Big Bucks going to the who?

After reading Harvey’s post about executives of nonprofits making big money, I was a little bit shocked.  I agree that really successful nonprofits who have executives that drive the business deserve to be paid better than the ho hum private business owner.  However, when I saw how much Michael Miller, the president of the Goodwill of Columbia-Willamette is making ($644,587), I had to take a second to catch my breath.  WOW, there is a difference between compensating someone for a job well done and taking that extra, oh lets see here, $500,000 that could be going to the cause?  Ridiculous.

Nonprofit Exeutive Salaries

Though we haven’t spent much of any time in class discussing the salaries of nonprofit executives, and how they impact giving/contributions/fundraising-in-general, I came across this online article from one of my Google Alerts. A Portland, Oregon, TV news station looked at the salaries of nonprofit executives as part of an investigative journalism piece. An interesting read of how an audit can change executive’s perspectives. The article, as expected, is a little critical, but a rather interesting look at just how much salaries may impact administrative expenses. As many of my students know, I’ve discussed administrative costs, efficiency, and accountability ad nauseum in our discussions about the economics and and ethics in philanthropy.

Something to think about. — Prof. Harvey