming from a firearms manufacturer. (Also, the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation wouldn't take a donation for the same reason. I have stopped giving them money, because I own firearms. They think that some women who get breast cancer don't shoot?!?).

My dad was a troop carrier pilot in WWII and saw a lot of front line duty. He said that the only charity he would consider giving to was the Salvation army. They were always as close as possible to the fighting and never asked the soldiers to pay for anything. They are a class act.

Thank You, Allo, for the help, here!!! . I have been supporting

Gary Sinise;;; where can we get data for Gary? -- j

p.s. OK. . I just joined charity navigator and got access

to Gary's foundation's IRS forms. . after accounting for the

fact that they list the building of special homes for wounded

vets as "expenses," he's spending more than 64 percent on

the vets. . the Lieutenant Dan Band is in there for expenses,

but I couldn't pull it out. . I will write them.

p.p.s. another to which I donate is Mission of Hope, for children

in appalachia. . their percentage is 92 percent. . WoW.

.

I knew a musician who was raised in the Church of the Salvation Army. He had a lot to say about their religious conditioning; none of it was good.

I think the Salvation Army is a lot better from the outside than from the inside.

Jan

Please, dear Allosaur, don't take this the wrong way, but you inadvertently gave me a good guffaw when you caused a couple of weird pictures to pop into my head. "The CEO makes $300,000 anally." I pictured him leaning over a spacious desk as his secretary shoved money up his butt. Then, in the article, there was a references to the "vase majority." How many vases in a majority? One needs to ponder.

Thanks

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12842#.VZf39LyCg_g

According to this site they spend 60% on projects. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12842#.VZdBAGdFB6o

I don't know how that stacks up against other charities.

Isn't that just grand. Just like the Red Cross.

Good find, Allosaur! Thanks for posting,

I'm not big on giving money to charities that don't get results. Which means that alongside the two warring O-people camps (I donate to both monthly,) I give money regularly to the Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue, WA - http://www.saf.org/

The only veterans' group I donate to regularly is the Gary Sinise Foundation. 'Don't know what percentage of donations get through to vets, but I'm thinking that as a successful actor Mr. Sinise isn't a likely scammer, and in addition to being a genuinely nice guy, he plays a mean bass. 8^] He's also got some nice SWAG, proceeds from which also go to his Foundation:
http://www.garysinisefoundation.org/
.

Charity Navigator gives WWP and 84% based on their standards. I usually check any charity I give to through them. It gives me an independent and fair view to go by. I also KNOW wounded vets that have received real help from WWP and my warrior son (still active duty) veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots is also a giver to WWP, so some of the speculation in the comments section of this page seem unfair. They DO have a high (34%) fund raising cost but that might be justified to keep it in the public eye as the needs of the vets continues even as the wars they fought and the country they served end and the military goes into temporary downsizing. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12842#.VZkoRflVhBc

A good place to check on charities before you decide is http://www.charitynavigator.org/

According to their information, the expenses breakdown for Wounded Warrior Project is 34% fundraising, 6.1% Administrative, leaving 59.9% for Program Expenses.

Contrast that with Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust, which spends 96.5% for Program Expenses. See http://cst.dav.org/

You might also consider Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a charity providing support and assistance to active and reserve personnel serving in the U.S. Special Operations Command and their families. It has Program Expenses of 85.4%. See http://www.specialops.org/

Giving to a charity where 85 to 97 cents of every dollar I donate goes to those in need makes more sense to me than giving to the highly touted Wounded Warrior Project....

shame on you Sean Hannity. another overpaid useful idiot

Charity Navigator gives them a pretty good rating. They say that 59.9% goes to programs, 34% goes to fundraising and 6% administrative. Its right to be concerned about how our hard earned $$ are spent however these numbers are reasonable when you look at good charities.