DivePartner1
Contributor
gj62:
Well, yes although salaries are nothing like you see on Wall Street. Salary and benefits packages to 501(c)(3) charities are limited to reasonable compensation defined as what similarly placed organizations would pay. This is in the Form 990 annually filed with the IRS.
As an arbitrary benchmark, AARPs Form 990 shows the top 5 non-directors earning between $111K and $145K; the total paid to all directors was under $100K. 4 of the 5 mostly highly paid were senior staff lawyers. The AARP Foundation raised $65 million
So, how do diving charities stack up? Take the Cousteau Soc. and DAN.
The Cousteau Societys raised only $3.8 million. Its 2002 Form 990 showed it paid $110K to Francine Cousteau, presiding from distant France, while it paid $124K to Secretary Robert Steele. No one else struck it that rich. Salaries to the 5 highest paid non-officers ranged from $24K to $53K.
In 2002, DAN raised $8.2 million. Diver Alert Networks 2002 Form 990 showed that its officers and directors were paid a whopping $1.3M compared to a total salary paid to all other staff of only $2.1M. No surprises-- Dr. Bennett had a comp. package of nearly $700K that year, many times anyone else. The 5 highest paid non-directors got from $55K to $75K. Ouch again.
All of this begs the question: what were these smallish dive charities using as a benchmark of reasonable compensation to their founding families?
