Wounded Warrior Project fund raising campaign

[76 Yella Brick]

My wife and I have recently started a campaign to help bring public awareness and funding to the nationally known Wounded Warrior Project.
 We are an official fund raising entity authorized by the Wounded Warrior Project.

  We have built and are getting ready to race and show a very unique Land Speed/Open Road Racing car. Open the links below to see our website featuring the WWP and our race car. There are more links within the website to our Car Domain page that shows many more pics and gives more info on the car.

  We are also making a video documentary of the 2010 racing / show season. Our first event is the Mojave Mile on March 6,2010 which will have strong media presence.
 The Bonneville 100 open road race in June, the Bonneville Salt Flats in August.

  Our website to the 'We the People, have your backs Tour'
    http://wethepeoplehaveyourbackstour.webs.com/
 
   Our contributions page within the WWP website
     http://WWPProudSupporter.kintera.org/wtphyb

   Our Car Domain page
     http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2986760
 
   As this is a privately funded campaign we do seek contributions of some parts;
   
   We are in need of these parts to safely complete the race car new or GOOD used;
      - Engine Diaper for Big Block
      - 2 Stroud chutes with 75' risers
      - 2 Stroud spring launch packs
      - 2 sets of arm restraints
      - 2  1" wheel spacers
      - 1 fireproof shifter boot
        You WILL receive recognition on the race car if so requested.

     We would appreciate any press coverage you can supply,
                  Thank you for your time and consideration,
                                Dwaine & Susan Baccus
                                Team 61 Race Cars
                                We the People, have your backs Tour
                                pob 482
                                Emmett, Idaho 83617
                                208-695-1072 

[mkilger]

I need fund raising for my race car too? be carefull, looks like you need an SCTA rule book to run at bonneville.

[Dean Los Angeles]

So just to be the Devil's advocate here, you want donations for your racing because you support the Wounded Warrior Project. On the one hand you are "an official fund raising entity authorized by the Wounded Warrior Project", and on the other "a privately funded campaign".

Please feel free to post your 990 form here.

You are/are not connected to a charity that CharityNavigator.org says:

The Wounded Warrior Project was originally a program of the United Spinal Association. The organization became a separate charity in 2005. Since they recently became a new charity they do not meet all of our requirements for inclusion on our website. We require 4 years of Forms 990 to complete an evaluation. Click here to review our evaluation for the United Spinal Association.

7 employees make more than $100,000 a year. $21,000,000 in donations, $12,000,000 in program spending. (2007-2008 form 990)

But this isn't about Wounded Warriors. As with any charitable donation you should always check the donation/expense ratio. I'm sure they do a lot of good, but the higher the expenses the less your dollar works towards good, and more to making the salaries of the executives.

You on the other hand, are not a charity, but want donations. Hmmm. I'm pretty sure that if you canceled the racing and just clicked on your own Wounded Warriors donation button the charity would benefit.

[mkilger]

thanks Dean, thats what I wanted to say.

[peglegcraig]

Wow Dean, that's a dose of reality. I want to thank you for keeping it real here at Landracing.com
 $21 million bucks?  , only $12 million in benefit spending, shame on them, that's wrong

[Bob Ellis]

So just to be the Devil's advocate here, you want donations for your racing because you support the Wounded Warrior Project. On the one hand you are "an official fund raising entity authorized by the Wounded Warrior Project", and on the other "a privately funded campaign".

Please feel free to post your 990 form here.

You are/are not connected to a charity that CharityNavigator.org says:

The Wounded Warrior Project was originally a program of the United Spinal Association. The organization became a separate charity in 2005. Since they recently became a new charity they do not meet all of our requirements for inclusion on our website. We require 4 years of Forms 990 to complete an evaluation. Click here to review our evaluation for the United Spinal Association.

7 employees make more than $100,000 a year. $21,000,000 in donations, $12,000,000 in program spending. (2007-2008 form 990)

But this isn't about Wounded Warriors. As with any charitable donation you should always check the donation/expense ratio. I'm sure they do a lot of good, but the higher the expenses the less your dollar works towards good, and more to making the salaries of the executives.

You on the other hand, are not a charity, but want donations. Hmmm. I'm pretty sure that if you canceled the racing and just clicked on your own Wounded Warriors donation button the charity would benefit.

You can call me Jethro ("I passed syphrin' in grade six , only took me three years") , but how does $21,000,000 less $700.000 = $12,000,000 ? Alot of people get fat on good peoples willingness to help. Charity starts at home!

[floydjer]

Good work Dean-Thanks. J.B.

[Dr Goggles]

Personally I work in the community sector and I don't donate to ANYTHING that advertises or uses collectors that aren't volunteers....and that includes some of the big well known outfits. It's a personal decision but I don't get paid a fortune and some execs who run those outfits do.......... before you give over your hard earned folks , do a little bit of research....the sad truth is the worst ones use the most emotive pitches , because they are crooks, pure and simple, heartless crooks.

If you feel that you should contribute , give a little time , visit a lonely old bloke....help at a soup van....just once a month, but don't buy a conscience salving at the traffic lights , the needy don't get SFA from that.

