Without them knowing, I will buy breakfast at my coffee shop for the men in fatigues from time to time, I always tell the shop employes to tell them after I leave and not who did it....

I really want to help in another way, and want to make sure the funds, a majority of the funds, like in the 90% range, go to the intended purpose.  Is the WWP the organization to donate to?  I am asking because I do not know and I have heard some people around say they are not, but based on the amount of TV time I see on them, seems to be a real worthy cause...

Not that I trust the Hollywood crowd, but they seem to be behind them.  I have not though seen Gary Sinese on any commercials and I know he is dedicated to the service men.

Thanks,

77

There are many other less well known organizations with much better credentials and statistics.

I like the Green Beret Foundation. Do some homework and find a good one.

I chose Fisher House, Special Operations Warrior Foundation, and one other I can't think of at the moment. They all have less overhead than WWP.
 

This.

WWP's overhead has raised more than a few questions and turned many people off.  The guys here can recommend some quality charities.

Semper Fi Fund is my personal favorite but there are:

DVA (Disabled Veterans of America)
Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society
Toys for Tots
TAPS
VFW
American Legion
Homes for Our Troops
Azalea Foundation
Something "Run For the Towers" or "Tunnels" (I can't remember the name but Sinise actually played a charity for them)
USO!!! (Almost forgot them!)

WWP is all about the celebrities, that's why you always see them in the commercials.  And they have a battery of lawyers they sic on any other charitable org with the nerve to use the words "Wounded Warrior" in their name.

Heroes and Horses is a great one as well.

+1

V
OUT

This is a major black hole of bad behavior....people can start tax-advantaged "charity" orgs with sympathetic marketing slogans while giving themselves and friends and family cushy jobs. The "accounting" is delayed for long periods, so by the time anyone notices it's been going on for years.

I've heard WWP accused of this.

There is a site called Charity Navigator, and some others like it, to dig into this stuff. Also google "form 990" and a charity's name.

Head of ww is a lawyer raking in substantial pay.  Actually all the officers gave very plush offices and nice digs


I donate to others.

I remember Melia and his friends starting it and meeting them at SHOT.

They got too big like Blackhawk did, my guess. Disgusting and sad.

V
OUT

Yep. I was offered to do some work for some kind of disease charity... Dude was suckering people into paying for his shit.

I am an "Alumni" of WWP. Not sure how other than I'm 100 percent VA disabled and an Afghan vet..I mean I didn't apply or anything. I keep getting coffee cups and shit from them in the mail and offers for free tickets to games etc. Don't get me wrong, this is nice for most young vets. I am retired and pretty well off financially and dont really need their trinkets. I'd rather them help my younger brethern who ..cant get jobs?? This is like the IRA or Mafia, once in...never out.

This, hell if you watch that FFDP video wrong side of heaven the last 2 to 3 minutes is just charaties that you could donate to.

DAV is the one I usually donate to.

I used to support WW, but no longer. A few years back they rejected an interview on Gun Talk because the content was "related to firearms."  When they saw the uproar that followed they immediately tried to backtrack to save their asses, but it was too late. I along with thousands of others (vets and non) told them to go fuck themselves... hard. There was a lot of other bad press about them also, like huge salaries for higher ups etc.

The wife and I have been donating to DAV for years - long before WWP came along. They seem to have their act together. Not that they need to, but they also send me little tokens of appreciation and swag like return address stamps with patriotic themes. When it comes to vet charities, they get my money.

Fisher house is a really good program that helps service members and their families during medical emergencies.

I think I recall this when it came up.  I donate to the Ranger Rosary group at our church. These wonderful ladies make rosaries out of para cord that are fantastic.  I do think after more research and the comments here, that there are other organizations that are better dedicated to getting the help to our men and women in uniform, than the WWP.  DAV being the one that seems to be more efficient and dedicated.

Thanks for the replies...

77
Not a vet, but very concerned

In a word no, the WWP will never see another dime of my money.  I used to work with a guy who is one of their poster children now.  He flys all around the country for "games" and other none sense.  The story of how he was "wounded" has gone from an injury on a fob to being part of a special ops mission .  Moreover , in half of his pictures he is in a wheelchair and the other half he is walking around.  That doesn't even have anything to do with their gigantic overhead and six figure salaries for the execs.

http://www.silentwarriorscholarshipfund.com/

In their defense, if they have a trademark on Wounded Warrior they have a responsibility to defend it. The reason anyone and everyone can use the term Pilates to make a buck is because when the trademark owners sued someone over the term, the people being sued were able to demonstrate they had a history of not properly protecting their trademark, so they lost rights to their own trademark.

That being said, I prefer to send my charitable money to Fisher House.

American Snpers.org is a good one too as all the money they get in goes to fund gear for shooters overseas. Good people with a solid mission.

+1
Heavenly Hooves

I've seen them get triple amputees riding horses.  Brought tears to my eyes.
http://abcnews.go.com/News/wounded-marine-vet-helps-other-vets-through-equine-therapy/blogEntry?id=21017641

I was medevaced home. During the trip we were first flown into landstuhl Germany. During this stop someone came out from the WWP and gave us blankets and goodies and took a lot of pictures with all of us. Nothing more. Then we landed stateside at Andrews and were brought to Bethesda. There another person came from wwp and gave out shirts and took pictures. Two surgeries and tons of physical therapy later I saw WWP all the time. Showing up to events other charities or individuals held and giving out merchandise and taking pictures. They are a brand and they did nothing for us. The best people for helping us though weren't any of the charities. It was local businesses coming to the hospital with better food. Retirees coming with therapy dogs, or several locals just taking us somewhere nice to fish while we healed. The Fischer house is my big exception to this. They helped out the families of the injured to get to them. Which means so much. This may sound like a weird thing to say but a fallen service members family receives some sizeable benefits. Mine was set up where my wife would receieve 500k, my full education benefits, and our kid would receive free in state tuition. This wouldn't have made it easier to deal with the loss, but if you see an organization claiming to help the families of fallen service members do some research into what they are actually doing for them.

Damn.

Thanks for posting. Hope everything's working out for the best.

I would recommend the veterans assistance foundation.  They have two programs, both of which I have taken advantage of.

The first is a homeless program in which you stay at their facility.  It is a program, not a home.  You live there, and are not kicked out into the street during the day.  They do their best to find you a job or get you back on your feet however they can.  I was homeless for about two months while my disability claim was being processed (it took longer than that-that was how long it took for my money to run out)

The second is an at risk program-they basically pay your first months rent and deposit if you are at risk of being homeless.

Wounded EOD warrior foundation.  I donate to them annually.

Ive seen enough buddies get seriously messed up and seen which organizations actually help and who only show up for a photo op to hand out free T-shirts with their logo.

Screw Wounded Warrior Project.