Where Does $100 to Wounded Warrior Go (2023)

The Wounded Warrior Project is one of the most well-known non-profit charitable organizations focused on rebuilding the lives of wounded veterans. Established in 2003, the Wounded Warrior Project is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) charitable organization whose stated mission is to “honor and empower wounded warriors.”

Most donors want to know how their donations are spent.  If you gave $100 to the Wounded Warrior Project in 2023, the short answer is the organization spent $105 for every $100 raised in 2023 with revenue spent on five major categories:  

• $31:  Compensation for employees
• $15:  Grants
• $21:  Direct Response – TV, Mail and Online and Advertising and Promotion
• $19:  Other Program Services and Events
• $19:  Office, Fees, Travel and Other Expenses

But, if you want the long answer or simply more information, read on.

Key information about the Wounded Warrior Project is summarized as follows:

• Headquartered in Jacksonville, FL;
• The organization has about 1,000 employees;
• Wounded Warrior Project raises about $350 million annually, primarily from contributions, gifts, and grants and has generally spent less than raised; and
• With nearly $400 million in net fund assets, the Wounded Warrior Project is in a strong financial position.

In 2023, the Wounded Warrior Project raised $349 million (compared t0 $402 million in 2022, $339 million in 2021 and  $287 million in 2020), most of which came from contribution, gifts, and grants.

Expenses totaled $369 million which can be looked at two (2) ways:  by broad general category (i.e. program services, grants, management, and fundraising) or by specific line item categories (i.e. compensation, travel and conferences, grants, fees for services, etc). Both are beneficial with the latter approach providing more detail.

Expenses by Broad General Category

The $369 million in expenses were categorized as follows:

• $207 million (59% of revenue):  Program Services
• $ 54   million (15% of revenue):  Grants
• $ 88   million (25% of revenue):  Fundraising
• $ 20   million (6% of revenue):  Management and General Expenses

As illustrated above, the Wounded Warrior Project spent significant funds on fundraising – $88 million – or 25% of revenue).  Another $20 million was spent on management and general expenses, leaving $207 million or 59% of revenue for program services and $54 million for grants (15% of revenue). The organization spent $20 million more than they raised but $27 million in unrealized gains on investments offset the over expenditure so the organization ended the year with $390 million in net assets (compared to $383 million at the beginning of the year).

Using the above information, every $100 in revenue was spent as follows:

$100:  Revenue

-$ 25:  Fundraising

-$   6:  Management and General Expenses

-$ 31:  Subtotal: Fundraising and Management and General Expenses

 $ 69:  Revenue Remaining

-$ 59:  Program Services

-$ 15:  Grants

-$ 74:  Subtotal:  Program Services and Grants

-$ 05:  Deficit (the organization spent $105 for every $100 raised)

As illustrated above, $31 out of every $100 was spent on fundraising and management and general expenses. $74 out of every $100 was spent on program services and grants. The Wounded Warrior Project spent $105 for every $100 raised in 2023.

Expenses by Specific Line Item Category

The $369 million in expenses were categorized as follows:

• $107 million (31% of revenue):  Compensation
• $ 19 million (5% of revenue):  Office-Related Expenses
• $ 11  million (3% of revenue):  Fees for Services (accounting, legal, investment, etc)
• $ 11 million (3% of revenue):  Advertising and Promotion
• $  6   million (2% of revenue):  Travel and Conferences
• $ 32 million (9% of revenue):  Other Expenses (no detail provided)
• $ 63  million (18% of revenue):  Direct Response (Mail, TV, Online)
• $ 54  million (15% of revenue):  Grants
• $ 45  million (13% of revenue):  Program/Other Provider Services
• $ 21 million (6% of revenue):  Events

Using the above information, every $100 was spent as follows:

$100: Revenue

-$ 31 : Compensation

-$ 5:  Office-Related Expenses

-$ 3:  Fees for Services

-$ 3:  Advertising and Promotion

-$ 2:  Travel and Conferences

-$18:  Direct Response (Mail, TV, Online)

-$ 9: Other Expenses

-$ 71: Subtotal:  Compensation,Office, Fees, Advertising, Travel, Fundraising

 $ 29:  Revenue Remaining

-$ 15 :  Grants

-$ 19 :  Program/Other Provider Services and Events

-$ 34: Subtotal:  Grants, Programs and Events

-$  5:  Deficit

As illustrated above, $71 out of every $100 was spent on compensation for the 1,000 employees, office-related expenses, fees for outside services, advertising and promotion, travel and conferences, and direct response fundraising expenses.  $34 out of every $100 was spent on grants and other program and event expenses.

The Wounded Warrior Project made $54 million in grants, $48 million of which were to domestic organizations while $6 million was to individuals.  53 grants greater than $5,000 were made (for details on the grants, see the Form 990, Schedule I, Part II, Grants and Other Assistance to Domestic Organizations and Domestic Governments.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2022 for the year ending September 30, 2023), click here.