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The average salary of 11 Butler County non-profit agency chief executive officers exceeded $101,000 in 2010, according to tax records obtained by this newspaper.
The newspaper examined hundreds of pages of 2009 and 2010 IRS Form 990 tax forms and records from the Better Business Bureau of Cincinnati, which ranks non-profit agencies on 20 Standards of Charity Accountability.
Non-profits are considered accountable if they spend more than 65 percent of their total expenses on programs, according to the bureau. The examination by this newspaper shows a majority in Butler County meet this standard.
Some of the highest executive salaries were paid by the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, which serves three states, 10 counties and Middletown area residents.
Robert Reifsnyder, chief executive officer of the United Way, earned $344,911 — the most there and the highest of any leader of an agency that serves Butler County.
Yvonna Washington, the agency’s vice president, earned $217,827, according to tax returns. Five other top executives — Carol Aquino, Margaret Hulbert, Jill Johnson, Chris Martin and Barbara Terry — all earned more than $100,000.
But the Greater Cincinnati United Way also has the largest gross receipts in the area, nearly $120 million.
At the United Way, 87 percent of its funding was earmarked for programs, 8 percent on fund raising and 5 percent on administrative, which earned it a perfect rating from the BBB.
Valerie Sheppard, board chair of the Greater Cincinnati United Way, said it’s important to remember, when comparing salaries of non-profit executives, the range of services those leaders provide.
She called work by the United Way “critically important” to each of the communities it serves. Their salaries are determined following “a pretty rigid review” by human resource volunteers and board members, she said.
While Sheppard wouldn’t release the salaries of area directors — and they’re not listed on IRS Form 990 — she said the directors at the four agencies, Middletown, Clermont/Brown county, Northern Kentucky and Dearborn County, Ind., earn between $63,000 to $93,000. She said those salaries are “in-line” with executives of similar sized non-profits agencies.
The BBB said it encourages charities to disclose accountability information beyond what typically is included in financial statements and government filings in order to demonstrate transparency and strengthen public trust in the character sector, said Erika Lehman, director of the center for ethics at the BBB.
The two most telling standards, she said, include: 65 percent of the total expenses must be spent on programs; and organizations can’t spend more than 35 percent of their related contributions on fund raising expenses.
For instance, if an organization receives $1 million in funding, at least $650,000 must be earmarked for programs, and no more than 35 cents of every dollar raised should go to fund raising expenses.
The other Butler County non-profit organizations that received a perfect rating from the BBB: Partners in Prime in Hamilton, Great Miami Valley YMCA, Abilities First Foundation in Middletown, One Way Farm in Fairfield, Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County, Supports to Encourage Low-income Families (SELF) and LifeSpan Inc.
People seem to disagree on how much executives of non-profit agencies should earn and whether they should be paid competitive wages with executives of profit companies.
Susan Wise, president of an animal rescue group, said every time she hears about a CEO of a non-profit agency making $100,000 “it makes my heart hurt for the people who could be helped with that kind of money.”
She said she’s thankful for the millions of volunteers who believe in their causes at a grass-roots level and make such a huge impact — without pay — simply because they care.
“Somehow when the organization gets that big, they loose focus — thereby needing to be paid to keep it,” said Wise, a volunteer.
As executive director of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County, Carolyn Winslow earned $71,240 in 2010, according to tax records. She understands there are those people who think her salary — and that of most non-profit executives — are too high.
But she said people need to understand the education, job experience and skill level required to run non-profits.
“You do pay for the person,” she said. “It’s just like it is in the for-profit world.”
Sometimes, she said, people have told her she should make less because since she works for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. But is anyone else willing to do it for free? I get up early in the morning and go to work. I have to kids in college,” she said.
When evaluating an executive’s salary at a non-profit agency, it’s important to understands that person’s effectiveness with meeting the mission, said Rocco Manzo, a faculty member at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University.
“You can look at the impact that person is having, and ask, ‘Are we paying our executives too much while we’re cutting back on services?’ Is that person helping to raise our profile?”
Those who run non-profits are “under a lot of scrutiny” and pressure, typically reserved for the profit sector.
“It’s not as easy as it may sound,” he said.
Maurice Maxwell is paid $63,531 annually to serve as executive director of Family Service of Middletown, a downtown food pantry. He said he wishes he could make more money because the agency provides “critical work and essential service” to the Middletown community, he said.
But he understands why some leaders of non-profits aren’t compensated equal to leaders of profit agencies. “We are not viewed in the same way,” he said. “They don’t think the same value is there.”
When Tina Osso founded Shared Harvest Foodbank in 1983, it wasn’t about the potential of a six-figure salary, she said.
And now, nearly 30 years later, she feels the same way.
As executive director, she earned $62,489, what she called “enough money.”
She doesn’t base the success of her career on salary.
“I look at the value of what we do as more important than the money that is paid,” she said. “It’s not a job; it’s a mission.”
Recently, she said, there’s been a fundamental shift that in order for non-profits to “attract talented people,” they must offer salaries comparable to executives of profit organizations.
That’s not the case, she said.
“I don’t think more money gets better talent and I think we have lost our way in the non-profit world if we try to compare to the profit world,” she said.
Bruce Jewett, who became president of the Butler County United Way seven months ago, sees both sides of the argument. He said it’s imperative for non-profits to be “good stewards” of donor’s money, but at the same time, to have “a successful operation,” non-profits must offer competitive wages.
Jewett, a retired Butler County administrator, said because of his retirement package, he’s able to work for a lower salary than his predecessor. Maureen Noe earned $118,295 in 2010, according to tax records, and Jewett makes about $90,000, he said.
Sandra Miniutti, vice president of marketing for Charity Navigator, a New Jersey firm that rates non-profit organizations around the United States, said the organization completed its latest CEO Compensation Study in 2008.
Of the 5,500 charities that generate more than $1 million in revenue, the medium salary of their chief executive officers was $147,273 in 2008, a 4.7 percent increase over the previous year, she said.
In the Midwest, the medium salary was $255,00 for large charities, $152,000 for medium charities and $84,000 for small charities. The size is determined by total expenses of each charity, she said.
When some people — especially those who can’t afford to support agencies — see six-figure salaries, they sometimes “freak out,” Miniutti said. She said some people believe those in the non-profit field should work for free, an ancient thought.
“We need to get away from that,” she said.
She recommended that people should financially support agencies that offer “decent” salaries and provide strong results over a “floundering” organization with a volunteer staff.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio.com.
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