National Charitable Organizations and CEO Compensation

[shireen]

I was researching some organizations for donations, and found some interesting information about the annual salaries and benefits of their CEOs. The range in salaries is quite "interesting," and in many cases, some CEOs are doing extremely well. How much of it is justified? I don't make much, and have to very carefully choose who gets my hard-earned money. After seeing that list, there's no way I'd donate to a charity with a CEO making more than $200K - $250K, depending on the organization. (Personally, I decided on Doctors Without Borders, and some local charities.)

Here are a few, there's much more data on other charities at http://www.give.org
All numbers are annual salaries & benefits for CEOs (some cases, other officers who make more money are also mentioned). Data may be several years old, 2005 or 2006, since it takes time for them to update their records.

Nat. Coalition for the Homeless: $35,000
Greenpeace USA: $63,795 (Dep. director), $38,036/CEO

Best Friends Animal Soc. $101,248
American Bird Conservancy: $115,427
National Council of the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul: $119,802
Planned Parenthood Federation of America: $117,921
Doctors Without Borders: $128,646
League of Women Voters: $157,152

Meals on Wheels: $205,560
Network for Good: president/$209,121, CEO/$192,488,
Lupus Foundation: $232,965
Oxfam: $241,342
Clinton Foundation: $254,000
International Planned Parenthood Federation: $260,608

ACLU: $304,329
World Wildlife Fund: $347,190
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: $351,171
America's Second Harvest: $356,535
International Rescue Committee: $357,657
National Audubon $362,237
CARE USA $386,047

Nature Conservancy: $406,933
Environmental Defense Fund: $408,170
American Diabetes Assoc. $419,909
UNICEF/US: $456,069
Boy Scouts of America: $457,830
March of Dimes: $493,004

ALSAC/St. Judes: CEO/ALSAC $446,240; CEO/St Judes: $616,660
United Way: $632,423

Chimes International Limited: $704,175

American Red Cross: CEO/not available, former president & CEO: $1,183,811

[skipos]

1. Interesting. People need to know this info before they donate. nt

[Cleita]

2. This is one of the very reason I don't donate to charities anymore.

I found out that non-profit corporations or charities only need to actually use a third of that money for the actual charity. The rest can be spent on administration and fund raising. Also, after recently trying to pry some money from a charity for a very needy person without any success, I'm doubly sure that any money I give will be directly to the needy.

I also have stopped donating money to political candidates. Until I see no homeless persons on the streets, every one of our soldiers home from Iraq and the Bush/Cheney impeachment in progress, every cent I may have earmarked for this purpose will go directly to a homeless or other needy person. Since my vote apparently isn't being counted, I'm voting with my wallet.

[shireen]

8. i'd have the same reaction except ...

there are good charities out there that don't have overpaid CEOs, and they really need our help. We can't expect these CEOs to live like paupers, but an income that provides a comfortable middle-class lifestyle sounds appropriate. For instance, the Maryland Food Bank CEO earns $135K. That's a lot of money for someone like me, but considering the high cost of living in the Baltimore-Washington area, I'm OK with that. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charity organization, seems to be pretty frugal too -- even tho' I'm agnostic, I'd happily support their efforts.

[Cleita]

10. Like I said in another post, this would be a good time for retired

CEOs who still want to go to work to volunteer their time and their expertise. They also might get more satisfaction in not being under pressure to deliver a bottom line to the stockholders.

btw. I know paupers who really should have the money first. Being without the basics to sustain life is very, very hurtful.

[patrice]

3. Wow!

Please someone enlighten me; give me valid reasons why people can't live on $70K-$90K. Isn't anyting more than what is necessary for a CEO coming out of the benefit of those the charity serves? What exactly do people do that makes them worth more than $100K?

[LeftyMom]

9. Cost of living where the HQ is

Here in Sacto, you can live very well on $50 or $60K, an hour away in the Bay Area it takes closer to $100K to live in a safe area and not have a ridiculous commute. Since charities often have long hours, it's worthwhile for the charity to make sure their head has a reasonable commute and they don't miss a meeting with a huge donor while stuck on a bridge or something. And large charities tend to be in big ($$$) cities because that's where the donors are, where they can fly out fast, etc.

$200K+ requires explanation (does the head also have special skills or education, for example) but in a big city $100K isn't at all out of line for a very important position.

