Russell Wilson responds after financials of his foundation put in spotlight
Feb 11, 2023, 1:58 PM
Three days after Russell Wilson, and his charity — known as the Why Not You Foundation — were put in the spotlight, the Broncos QB is responding.
Wilson posted an Instagram video on Saturday afternoon in which he highlighted the foundation’s success, but also acknowledged they will continue to learn.
“This means the world to me, has meant the world to me and will forever mean the world to me. I’ve just go to say something,” Wilson said. “For our Why Not You Foundation over the past eight years we’ve been so freaking blessed to meet so many amazing people, so many amazing kids along the way. To be able to also partner with some amazing, amazing brands. With those partnerships we’ve been fortunate to be able to drive over 10-plus millions of dollars for pediatric cancer, education, hunger prevention and so much more.”
“I also want to highlight the fact that we’re going to keep learning. We’re going to keep growing. We’re going to keep getting better. But also too, we’re going to keep serving, and that’s what I’m excited about,” Wilson continued.
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On Wednesday, the USA Today Network published a six-month long investigative story about the nonprofits of past Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award winners. The story ended up focusing on Wilson, after records showed his foundation spent just 24.3 cents of every dollar on charitable activities in 2020 and 2021 combined.
Nearly twice as much, $1.1 million, went to salaries and employee benefits in that span, according to federal tax records. The salaries include more than six figures for an executive who also works personally for Wilson and his wife, entertainer Ciara.
In 2020, the year in which Wilson was given the Man of the Year award, his foundation reported $838,000 in revenue and $1.2 million in expenses, including $257,000 on charitable activities and $548,000 on salaries and employee benefits. This means about twice as much money went to executives in the foundation compared to charity — and only 21 cents of every dollar earned went to charity that year.
Some digging by Denver Sports found other foundations started by Broncos’ players give a much higher percentage to charity than Wilson’s. As evidenced by his statement above, perhaps Wilson will look to change those percentages in the future, as the foundation strives to “keep getting better.”
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