snopes.com: Executive Salaries in Charities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E-mail thisClaim:   Article compares the salaries of top executives of several large charitable organizations.Examples:[Collected via e-mail, October 2010]

Keep these facts in mind when "donating". As you open your pockets for yet another natural disaster, keep the following facts in mind; we have listed them from the highest (worse paid offender) to the lowest (least paid offender).

The worst offender was yet again for the 11th year in a row is, UNICEF - CEO, receives $1,200,000 per year, (plus use of a Royal Royce for his exclusive use where ever he goes, and an expense account that is rumoured to be well over $150,000.) Only pennies from the actual donations goes to the UNICEF cause (less than $0.14 per dollar of income).

The second worst offender this year is Marsha J. Evans, President and CEO of the American Red Cross... for her salary for the year ending in 2009 was $651,957 plus expenses. Enjoys 6 weeks - fully paid holidays including all related expenses during the holiday trip for her and her husband and kids. including 100% fully paid health & dental plan for her and her family, for life. This means out of every dollar they bring in, about $0.39 goes to related charity causes.

The third worst offender was again for the 7th time was, Brian Gallagher, President of the United Way receives a $375,000 base salary (U.S. funds), plus so many numerous expense benefits it's hard to keep track as to what it is all worth, including a fully paid lifetime membership for 2 golf courses (1 in Canada, and 1 in the U.S.A.), 2 luxury vehicles, a yacht club membership, 3 major company gold credit cards for his personal expenses...and so on. This equates to about $0.51 per dollar of income goes to charity causes.

Fourth worst offender who was also again in the fourth spot, for every year since this information has been made available from the start 1998 is amazingly yet again, World Vision President (Canada) receives $300,000 base salary, (plus supplied - a home valued in the $700,000 - $800,000 dollar value range, completely furnished, completely paid all housing expenses, including taxes, water/sewer, telephone/fax, HD/high speed cable, weekly maid service and pool/yard maintenance, fully paid private schooling for his children, upscale automobile and an $55,000 personal expense account for clothing/food, with a $125,000 business expense account). Get this, because it is a "religious based" charity, it pays, little to no taxes, can receive government assistance and does not have to declare were the money goes. Only about $0.52 of earned income per dollar is available for charity causes.

Of the sixty some odd "charities" we looked at, the lowest paid (President/C.E.O/Commissioner) was heading up a charity group right here in Canada. We found, believe it or not, it was......

The Salvation Army's Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 Billion dollar organization. Which means about $0.93 per dollar earned, is readily available and goes back out to local charity causes... truly amazing... and well done "Sally Ann".

No further comment is necessary..."Think Twice" before you give to your charity of choice as to which one really does the best for the most - or the least for the most, for that matter.

 

[Collected via e-mail, November 2012]

The American Red CrossPresident and CEO Marsha J. Evans' salary for the year was $651,957 plus expenses

MARCH OF DIMESIt is called the March of Dimes because only a dime for every 1 dollar is given to the needy.

The United WayPresident Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits.

UNICEFCEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,200,000 per year (100k per month) plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE.Less than 5 cents of your donated dollar goes to the cause.

GOODWILL CEO and owner Mark Curran profits $2.3 million a year.Goodwill is a very catchy name for his business.You donate to his business and then he sells the items for PROFIT.He pays nothing for his products and pays his workers minimum wage! Nice Guy.$0.00 goes to help anyone! Stop giving to this man.

Instead, give it to ANY OF THE FOLLOWING

GO "GREEN" AND PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE IT WILL DO SOME GOOD:

The Salvation ArmyCommissioner, Todd Bassett receives a small salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization.96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause.

The American LegionNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Veterans of Foreign WarsNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Disabled American VeteransNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Military Order of Purple HeartsNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Vietnam Veterans AssociationNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

Make a Wish: For children's last wishes.100% goes to funding trips or special wishes for a dying child.

St. Jude Research Hospital100% goes towards funding and helping Children with Cancer who have no insurance and can not afford to pay.

Ronald McDonald HousesAll monies go to running the houses for parents who have critical Children in the hospital.100% goes to housing, and feeding the families.

Lions Club International100% OF DONATIONS GO TO HELP THE BLIND, BUY HEARING AIDES, SUPPORT MEDICAL MISSIONS AROUND THE WORLD. THEIR LATEST UNDERTAKING IS MEASLES VACCINATIONS (ONLY $1.00 PER SHOT).

Please share this with everyone you can.

 

Origins:   When deciding which charities to donate to, many people consider an important factor to be the "efficiency" of these organizations — that is, what percentage of the monies taken in by a given charity goes to funding its mission rather than being eaten up by costs such as fundraising activities, salaries, and other administrative overhead.

The e-mail reproduced above, which began circulating in 2005 and has been re-circulated every year since then around Christmastime, attempts to steer potential

donors away from inefficient charities. Unfortunately, much of the information it presents was inaccurate back in 2005, and it has grown only more so in the years since then, resulting in a misleading and outdated view of various charities. We attempt to present accurate and up-to-date information about the named charities below.

The following efficiency information is derived from the Charity Navigator web site, the GuideStar web site and Forbes magazine's November 2009 special report on the 200 Largest U.S. Charities. Salary information is taken from Schedule J (Compensation Information) of the various charities' IRS Form 990 filings, an annual reporting return that certain federally tax-exempt organizations must file with the IRS which provides information on the filing organization's mission, programs, and finances. (In the context of this article, the term "efficiency" refers to the percentage of total budget/expenses that each listed organization spends on providing charitable programs and services, while the term "compensation" or "pay" includes salary, one-time payments, and deferred compensation.)

A 2011 addendum to the original message presented the following information:

The American Legion National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.The Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.The Disabled American Veterans National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.The Military Order of Purple Hearts National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.The Vietnam Veterans Association National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.The Wounded Warriors National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. These organizations with no salaries have donations going to help Veterans and their families and youth.

According to the most recent available Form 990 filings, all of these statements are false and/or misleading (in large part because the National Commanders are not necessarily the top business executives of these organizations):Unfortunately, the six veterans-related charitable organizations mentioned above don't receive very high marks for efficiency (as determined by Charity Navigator, the BBB, or Form 990 information):Additional information:Last updated:   4 January 2015

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