Historical background
Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) was started in 2002 by John Melia who had been wounded in Somalia in 1992. Melia’s initiative was supported by the members of his family and other veterans Al Giordano and Steven Nardizzi. Until 2005, WWP operated as a division of another non-profit organization the United Spinal Association of New York.
In 2005, the WWP separated from the associated organization and moved its headquarters to Jacksonville, Florida. Thus, by 2010, the non-profit organization started by several activists has rapidly grown into an influential project employing 118 workers and raising millions of dollars to support veterans.
Mission
The mission adopted by WWP is to provide support to the veterans of the US military forces by honoring and empowering them. The phrase concerning the greatest casualty that is being forgotten used as an epigraph on the website of this non-profit organization implies the inability of the society to provide the necessary and deserved social and financial support to the veterans.
The vision of the organization is formulated as an ambition to foster the generation of wounded veterans which would be best adjusted to the realities of modern society and the most successful one in the history of the nation.
The purposes of this non-profit organization include the improvement of the social awareness on the special needs of the injured service members and motivate the community to provide the necessary aid to the wounded warriors.
Additionally, WWP is aimed at providing the injured veterans with opportunities to assist each other. These goals are achieved through the implementation of the unique programs complying with the needs of injured warriors.
Core values
The research and analysis of major non-profit organizations in the United States show that WWP is the best non-profit organization to work for in 2011. According to the 2010 report, this organization employs 118 people and had 85 percent of retention rate for its fulltime workers (Clolery, 2011, p. 19).
Steven Nardizzi as the president and CEO of WWP proclaims care about the staff as one of the core values of the organization because people who need to care about the injured veterans should know that they are cared about as well. The core values of WWP are defined as FILIS:
- Fun.
- Integrity.
- Loyalty.
- Innovation.
- Service.
The core values formulated in the form of FILIS are coupled with the culture of team work in WWP that is beneficial for enhancing the performance of the staff and even motivating each of the employees to give extra effort to make their organization succeed (Wounded Warrior Project, n.d.).
Programmatic activities
The programs of WWP are structured in a unique way to nurture the mind and body of the wounded veterans and foster their economic empowerment and social engagement. Thus, all the programs activities are divided into four main subgroups, including mind, body, economic empowerment and social engagement. The participation in all of these programs is free.
However, the verification of military service experience and service-connected wounds, injuries or illnesses is obligatory for participating in these programs (Wounded Warrior Project). For example, the wounded warriors eligible for the participation in WWP projects can be enrolled into Combat Stress Recovery Program, Transition Training Academy, Physical Health and Wellness, Soldier Ride and other programs.
The reported outcomes of the programmatic activities of WWP are striking. Thus, 325 families took advantages of Physical Wealth and Wellness Program, 945 warriors enrolled into Warriors to Work Program and were assisted in finding a job. Furthermore, 5929 phone and email cases were resolved through the support center.
Departments
The executive staff of WWP includes 14 members. The organizational structure of WWP consists of 9 main departments, including the development, financial, special projects, direct response, mental health and warrior engagement, physical health and wellness, communications, government affairs, and economic empowerment departments.
Strategic planning and performance measurement
As it can be seen from the recent reports, WWP is successful in achieving its goals and is recognized as one of the best employers in its domain. However, the effective use of strategic planning and performance measurements can be beneficial for improving the organization’s outcomes and adding public value to it.
The first step towards successful strategic planning is the analysis of the performance data in the course of time and among different subunits. By comparing different performance indicators, non-profit organization can identify its main strengths and weaknesses which can be further translated into the strategic planning and implementation (Poister, 2003, p. 117).
Taking into account the reported success of WWP, it can be stated that retention of important features of the current strategies can be the best suitable choice for this non-profit organization (Bryson, 2004, p. 450).
Therefore, by selecting the most appropriate instruments for measuring its performance and translating the achieved results into effective strategies would be helpful for WWP in achieving its goals of fostering the generation of well-adjusted wounded warriors.
Reference List
Bryson, J. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A Guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Clolery, P. (2011). 50 best nonprofits to work for in 2011. The NonProfit Times, 17 – 23. Web.
Wounded Warrior Project (n.d.). Mission. Web.
Poister, T. (2003). Measuring performance in public and nonprofit organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.