Book Review: Wounded Charity: Lessons from the Wounded Warrior Project Crisis

Wounded Charity: Lessons From the Wounded Warrior Project Crisis. Doug White. Paragon House Publishing.

Editor’s Note:  Not all charities use the money they receive from donations for that actual purpose of the charity, be it to help veterans, animals, feed the poor, etc.  Some of these charities have a large corporate system behind or in front of it.  People work for these charities and not all work for free.  If you want to donate to “help” do a little background work and find out how much of your dollar will be spent on the actual reason you are donating.  If you are only donating a small amount of money this may not be as important to you.  Large donations should be investigated because the reason for donating is to help whomever or whatever is going to be saved/helped….correct?

The charity, Wounded Warrior Project, which was devoted to helping post 9/11 military veterans, came under fire in 2016. Wounded Charity looks at the way the Wounded Warrior Project reacted to negative media coverage and what led up to this attention. The author researched what actually occurred and thoroughly describes the scandal. Doug White’s analysis discloses that the allegations were mostly untrue and how these actions affected this charity. You will also find an analysis of what media uses when covering news of the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors. This author also makes a point that the WWP serves wounded warriors in ways that the government does not.

The author uses material that was never addressed before, such as documentation from the charity during and after the crisis, and discussions and interviews with some former members of the charity’s board, executive staff, beneficiaries, and those who generated and published the information that damaged the charity. You will learn how charities respond to crisis.

Wounded Charity dissects the effort to downgrade one of America’s charities, and what this means for all charities. You will learn how WWP came to be so profoundly criticized and why much of this criticism was groundless. You will also view how board members failed to do their job.

The reader will learn about the Wounded Warrior Project crisis as you gain insight into:

• What the media got wrong
• What WWP’s board did wrong
• What charity evaluators get wrong
• What the public should know
• The lasting effects of the crisis

About the author: Doug White is a philanthropy adviser and a long-time leader in the nation’s philanthropic community. He has advised hundreds of charities of all types and sizes. He works closely with select organizations, as well as with individual philanthropists who want to see their gifts used most effectively. He is the former academic director of Columbia University’s Master of Science in Fundraising Management Program, He has also taught graduate courses in board governance, ethics, ad fund-raising. He serves as a board member of the Secular Coalition of America and as co-chair of the Walter Cronkite Committee of the FoolProof Foundation.

Carol Duff, MSN, BA, RN

Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.

She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.

• Carol’s Archives 2009-2013