Where Does The Charity Money Raised By Russell Wilson’s Foundation Goes To?

While his performance as a quarterback is lacking, Russell Wilson is absolutely crushing it when it comes to his charitable work. According to a thorough analysis by USA Today that was released on Wednesday, Wilson’s “Why Not You?” Foundation only gave around 40% of its revenues to charity, with the remaining funds going to fund-raising and staff wages.

Through 2021, Russ’ foundation earned $7.5M in total, but only $2.8M was reported as having been donated to any charitable causes. A six-figure compensation for a close friend of Russell and Ciara Wilson who works for the charity is included in the organization’s costs, but digging further reveals more.

When Russell Wilson was the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, he frequently visited Seattle Children’s Hospital. He and his Grammy Award-winning wife Ciara, a singer and composer, have utilised their great fame and wealth to fight food hunger, increase educational opportunities, and advance racial and social justice.

Which are all deserving of honour and acclaim.

Where Does The Charity Money Of Russell Wilson’s Foundation Goes To?

Its goal is to “empower change in the world, one human at a time and one kid at a time,” according to the 2014 mission statement of the Russell Wilson Foundation, doing business as the Why Not You Foundation. When Wilson won the 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, the league’s highest honour given for achievement on and off the field with a focus on community involvement and charity, the NFL recognised the nonprofit’s efforts.

The website for “Why Not You?” doesn’t list any employees or a CEO, but does show its board of directors. This is a veritable who’s-who of nepotism. Not a single member of the charity’s board has a non-profit background, but rather they all share personal connections to Russ and Ciara. The total list includes:

  • Russell Wilson
  • Ciara Wilson
  • Sheryl Willert (Russ’ long-time personal lawyer)
  • Larry Estrada, VP at Goldman Sachs (personal friend of Russ)
  • Mark Rodgers (Russ’ agent and close friend)
  • Harry Wilson (Russ’ brother)
  • Jessica Abramson Lott (Russ’ PR manager)
  • Charly Martin (former Seahawks receiver who played with Russ)
  • Scott Pickett (Russ’ close friend)

It’s not uncommon for celebrity charities to have board members with personal ties to the founders, but it’s atypical not to have anyone running the show with a traditional charity background.

The chief financial officer of the Why Not You Foundation and the head of Wilson’s brand management and production company, West2East Empire, Scott Pickett, declined several requests for interviews with The USA TODAY Network on behalf of himself and the Wilsons but said in an email that the nonprofit’s business model is “built on working with third parties to raise money” and claimed a much bigger impact than its tax records reveal.

A six-month investigation by The USA TODAY Network into nonprofits established by Payton award winners revealed that Wilson’s organisation claimed it spent nearly $600,000, or just 24.3 cents of every dollar, on charitable activities in 2020 and 2021 combined, but more than double that amount, $1.1 million, on salaries and benefits in that time period, according to federal tax records.

The nonprofit acknowledged that one executive received more than $200,000 annually while also working for Ciara and Russell Wilson’s family office. Nonprofit experts said that this raises concerns about excess benefit transactions, private inurement, and the organization’s “free-for-all” governance structure.

The USA TODAY Network discovered that The Why Not You Foundation inflates the value of collaborations by highlighting their overall effects rather than just their relative contribution to a project.

Form 990 federal tax returns from the nonprofit’s inception through 2021 show it reported $7.5 million in revenue and $7 million in expenses during its first eight years of existence.

Less than half of the money — $2.8 million, or 39.6 cents of every dollar spent — has gone to charitable activities, all as grants to other nonprofits.

The remaining $4.2 million has been paid for fundraising, administrative and management expenses, including the salaries of three employees, who have received $1.9 million combined.

Nonprofit experts who reviewed the Why Not You Foundation’s tax returns for The USA TODAY Network said third-party fundraising by “partners” is not justification for the nonprofit’s expenses.

On Wednesday night the “Why Not You? Foundation” posted a lengthy response to the USA Today story, which said in part:

“While the foundation raises funds and provides grants and gifts, our partnerships have allowed for more direct delivery and impact. Our dynamic partnerships allow for Russell and Ciara to give their time, passion, and ideas and raise awareness for causes in intimate and hands-on settings and events.”

So basically, they didn’t refute anything in the report but tried to suggest that because Russ and Ciara turn up at events for other charities, that’s where their true impact is.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a topic the NFL would get involved in, but after Brett Favre was accused of using his football fame to allegedly embezzle Mississippi welfare funds and after the league gave Russell Wilson the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, it begs the question of how much the league is actually doing to vet the charitable work that its players are doing, or if they’re just accepting everything at face value.

Wilson must provide an explanation for why his organisation, which has raised millions of dollars, has not provided greater aid to the individuals it claims to be assisting. This is a farce.

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