Dr G

[McRat]

Might also be trying to water the wrong end of the horse.

I'm sure your intentions are good, and helping disabled vets is a noble goal.

This site is mostly racers who run in sportsman class racing.  That means that many here are in need of sponsorship to attend more races.

I've only recently got to the point where I can get some assistance by sponsors.  I'm now at about 25% assistance but it took 5 years of working at sponsorship to get there.  Contact potential sponsors directly and send them a "resume".

What I've had to show them was that their advertising dollar glued on my truck gets:

*Sales increase testimonials from existing sponsors (catch 22 - you can't get these until after you get these).
*Proven media exposure, and mention of your sponsors in it.  If you have your eyes on a big fish, might even want to pimp them beforehand, and show a pic of your car racing with their sticker already.  
*Proven success record.  If it a parts sponsor, they are reluctant to glue money on your car if Brand X kicks your arse on a routine basis.
*Proven attendance record.  They want to see how many events you attended last year.
*Once you get some help, make sure you send them race reports.

Oh, and pimp...  

Thanks out to Honeywell/Garrett for the best turbos in the business.  Tried the rest, now I run the best.  
Inglewood Transmissions, the world's best Allison rebuilders.
Pacific Performance Engineering, the leaders in go fast goodies for your diesel pickup.  GM, Ford, Dodge, from mild to wild.
SoCal Diesel, cutting edge Duramax diesel performance engines and parts.
Banks Power, the King in performance parts for your truck.  They are #1 for good reason.
Isspro, the finest in performance gauges.

and here is when I Plymouth off somebody I forgot...

[HotRodV8]

Dean - -

I support our soldiers in different ways and I teach my 8 yr old daughter to do the same. When I saw the Wounded Warriors Project post, it grabbed my attention.

When I read your post, it made me stand at attention and salute you. Great job.

If I ever need a carpenter I'll hire you cause you hit the nail on the head on this one.   

[76 Yella Brick]

http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/veterans-and-military/wounded-warrior-project-in-jacksonville-fl-3806

[McRat]

Professional fundraising organizations are common.  While it is certainly desireable that they high ratio of bang/buck, 50% is perhaps the norm.  Lotto tickets are 50%, and I'm willing to bet the US government isn't much higher with their social programs since they are ripe with fraud.

We give to a number of charities, but I'll be honest I'm not going to help pay for somebodies race car.  I believe that kind of funding should come from conventional sponsor channels.  

If they have 33 staffers, some of them well-paid, that means they are very good at promoting and salesmanship.  They should be exercising those skills towards Jegs, Summit, Goodyear, etc, to assist race efforts, not aim at the racers themselves.  There is no media coverage at races if there are no racers, so all your fellow competitors at these events are actually contributing to your effort already.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Recently a long-time member of this Forum emailed me asking if he could post a link to a site for an organisation that he personally supported, thinking that there might be like-minded folks on the Forum that would care to join with him.  I offered my sincere regrets and asked that he help me/us keep the Forum and site as closely-related to land speed racing as possible.  he graciously accepted my comments and request that he now do so.

Had Yella Brick asked me I would probably have made the identical comments to him.  This site is for racing, not fund-raising or banner waving.  Each of us participates in "public service" efforts as he pleases.  Me?  I go to the local home for Veterans (the state of Michigan has two of them, one downstate, the other here) and read to the guys once a week.  You do what you want to do, and doing it makes you feel good - that's why you do it.

But here on the Forum -- let's try to stay on the straight and narrow and concentrate on building and racing, not fundraising - whether for the race vehicle or a particular cause (Unless it's to keep this site going, which fund raising you all helped with in the past few days).

Thanks.  End of owner's editorial.

[dw230]

"*Proven media exposure, and mention of your sponsors in it.  If you have your eyes on a big fish, might even want to pimp them beforehand, and show a pic of your car racing with their sticker already."

Wise words indeed.

A romp thru history will show that this very idea helped Kenny Bernstein's drag effort for 30 years.

DW

[76 Yella Brick]

 My apologies to the moderator, I read that the GENERAL section was just that, as there is nothing political/religious about my post.

 To my 'critics' before you tear me a new one, you might READ/UNDERSTAND everything within my website to understand exactly WHAT my wife's and my  PRIVATELY funded campaign is about.
 
 #1 - I don't know where you get the idea that 'we' have any 'staffers' other than we two. WE get paid NOTHING for our efforts except the warm and fuzzies from helping OUR SEVERELY WOUNDED MILITARY personnel.

 #2 - Donations can be made TO the WWP through a link on my website to my PROUD SUPPORTER page WITHIN the WWP site so that the WWP can 'acknowledge' the monetary contributions that I proudly steer their way. We get ZERO monetary gain from this.
 
 #3 - ANY contributions made to our We the People, have your backs Tour 'Keep the Wheels Rolling' are made to us directly and NOT through the WWP. I state that we are NOT a non profit and that any contributions are NOT tax deductible unless it is classified as 'advertising'.

 #4 - I am a Vietnam combat veteran and this is a VERY small thing that I am doing as compared to what our wounded troops have given U.S.

    See ya on the salt,
                       Dwaine