Russell Wilson's charity, which does business as the Why Not You Foundation, is facing scrutiny over its finances. According to an investigation done by USA Today into nonprofits founded by Walter Payton Man of the Year winners, the Why Not You Foundation may not be making the most of its resources.
In 2020 and 2021, Wilson's charity reported spending a combined $600,000 on charitable endeavors, according to federal tax records. That comes out to 24.3 cents of every dollar, and it pales in comparison to the $1.1 million that the Why Not You Foundation spent on employee salary and benefits.
According to Form 990 federal tax returns, the Why Not You Foundation generated $7.5 million in revenue and reported $7 million in expenses in the first eight years after its inception in 2014.
Over that time, $2.8 million went to charitable causes while the remaining $4.2 million went to fundraising efforts and administrative costs, like salaries. The Why Not You Foundation's chief financial officer, Scott Pickett, said the organization's financial contributions are not fully accounted for on the tax forms because of its work with third parties.
"Millions of dollars in funds raised by the Why Not You Foundation go through our partners who can deliver that money where it is needed more directly," Pickett wrote in a statement to USA Today. "Those funds were raised, in large part, through the work of the foundation, but you would not see all of those dollars in the foundation's tax documents."
Andrew Morton, a nonprofit expert and partner at Handler Thayer LLP, also spoke with USA Today and said that assisting "partners" with third-party fundraising was not a valid explanation for the foundation's expenses.
There is also concern that the Why Not You Foundation is paying top employees a disproportionate amount compared to the money it brings in and directs to charitable endeavors. Most notably, three employees have received $1.9 million combined.
In 2021, chief strategy officer Ryan Tarpley was paid $222,500, and executive director Carly Young was paid $176,000. Pickett was also paid $60,000 for 15 hours of work per week.
Wilson's attorney and sports agent, Mark Rodgers, negotiated their contracts and said that all of those employees were paid according to the value they bring to the organization
"I think that they were paid appropriately based on their talent, experience and the knowledge they were bringing to us," Rodgers said.
However, Morton said that there are certain limits to what nonprofit organizations can pay employees.
"The nonprofit space is governed by fair market value," Morton said. "You can say, 'Oh, they're super talented.' That's fine. In the for-profit space, the sky is the limit. Pay them whatever you want. But in the nonprofit space, no matter how talented you are, no matter how qualified you are, you are subject to those limits for comparable compensation."
Then, there are the close ties that Tarpley has with the Wilson family. In addition to working as the chief strategy officer at the Why Not You Foundation from 2020 to 2022, Tarpley also served in that role for the Wilson family office, per his LinkedIn profile.
It would be illegal for Tarpley to get paid by the Why Not You Foundation and do work for the Wilson family on the job, and Morton said it would be a stretch to think Tarpley was doing each full-time job separately.
"Tarpley spends 40 hours a week supporting the foundation and did all these other things with his time?" Morton said. "No way. The more he said he did for the family office, the less credible this becomes. Those are significant undertakings that would be in addition to his full-time commitment to the foundation, which I don't buy, and I don't think anyone with a full-time job would buy.
"If he's not spending 40 hours a week for the foundation and he's doing work for the family office, then the foundation is paying for him to work for the family office."
Rodgers said Tarpley did the work he was compensated for at the foundation, and he was paid separately for his role with the Wilson family office.
"The vast majority of the work that Ryan Tarpley did was for the foundation," Rodgers said.
Throughout his career, Wilson
