Originally Posted by
Dick T.
Two years ago our club did an AMA Model Aviation Day/Wounded Warrior air show that took in over $1500.00 which we dutifully sent to AMA. Never heard a thank you, kiss my rump, good job from them. Last year we connected with the Central California AmVets Chapter which keeps all donations local. Also the local Marine Corps. Cadet Troop handled parking, Colors Presentation and crowd assistance which earned them a hefty donation and free lunches. Again we dispersed almost $1500.00.
With the recent exposures Wounded Warriors Project will never again be on our list along with a number of other questionable veterans assistance organizations. Many of our veteran club members, myself included, can relate stories similar to Granpooba's post so now we only consider local chapters or organizations that account for and keep donations for local use.
Lastly the AMA just sent out an email announcing their partnership again with Wounded Warriors. Not surprising as I learned from a reliable but shall remain an unnamed source those partnerships earn commissions on the donations.
Check for local organizations, they are your best bet as you can see and account for their activities.
In all fairness, that's seems like a pretty big bomb to toss out there without any way to verify that, other than to basically say " a little birdie told me". Not to say it's not possible, but still...how does this work exactly? Is it alleged that the AMA gets a kickback on the donated amount? I don't buy that for a minute. That's something the WW would have to account for in their filings, I've seen nothing to indicate that. It would be nice to see something more substantive than a rumor.
As for a response from the AMA and WW, the AMA did sent out a thank you letter to the clubs, at least those in my area. Looked sort of like the awards the kids get in school now, pre-filled info except the name of the club. They also included 50 or so stickers from Model Aviation Day.
As for a response from the WW...well, I certainly heard from them. And by heard from them I mean telemarketing calls and mail solicitations (over 10 so far) asking for more money. I sent our clubs check to them with my name/address on the envelope so that's where they got my info. This is where I think any money from the WW would come into play, which is the WW paying the AMA for marketing leads, ie our info. Similar to what they do with other affinity marketing plans, the most notable one being the tie ins with Nationwide Insurance. Annoying to some degree, but a simple button click on the delete button or a polite response to them asking to be removed from their list will do the trick.
Love the idea of keeping donations and help local though. It can only help with the relationship between clubs and the folks from the local areas.
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