Do charity's CEO salaries influence which ones you give to?

[World Traveler]

I agree with a lot of you on this thread. It has always bothered me how much a charity CEO made. I use Charity Navigator to break down expenses. Like many of you what percentage goes to the actual program. I feel charity work should be a calling not an enrichment vehicle. I don’t care how hard they work if your about the compensation find a for profit to work for.

[street]

It does effect and my wiliness to give to a charity with to much overhead and salary expenses.

I am on a board of directors for community care foundation and every single red penny given to that charity goes directly back to the health care and related projects in my community. I'm very proud of the work that is done from this foundation.

Most of the work is done by volunteers and we do have 2 paid people and one is a CEO but the local Hospital pays there salary and benefits etc. All other expenses are through the general funds from the hospital.

We give out about 1/2 million plus each year in grants to police, health care, EMT, day care, people that need help in related wellness etc.

So in a small local charity it is something we hang our hat on and very proud to say that every penny you donate goes back to help every age group and your community.

[jimbee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by O2Bfree I suppose the argument that a CEO needs big money to build a lifestyle that attracts big money has some merit. William Aramony used that as an excuse during the United Way scandal in the early 90s: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...=.1f20a18f0bdb [I]"As president, Mr. Aramony helped United Way annual donations grow to more than $3 billion in 1990 from $787 million in 1970. He was lauded within the group as a “visionary” and a “genius” whose restructuring of United Way saved the charity from dissolution." [mod edit: copyright] Transparency, then, is a prime consideration!

Well, inflation over that period was about 3.37x, and United Way contributions increased 3.81x. So he did beat inflation.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucethebroker Right on! As a young middle manager, making $50k, our VP of sales told each of us he expected our contribution of no less than $1000 a year to UW.

They tried something like that where I worked too, every year, including saying they wanted to see "100% office participation" although there was no mention of a specific amount. I just filled in a "zero" in the amount space and signed it. There, I "participated".

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucethebroker Right on! As a young middle manager, making $50k, our VP of sales told each of us he expected our contribution of no less than $1000 a year to UW. (No allowance given for the charities we supported then). At the time, DW was a stay at home mom with our young kids. I was the non-profit organization...and could have used that money. PS-I also have never given to UW once free of the "corporate arm twisting/extortison. If UW is aware of what goes on behind the curtain, and continues their support of fund raising that way, shame on them.

I delivered auto parts for a year when I was 20. The owner of the parts store was a UW volunteer. Genuinely a good guy who treated us pretty well(except his temper). Health insurance, unlimited sick and disability but... He demanded you contribute your "fair share" by UW definition. I remember telling him I made $2.45 an hour, he reminded me minimum wage was only $2.20 an hour and I was better off than many.

Later in life I was a manager who's Megacorp drove for 100% participation in UW. I met with my team and let them know my definition of participating was filling out the form. Goose eggs counted. Nobody above me cared, no one challenged my merit awards, promotions.

[GravitySucks]

I have stopped giving to two partially due to excessive CEO charities.
Red Cross no longer gets my money in part of ceo salary. They still get my blood as they're the only game in town.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Later in life I was a manager whose Megacorp drove for 100% participation in UW. I met with my team and let them know my definition of participating was filling out the form. Goose eggs counted. Nobody above me cared, no one challenged my merit awards, promotions.

I worked for one Megacorp that just wanted everyone to fill in the form- same thing. AFAIK, they never hassled anyone who pledged zero. I gave a small amount to a charity I trusted that was a UW participant but donated a much larger amount outside of UW.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GravitySucks Red Cross no longer gets my money in part of CEO salary. They still get my blood as they're the only game in town.

Fortunately we have another local blood bank. I've lived in the area 15 years and I don't think the Red Cross has gotten a single pint of mine even though I donate plasma, platelets and whole blood (always 2 out of those 3) monthly when I'm not benched due to my travel destinations.

[audreyh1]

How did UW have such pull? Did they promise company execs sone kind of perk or recognition?

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 Fortunately we have another local blood bank. I've lived in the area 15 years and I don't think the Red Cross has gotten a single pint of mine even though I donate plasma, platelets and whole blood (always 2 out of those 3) monthly when I'm not benched due to my travel destinations.

Yeah, I switched away from Red Cross too.

Nothing like feeling like I'm imposing on them. Oh my goodness, sorry I showed up and extended your day to quitting time!

Or, listening to the workers gossip about their bosses. Leave that to the break rooms.

Just bad form, and a larger indication of the culture of the organization.

[O2Bfree]

My company is big on UW too, though the push has faded some since the last scandal. But in the past, my manager always scheduled us to attend one of the fund drive presentations. At least they tried to make it fun with quizzes and prizes for various types of participation. We're still pushed to give, and asked to at least return our forms, even if we don't give. Is that a guilt tactic or what?

