Where is all the money going?
For several weeks, we’ve been investigating a local man organizing charity golf events, which over the years, have taken in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He says the tournaments benefit veteran’s charities. But several of the charities listed as beneficiaries say they aren’t seeing it.
Now, some of the people who’ve played in the golf outings are raising questions, and there’s an investigation underway.
“I’m hilarious,” said Bill Gilkes. “I’m really good at what I do. I can tell you that.”
Gilkes, 71, organizes golf tournaments under the name “Thanks Troops Tampa.” By almost anyone’s standards, they are two top-notch events held each year in Florida, and another in New York.
“It is a wonderful event,” he says.
At $175 per player, thousands of dollars in sponsorships, silent auctions and donations, Gilkes’ golf tournaments bring in tens of thousands of dollars a year.
An unspecified portion, according to his flyers, benefits veterans’ charities.
“He said he was raising money for combat-wounded veterans,” said Michael Ziegler. “So, great organizations. There’s nobody that wouldn’t support that, right?”
Ziegler is a golfer working closely with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. It’s a charity that provides college scholarships to the kids of special operations personnel killed in the line of duty.
After participating in several of Gilkes’ tournaments, Ziegler and Gilkes became friends. Ziegler was a big supporter.
“We have given him trips, expenses, checks donated to the charity, about $17,000,” Ziegler said.
But then, recently, Ziegler started hearing from some of the veterans and veterans’ charities that were listed as the beneficiaries of Gilkes’ tournaments.
“I had people come to me and say watch this guy,” he said.
At first, Ziegler says, he didn’t want to believe anything negative. Gilkes was his friend. The Thanks Troops tournaments were popular. The charities – honorable.
“I was the one in the dark,” Ziegler said. “I didn’t know either. And it was brought to my attention, not by one or two, but like 10 or more people. So, I started watching and I said – something’s not right here.”
Over the next few weeks, Ziegler started asking questions and contacting several of the charities listed on the Thanks Troops fliers. And what he found, he says, “Disgusts me to the core.”
It starts with the very name of Gilkes’ organization, Thanks Troops Tampa.
It turns out it’s not a 501(c)(3) – or even a registered charity in Florida. The Thanks Troops Foundation, which operates its own charity golf tournaments, is headquartered in Colorado.
It was founded by Scott Gray, who told us Gilkes is not affiliated with them, and does not have permission to use their name.
Gray says the first year, Gilkes reached out to them, he donated $1,000 – but that they haven’t seen a dime since.
“He says that a portion of the proceeds goes to all these organizations and I don’t believe they are,” said Calvin Markham, a director for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
Their charity’s logo appears on Gilke’s fliers as a beneficiary. But over a three-year period, Markham says they’ve received a total of $1,600. He says when they receive donations from other fundraisers of the same size, “Anywhere between $5,000 and $15,000 is probably an average tournament.”
The Special Operations Warrior Foundation says it’s given Gilkes shirts, hats and other grab-bag gifts for his tournaments. Gilkes says his donations have helped countless kids get college scholarships.
But Markham says not his charity’s kids.
“Any amount of money we are grateful for, but as we all know, $1,600 will not pay for a scholarship,” said Markham.
We started reaching out to other veterans’ charities listed on Gilkes’ fliers.
The biggest beneficiary, “Tee it Up for the Troops in Minnesota,” says in 2010 it received $20,500.
But in the years that followed, they say they’ve received less than a third of that. And in 2016, it dropped to nothing even though their charity’s name also still appeared on the tournament’s brochures.
It was worse for other veterans’ charities.
Support the Troops, which provides care packages to soldiers overseas, says it never got more than $1,000.
America’s Vet Dogs $750.
And Homes for Heroes in Minneapolis says it can’t confirm ever receiving any money from Gilkes.
“It tells me that there’s probably some funny business going on,” Markham said.
Critics say everything about Gilkes’ tournament flyer appears designed to evoke emotion, and instill confidence and participation. It includes names of legitimate charities. Corporate logos from huge companies. Sponsorships from local, respected businesses, like T&D Golf in Oldsmar.
“I expect that the products that we donate to be sold and that money to go to the charities,” said Deeson Smith who owns T&D Golf.
Smith says he gives thousands of dollars worth of clubs, golf balls and bags to several veterans’ charities. But over the summer, he says he asked Gilkes to stop using the T&D logo.
“Because we don’t want to be affiliated with that organization,” Smith said.
There’s more.
Gilkes’ business card reads USMCR, which stands for U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.
Records show he was a reservist in the 1960s and early '70s. But at the age of 71, military members say the card should read “retired”.
And then there’s Gilkes’ use of the Purple Heart. He puts the image on business cards, flyers and golf tournament gifts.
“That’s stolen valor. Plain and simple,” said Charlie McCarthy, a retired special ops member who has seen two dozen of his military brothers killed in action.
