Star NFL quarterback Russell Wilson’s charity has only donated 24.3 percent of its proceeds to charitable activities, according to an investigation by USA Today.
The investigation began as a probe into the activities of nonprofits run by recipients of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. The award is given to players who demonstrate “the values of respect, integrity, resiliency, and responsibility on and off the field.”
The publication’s investigation began to focus more narrowly on Wilson after discovering some eyebrow-raising details about his charity’s activities.
Russell Wilson describes what giving $2.7M with his Why Not You Foundation & Safeway/Albertsons means to him, and why his connections to Seattle run deeper than Seahawks football. @thenewstribune pic.twitter.com/pp04SbNlQb
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) January 3, 2022
According to USA Today’s reporting on federal tax records, Wilson’s charity, the Why Not You Foundation, spent nearly twice as much on employee salaries and benefits as it did on charitable activities in 2020 and 2021, a total of $1.1 million.
The foundation reported $1.2 million in expenses in 2020. That year, the nonprofit spent $257,000 on charity while pouring $548,000 into salaries and benefits.
In 2021, Wilson’s nonprofit spent just $365,147, less than a quarter of its $1.7 million in revenue, on charitable services. Charity watchdogs advise that at least 65 percent of a nonprofit’s expenses should directly fund charitable programs, Forbes notes.
The foundation also paid an executive who works in a personal capacity for Wilson and his wife, singer Ciara, a six-figure salary, which has drawn additional scrutiny from investigators, according to USA Today.
On its website, the foundation describes its mission as “student access to equal education opportunities, children’s health and food security initiatives.”
In response to the USA Today report, Shayla Tait, the executive director of the Why Not You Foundation, released a statement defending the nonprofit’s charitable efforts.
“Since founding the Why Not You Foundation in 2014, we’ve been blessed and fortunate to partner with incredible organizations to maximize our impact,” the statement reads. “We’ve successfully partnered to deliver over $13,000,000 benefitting education, pediatric cancer research and hunger prevention.”