As The Cookie Crumbles

A few years back, after the original founder of Wounded Warriors passed away, there was a noticeable uptick in the television advertising for the non-profit. I noticed this one afternoon when it seemed that every other commercial was for the foundation and I wondered out loud that certainly no national television network, no matter how generous they are, could afford to donate that much commercial time to a single organization. And so started my quest to learn more about this foundation.

There was plenty of smoke and flame about them, but the one thing that really caught my attention was the fervor in which the organization attacked any of their critiques. Not just verbal, but incredible over the top legal threats and actual legal action towards anyone that said anything negative about them in more than a private setting. And there was the distribution of funds. The most noteworthy foundations for vets distributes 80-90% of their funds directly to the benefit of the veterans. Wounded Warriors has been at 60%.

This evening the CBS news report finally reported their findings from a long standing investigation. That report showed many lavish parties, extraordinary expenses, and a long line of former employee’s that confirmed it all; some of which that were so terrified of the organization they would not even show their faces for fear of retaliation. The only spokesperson for the organization refused to answer any direct questions and only towed the line with the same double speak we have come to expect from too many similar organizations and political figures that don’t like being put on the spot.

My word of caution to each of you is to research any organization to send money too. If they seem to be running too many TV commercials, check them out. If it smells a bit fishy, it probably is and be especially suspicious of those that require a minimal donation or “membership”. That’s a sure sign of a scam and there are far too many legitimate organizations out there that will put the money where it belongs. And lastly, find out what their CEO is being paid. Those organizations that are truly all about the cause they claim will have a modestly paid leader and a lot of low pay, no pay people giving of themselves the way we would expect.

In these times of less that wonderful jobs and benefits, we need to make sure that our hard earned money goes where we want it, not to another bunch of hucksters that only want to line their own pockets.