When is a Salary too High?
I browsed Charity Navigator this weekend, because I wondered how the American Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) rated on the site (an organization I support). The ASPCA received a 4/5 stars which seems to be a decent rating. However, in further reviewing Charity Navigator's report, I saw that the current president makes just under $500,000 a year. Administrative expenses are only 2.1% of the organization's expenses, but is it ethical for a nonprofit's presidents to accept that high of a salary? I read many of the comments that people posted on charity navigator about the president's salary, and there were some pretty angry people. The ASPCA responded
"People on this blog are talking as if the ASPCA is a NYC local shelter. It's so much more. It fights for animal rights, petitions law makers, has law enforcement officers and awareness campaigns, and has recently raided puppy mills in TN, MS, and PA... Compare Sayres' salary to for-profit CEOs that make 20 million a year. You need to attract javascript:void(0)talent to get things done. And NYC is expensive. "
How does everyone feel about this high of a salary? Did the ASPCA give a justified answer? NYC is expensive but I do not think the presidents should need $500,000 to live comfortably or even more than comfortably. I do believe that President's of large organizations should make a decent living but is this salary just too high? Should an organization spend this much to attract the best? Imagine how else that money could be used.
I donate to this organization and I am torn by this information. I advocate for program effectiveness over financial, but at some point the finances need to make sense...
Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I spent some time looking at CEO salaries for some organizations I support and found similar numbers. I agree with you about being torn. I think charities doing international work, handling billions of dollars, and giving significant responsibility to CEOs, should pay them a decent salary, but I do agree that the money does seem like too much and am also wondering why it is not used for programs.
Rebeca, when I read your comment about accountability at the beginning of the semester, I found it interesting, but to be honest, I didn´t give much relevance to it. However, to my surprise, your topic has become an issue that, until today, has remained in force in our weekly discussions... and your are absolutely right when you raise questions about accountability, specifically in this case about the CEOs salaries... how to evaluate the accountability of an organization whose CEO wins all that amount of money?... specially if we take into account what Kristen says about using part of that money for the execution of the programs (or the enhancement of the scope of the current programs)...
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