Wounded Warrior Execs Spending Lavishly On...Themselves?

The Wounded Warrior Project is closely aligned with golf through programs, formerly with the PGA Tour's Birdies for the Brave and mostly through the efforts of many players to raise money for the group. Jordan Spieth made a major 2014 contribution to the group. (The PGA Tour has not given money to the project for three years according to a tour spokesman.)

And while I'm not entirely comfortable questioning lavish spending by those doing the difficult task of fundraising, a New York Times special report posted by Dave Phillipps raises troubling questions. Especially since the bulk of the Jacksonville, Florida non-profit's funds come--$372 million in 2015 alone--through small donations from people over 65, not through the corporate sector.

Besides mentioning instances of excess spending and targeting of employees who questioned the culture of spending, the story points out that as far as charities go, WWP's spending on overheard is excessive at best.

About 40 percent of the organization’s donations in 2014 were spent on its overhead, or about $124 million, according to the charity-rating group Charity Navigator. While that percentage, which includes administrative expenses and marketing costs, is not as much as for some groups, it is far more than for many veterans charities, including the Semper Fi Fund, a wounded-veterans group that spent about 8 percent of donations on overhead. As a result, some philanthropic watchdog groups have criticized the Wounded Warrior Project for spending too heavily on itself.

Some of its own employees have criticized it, too. During five years with the Wounded Warrior Project, William Chick, a former supervisor, said of the charity, “It slowly had less focus on veterans and more on raising money and protecting the organization.”