Steven Nardizzi, the $319k/year Executive Director of Wounded Warrior Project, fumbled badly out of the gate in his efforts to diffuse the brouhaha over his group’s refusal to participate on Gun Talk Radio last weekend on Veteran’s Day.
The whole disaster was spurred when their communications director declined the invitation to promote WWP on Gun Talk Radio because of the gun-related content of the nationally syndicated radio show.
Late last week, WWP announced their executive director would appear on Gresham’s show to clarify the WWP position, in addition to offering some weaselese language that they respected everyone’s right to their rights to gun ownership – sorta like President Obama begins his self-description. “I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, but…”
Nardizzi, for being so well-paid, utterly fumbled.
He tried to spin his way out of the mess but only managed to spin himself in deeper, offering all sorts of weak excuses why WWP couldn’t partner with gun-related sponsors. He cited sponsorships with cyclists and how WWP had cut back on those sponsorships because of some sort of inferior return on investment.
Gresham pressed Nardizzi, saying that WWP had even changed language on their website from firearms to the more incendiary word “weapon”.
Nardizzi offered every excuse imaginable, but in the end Gresham pinned him down as saying that while gun owners are absolutely welcome to send money to WWP, they could not use the logo.
Gresham said that sounds an awful lot like WWP not wanting to associate with gun owners. “We’ll take your money, but we don’t want to be seen with you,” Gresham said, paraphrasing him.
Nardizzi tried to deny this, but it was a lost cause to anyone with half a lick of common sense and intelligence.
“We’ll take your money and you can do fundraisers for us, but we won’t let you use our logo!” Tom says, mocking Nardizzi’s attempts to spin the truth.
My personal response to hearing this:
I walked outside and found my Wounded Warrior Project T-shirt – the one I had worn with pride to a host of events as Guns Save Life’s president and elsewhere – had spontaneously combusted out on the parking lot. It was the darndest thing. What are the odds? I sure am glad I wasn’t in that shirt when it went up, because that nice Under Armor fabric melted rather badly.
All kidding aside, I won’t be promoting WWP – not even one little bit – from here on out.
The DeWitt County Sportsmen’s Club probably won’t be donating to Wounded Warrior next year either, as they donated $300 last month as part of their first annual Zombie Shoot.
UPDATE: When I returned from putting out the fire, Gresham had dumped Nardizzi and was speaking with the founder of Marine Parents.com.
How can a group be non-profit and help those who truly need it by paying the head 240,000 dollars more than he is worth. Maybe they should get an executive officer that cares more about those he is trying to help instead of lining his pockets with those funds!
Go to http://guidestar.org
Search for “Wounded Warrior Project”
Pull up their Form 990 (registration required, darn it).
Review. If you have questions, contact WWP. Make a decision that best fits your views.
Charity Navigator is another site where one can find financials.
I’ve been a supporter of WWP. I’m going to rethink that now, and probably pull my support.
This info gives me some serious doubts. I have been a strong supporter but no longer.
I rarely watch TV, but it seems every time I do I see a WWP ad, right there was enough for me to smell scam. Sad that Toby got sucked into it, but it is a scam.
If you haven’t listened to the entire first hour of yesterday’s show, download the podcast and do so. Towards the end of the first hour, Mr. Gresham laid out another bomb-shell that takes more ground out from under the WWP tap-dancing.
I have a beautiful Underarmor polo with WWP embroidered logo, which is about to get a patch sewn over it promoting something else!
Shirt is too nice to burn!
Jacksonville, Florida has a cost of living 12% below the national average. If they had to be in the D.C. (they obviously don’t) they’d have to pay that sort of money to get someone good if they have a family; Jacksonville, I don’t think so. Given this inexplicable allergy to “weapons”—especially so because they won’t explain it—this non-profit is clearly being run first for the benefit of the people running it, second, *maybe* its official beneficiaries. But as time goes on, that will be ever more doubtful, Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy is clearly in play.
Soldier’s Angels has sent someone to attend every Gunblogger Rendezvous we’ve had. Major Chuck is an inspiring speaker and a good shooter given what he’s been through, and having the *Patton* connection certainly can’t hurt. No problem with being seen among gunny-peps there!
No
I posted this to the WWP facebook page.
Seems to me, your logo, with an injured Warrior, with his weapon, is hypocrisy at its finest. You use the weapon in the logo to drum up support, ask for donations, take money from weapons manufacturers, but won’t license your logo to them, even if you get a cut to help those you claim to help? Seems to me, you are prostituting these wounded warriors for your own monetary gains. Correct me if this is not true. You hide behind your logo only to use our wounded warriors for your own means.