[Cleita]

4. K&R

People need to know this. Also, now they are getting money from the government because of Bush and his faith based initiatives.

[hfojvt]

5. oh come on, be realistic

you know that nobody who is worth a crap works for less than $150,000 a year. If the CEOs only made $80,000 a year you could never find someone willing to work for that who could handle a billion dollar organization. Only an incompetent idiot would work for $80,000.

Besides that, of course, $150,000 a year is barely middle class in Washington DC and New York and Los Angeles, which is where these people work and live.


Actually, I find those salaries sickening. I would like to follow some of those people around at work for a week and see what they do that is worth that kind of money.

[Cleita]

7. Unfortunately, those expensive guys aren't worth a crap either.

It seems that retired CEO's should volunteer their time for this kind of work if they are inclined to still want to work but don't need the money. It seems they would also get more personal satisfaction from doing something that doesn't require them to deliver profits to Wall Street.

[OzarkDem]

6. Health/Cancer Charities

American Cancer Society: $1,101,119



Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation: $293,405

Make A Wish Foundation: $272,420

Leukemia & Lynphoma Society: $403,475

National Breast Cancer Foundation : No report provided (this group is run by Texas friends of Zig Ziglar's, the one that if you go to their web site and click on a pink ribbon, you'll give someone a free mammogram.) National City Bank's pink ribbon cause marketing gives its funds to this charity. Hmmm, you would think they could provide a report, no?

OTOH

Lance Armstrong Foundation (cutting edge, innovative & fearless cancer advocacy group): $135,717


PS. I'm small potatoes as a local charity, but even I update my BBB report every couple of years. Anyone who isn't providing this information to BBB is definitely suspect or incompetent.

[Gelliebeans]

11. Thank you shireen

As we head toward the holiday season many people will be making their year end donations and this list you provided will help people choose wisely.

I hope you don't mind I am going to copy this list and send it to all in my address book?

I send my money to Alpha Project. Here is the website http://www.alphaproject.org/ (local here in San Diego, CA)
We send money to buy blankets for those that are homeless and cold, it's not much but I can't stand to think of someone out in the cold unable to get warm.

[shireen]

13. feel free ...

Also, financial summaries can be found, if they exist, for these organizations at http://www.networkforgood.org/ (click on the research button). They have a very extensive searchable database for national and local charities. I use them because they can set up recurring anonymous donations, and all recurring donations can be made at the same time each month. The minimum donation amount is only $10 so, if you want, you can spread small amounts in monthly across several organizations. You can also make donations in honor of someone and let them know via an e-card, or in the memory of a loved one.

Alpha Project sounds wonderful. They are one of thousands of "invisible" -- as in not much recognition for their heroic efforts -- organizations that work at local grassroots levels. Their overheads are low, and their CEOs do it as a labor of love, not to become rich. Those organizations are often registered in the Network for Good database; you can do a search on your location and area of interest, and once you find one you're interested in, you can check out their research page, run google checks, and/or ask local community leaders. It's always good to find out a little about the organization, to make sure you're not stepping on a fire ant mound -- there could be mismanagement, leadership, or other negative issues. Another way to find a good charity is simply check with local churches, synagogues, or mosques. About a year ago, I drove past a church in downtown Baltimore around dusk, and noticed that a lot of homeless had gathered there for the night. When I got home, I called the church to find out if there was anything I could do for them. The lady said no, they did not directly do anything for them, just let them use the church grounds at night because the city was chasing them away from other locations. But she gave me the name of an organization that was helping them, and that's how I found out about a local grassroots soup kitchen that helped them (also listed in Network for Good). There are many Alpha Project-like organizations in every city and town, and they need our help much more than the big organizations.

[mondo joe]

15. If I may say, there are many factors that make a charity worth donating to.

And I would say every individual has to look for what matters to them.

I don't mind a CEO making a good salary if they are worth it. A good CEO can make a huge difference in the success of a non profit in its ability to meet its mission.

That doesn't mean I think others should use my standards either - I fully support informed choices based on donor priorities.

[spooky3]

12. Use this website to check out national charities:

http://www.give.org/reports/index.asp

There are big differences in how they are run.

[shireen]

14. yes!

that's where I got the salary information. Very interesting site.