[OldShooter]

When I want to evaluate a charity I immediately go to guidestar.org and pull their most recent tax return.

I first look at the P&L and the balance sheet. The expense side of the P&L will provide clues to how donations are being spent. Also, I know of one nonprofit that has several years' revenue in reserves/investments. This is an organization run for the benefit of its management, who have years worth of job security and salary cushion if membership falls off.

In addition to salaries, I look at names. I remember one I looked where the old man, his wife, and his kids were all on the payroll.

I also look to see if the charity has for-profit subsidiaries. This is a completely legal shell game where, for example, they buy services from the sub. The sub is totally opaque, so it's a good place for nepotism, big salaries, etc. to be hidden.

I look at large outside contracts, too. Often there are printers, mailing services, etc. but sometimes there are fund-raising companies, etc.

Finally I look at the notes at the end of the return. This is where they are forced to explain things in the main return that are unusual.

All of that is just a smell test, because a good accountant can bury things pretty deep, but it's IMO still a useful exercise.

[World Traveler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by street It does effect and my wiliness to give to a charity with to much overhead and salary expenses. I am on a board of directors for community care foundation and every single red penny given to that charity goes directly back to the health care and related projects in my community. I'm very proud of the work that is done from this foundation. Most of the work is done by volunteers and we do have 2 paid people and one is a CEO but the local Hospital pays there salary and benefits etc. All other expenses are through the general funds from the hospital. We give out about 1/2 million plus each year in grants to police, health care, EMT, day care, people that need help in related wellness etc. So in a small local charity it is something we hang our hat on and very proud to say that every penny you donate goes back to help every age group and your community.

Outstanding!

[GoodWishes]

DH and I volunteer for several local organizations. We are impressed by their work and most of our donations go to them.

[brucethebroker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 How did UW have such pull? Did they promise company execs sone kind of perk or recognition?

Dunno. But my personal theory is that my company big shot VP went to a luncheon, stood up and announced some huge contribution by our company. (Round of applause...). Then he returned and divided that number by the number of middle managers under his control.

BTW, he told us he would personally look at each contribution form before it was submitted. He was a horse's a** all the way around, so none of it surprised me.

[marko]

$1.3MM for an operation the size of St Jude is a bargain, IMO.

This is a BIG organization with many moving parts; a big job.

[Badger]

I never appreciated the pressure to contribute to UW. If I wanted to contribute to a charity that is my business. I also don't like that so much of the contributions went to the CEO and others. To me that smacks of a type of corruption. I also don't buy into the argument that the exceptionally high salaries are necessary to attract qualified management and they are worth it because they will increase the bottom line.



Then there is the con that you can designate which of their charities you want your money to go to. I'm not so gullible to think that they don't readjust the money form all sources to balance it back to their original formula like a shell game or 3 card Monty.


I volunteer at a few charities and donate to small local charities where I know the money goes to helping the cause instead of helping the management get richer.


Cheers!

[CardsFan]

Regarding the pressure to donate to UW:

A while back the company I worked for was owned by a large MegaCorp. One year I had received a large bonus, and was feeling particularly generous. So I donated at the lowest tier of the "prestige" levels (silver, gold etc). Of course, all the paperwork said all donations are anonymous.

A week or so later I received a thank you from a corporate honcho. It came in an envelope color coded to the giving level . Back then the mail slots were in public areas, so much for be anonymous.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter When I want to evaluate a charity I immediately go to guidestar.org and pull their most recent tax return.

This is good advice. Takes a little work. You learn A LOT.

The nonprofit board I was treasurer for insisted we fill out a 990 even though we could just do the post card, which has no details (revenue under $50k). The board wanted to be public on all we do.

I was proud to fill that out! Our only significant expense was insurance. Everyone worked gratis and we kept all other expenses to the absolute minimum, with most covered with in-kind donations.

The only downside is I think since my name is on the return, it has ramped up spam that I get.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras This is good advice. Takes a little work. You learn A LOT. ...

Thank you. To be clear for others, accessing tax returns at guidestar.org requires that you have a login. Registration is easy and in quite a few years of using guidestar I have never gotten any spam or had any other negative effects from providing my contact information to obtain a login.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter Thank you. To be clear for others, accessing tax returns at guidestar.org requires that you have a login. Registration is easy and in quite a few years of using guidestar I have never gotten any spam or had any other negative effects from providing my contact information to obtain a login.

Right. Sorry to confuse things. Since the 990 tax form is public, and as treasurer and officer of the corp, my name and signature is in full sight for all to see. Nothing to do with Guidestar, everything to do with the IRS.

BTW, for those who have donor advised fund with Vanguard Charitable, the Guidestar information now comes free automatically if logged onto the Vanguard Charitable. Just click the "Find a Charity" button and you have access to all the Guidestar info. Very helpful.