McCarthy says seeing the Purple Heart used that way is what hurts the most.
“That Purple Heart means something to me,” McCarthy said. “And it pisses me off when someone uses it that’s not authorized.”
McCarthy says he got suspicious of Gilkes when he played in several of his tournaments, and more than once, they were raising money for the same converted van to help a veteran whose leg had been amputated.
Also, some of those donated rounds of golf McCarthy thought were being auctioned off for charity weren’t being auctioned at all.
“I’ll tell you where it goes. It’s getting sold,” McCarthy said. “Because I was offered on more than one occasion an opportunity to buy a round of golf for four at these different golf courses, from him. So that’s cash money there.”
Simple math would suggest Gilkes golf events should be taking in between $30,000 and $40,000 apiece. And in year’s past, he’s given out over $20,000.
But with recent tournament beneficiaries reportedly receiving far less, or nothing, it’s left some like McCarthy questioning, “Where’s the money going?”
We put that question to Gilkes when he agreed to sit down for an interview.
Aware of the recent criticism his Thanks Troops Golf Classic was taking, Gilkes admitted he has no affiliation with the Thank Troops Foundation. Despite the potential confidence conveyed by all the corporate logos and names of charities on his flyers, Gilkes contends “It’s not an organization. It’s a golf tournament that I run, and if somebody else perceives it differently, I can’t help that.”
When it comes to the big corporate sponsors on his brochure, Gilkes says he got permission to use them, but has nothing in writing.
“Those are all verbal, and they’re all friends of mine,” he said.
Although a U.S. Marine Corps reservist several decades ago, Gilkes says once a Marine, always a Marine. So, he sees no reason to indicate he’s retired.
As for using the Purple Heart, Gilkes shared a document showing his late father had earned it.
“That Purple Heart belongs to me,” he said, even though he was never himself wounded in combat.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Gilkes. “That Purple Heart came to me when my father died, the rights of that Purple Heart came to me. And I’ve used it with respect.”
We asked the Department of Defense about it.
Their most recent guidelines say using, “An image of the Medal of Honor or Purple Heart is permitted only in rare cases,” and “is not permitted on social media websites, for commerce or other purposes, without prior written authorization from the relevant military service or Institute of Heraldry. “
Perhaps the biggest question, though, is about the money. And why several of the veterans’ charities Gilkes flyers claimed would benefit from his tournaments have received little or nothing in recent years.
“I am very cautious about what I put on the brochure,” Gilkes said. “And also, I also say a portion of the proceeds. Not all of it. A portion - of the proceeds goes to various charities.”
Gilkes admits there aren’t many proceeds left once his tournaments are over.
His expenses include not only catered galas, gifts and prizes, but his own travel expenses, phone and cable bills.
So, what portion of the money raised actually goes to charity?
“I can’t give you a percentage," Gilkes said. "Maybe, I can’t give you - maybe 7 percent? Maybe 10 percent?”
When it was suggested that there’s very little left for the actual charitable organizations his tournaments are supposed to be benefiting, Gilkes response was, “You’re absolutely correct. You’re absolutely correct.”
And when asked about the veterans’ charities whose names were still listed as beneficiaries even though they’d asked him to remove their logos, Gilkes became exasperated.
“You know, it didn’t happen, but again, complacency or forgetfulness. I’m going to take my bad. And it is, I made a mistake. I made a mistake,” he said.
Gilkes did show us a folder full of receipts and canceled checks. They included several people and organizations he had sent money to at his own discretion.
Gilkes contends as the tournament organizer, “It’s my choice to present checks to any charity that I want to.”
But his critics say that’s misleading, or maybe worse.
The Florida Department of Agriculture contacted Gilkes about his tournament several weeks ago, and the initial investigator says he found enough irregularities to forward the case to the department’s criminal investigations section.
Gilkes says he’s been through this with state officials before. He produced a letter from 2014 excusing him from registering as a charity. Instead, he says he runs a "golf classic."
But he admits he’s as focused on producing a good show as he is the good causes he claims to support.
“I keep people happy," Gilkes said. "Have they ever asked me as a person ‘Hey Bill, tell me - where is this money going anyway, what are you doing?’ No sir.”
That doesn’t sit well with veterans like McCarthy.
“Is it criminal? I don’t know,” he said. “I just don’t want it to continue. He and people like him need to be put out of business.”
With just days to go before his next tournament on Friday, Sept. 28, Gilkes was still using the name Thanks Troops Golf Classic on his flyer, which he’d used to soliciting sponsorships, registration fees and donations.
The Department of Agriculture, which looks into these matters, told us this week they were still investigating.
Many of Gilkes’ harshest critics say they don’t want him to get in trouble. They just want him to stop.
They want Gilkes to get out of the charity golf business because they believe he is undermining the credibility of other veterans’ charities, and don’t want people to lose confidence in groups that really help those who need the assistance.
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