Salaries of non profit executives

[DiveHeart]

1. Goodwill: Mark Curran $2.3 Million
2.Unicef: Caryl Stem $1.2 Million
3. American Red Cross: Marsha Evans $651,957
4. United Way: Brian Gallagher $375,000
5. Diveheart: Jim Elliott $0
WHERE WILL YOU GIVE IN 2015? Donate | Diveheart

 

[CuracaoJ]

Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong | TED Talk | TED.com

 

[RJP]

Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong | TED Talk | TED.com

I was going to post this - it's great.

 

[BRT]

Non-profit usually just means that most of the money goes to the top execs as salary. No salary indicates someone doing something they believe in. Kudus.

I should say that DAN may be an exception. Their insurance sure seems to work and be a good deal.

 

[Insta-Gator]

One useful tool for evaluating who should receive your money.

Charity Navigator - America's Largest Charity Evaluator | Home

 

[the_dragon_no1]

Hmmmm... Never thought about it that way.. Good point :/

 

[diving4ever]

Interesting post. Just to clarify being a "Nonprofit" means that the purpose of the corporation is to create value for the public good and not to create wealth for an owner or shareholders. 501(c)3 nonprofits (like those listed above) receive tax deductible gifts, which mean that money is diverted from public coffers (so impact matters). Keep in mind that these organizations still need to turn a "profit" to stay viable and they need talent comparable to the private sector. So the issue isn't how much we spend in the nonprofit sector (on salaries etc.). The issue is how much impact we deliver. Paying an NP CEO 50k is overkill if they don't produce any value for taxpayers. Paying a CEO $500K is reasonable if they are leading an organization that is measurably reducing homelessness or successfully preserving public waterways. Running a nonprofit corporation requires a comparable skill set to running a for-profit (public) corporation of the same size. Actually, it requires additional skills because of the realities of restricted money...but that is a post for a different day. The idea of rating nonprofits can be attractive, but it is also problematic. Charity Navigator uses a formula that rewards low overhead. Too many organizations starve their infrastructure to get to a low overhead ratio...and it negatively impacts their mission.

I would never donate to an organization because they didn't have paid staff (or paid them poorly). So DiveHeart doesn't win my heart or money on that one. That said, I might fund an organization without staff if they were have a big impact and changing lives--and DiveHeart certainly sounds like they could be doing that. Of course, having professional staff and good infrastructure usually means you can help more people more effectively.

 

[kwinter]

1. Goodwill: Mark Curran $2.3 Million
2.Unicef: Caryl Stem $1.2 Million
3. American Red Cross: Marsha Evans $651,957
4. United Way: Brian Gallagher $375,000
5. Diveheart: Jim Elliott $0
WHERE WILL YOU GIVE IN 2015? Donate | Diveheart

I don't know about Jim Elliott, but all the other figures quoted are BS. This false spam email has been going around for almost 10 years. That's not to say that the CEOs of various charities don't receive high salaries, or that Diveheart is not a worthy cause. It's just that I hate inaccuracy being spread.

 

[diving4ever]

I don't know about Jim Elliott, but all the other figures quoted are BS. This false spam email has been going around for almost 10 years. That's not to say that the CEOs of various charities don't receive high salaries, or that Diveheart is not a worthy cause. It's just that I hate inaccuracy being spread.

Thanks for raising this. It's late and I was bored, so I pulled the most recent (available) 990s. Note, because of tax reporting extensions, some are 2013 while others are 2014. You'll notice many of the CEO names don't match those above.

2013 American Red Cross CEO Gayle McGovern: 562K
2014 GoodWill Industries International, CEO James Gibbons CEO: 565K
2013 UNICEF CEO Caryl Stem: 521K
2013 UnitedWay Worldwide CEO Brian Gallagher 764K plus 322K (from an affiliated org/subsidiary)

But these are massive and complex organizations and the numbers don't tell you much. I pulled out a recent regional nonprofit compensation study and got the following averages. This is San Francisco Bay Area specific which is a very expensive place to live and it has relatively relatively high income. Obviously compensation in other parts of the country would be even lower.
The average pay for a NP Executive Director or CEO for organizations with a budget less than 500K is about 72K.
The average pay for a NP Executive Director or CEO for organizations with a budget more than 15 Million is about 169K

I agree that DiveRight may be doing great work. They should have told me about that work and maybe shared stories about what they've accomplished. That is a better route to a donor's heart (and wallet).

 

[DiveHeart]

Thank you all for your input. The post was meant to generate discussion. We all need to be critical thinkers before we give to charity. It reminds me of a Wounded Warrior type charity that was profiled on CNN where the Charity hired a professional fundraiser who brought in around 90 million dollars. of which, the fundraiser made 80% the Charity made the remainder and the veterans who were supposed to benefit received pass through in kind donations which equalled pallets of m&m's, gym shoes, and other stuff. I live Diveheart and don't draw a salary. it just sickens me sometime when I see the greed and graft at work….My father was a veteran with disabilities and I raised children with disabilities. I hope you understand. thanks for your input.