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CAPITAL REGION
Some heads of nonprofits paid well
Salary is determined by experience, size of budget, comparable positions
BY SARA FOSS Gazette Reporter

    There’s a perception that people who work at nonprofit organizations are toiling in low-wage jobs, for much less pay than they would make in the private sector.
    And sometimes they are.
    But for the past 20 years, the nonprofit sector has grown and as budgets, staffs and services have increased, so have wages.
    Today, many nonprofit CEOs quietly earn six-fi gure salaries and although these salaries are generally considered acceptable within the field, they often come as a surprise to donors, who often believe the executive directors at their favorite charities are working for free or very low pay.
    “Executive compensation is the most controversial aspect of nonprofit management,” said Judith R. Saidel, an associate professor who specializes in public policy and nonprofi t management at Rockefeller College of Pubic Affairs & Policy in Albany. “There’s a certain point at which the donating public might raise their eyebrows and be less inclined to make a donation.” Research, she said, has shown that the tipping point is generally around $100,000.
    “Some people think of it as the dark side of nonprofits,” Saidel said.
WIDE RANGE
    Locally, there’s a wide range of salaries for CEOs at nonprofits, with the higher-paying jobs typically found in health and higher education. For example:
    Ellis Hospital CEO James Connolly earned $407,707, plus $121,007 in other compensation from the organization and related organizations, in 2008.
    James Barba, president and CEO at Albany Medical Center, earned over $4.4 million, plus $183,011.
    Union College President Stephen Ainley earned $363,585 in 2009, plus $93,071 in other compensation from the organization and other organizations.
    Philip Glotzbach, the president of Skidmore College, earned $331,585, plus $96,281 in other compensation.
    Shirley Jackson, the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, earned more than $1.65 million in base salary, bonus and incentive compensation, other compensation, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefi ts.
    Directors of nonprofi ts serving the needy tend to make far less than their counterparts in health and education, but many of them earn fairly robust salaries.
    Deb Schimpf, executive director of the Schenectady Community Action Program, earned $90,235 in 2008; Margaret Anderton, the recently retired director of Bethesda House, earned $89,181 in 2009; and the Rev. Phil Grigsby, executive director of the Schenectady Inner City Ministry, earned $41,502 in 2008, plus $43,561 in other compensation.
TENURE COUNTS
    Experts say nonprofi t CEO pay should be determined by the person’s experience and length of time with the organization — “tenure matters,” Saidel said — as well as the size of the organization’s budget and how much organizations with similar missions pay their executive directors. One argument is that nonprofit organizations need to pay well if they want to compete with the private sector, where CEO compensation is considerably higher.
    “Some nonprofits are like corporations,” said Kim Fredericks, chair of the Sage Colleges’ School of Management graduate programs. “They’re dealing with large amounts of money, with millions of dollars.”
    When Michael Saccocio started working at the City Mission of Schenectady 22 years ago as director of urban youth programs, his salary was in the mid-$20,000 range.
    Today Saccocio is executive director of the mission — a position he has held for 15 years — and he earns $92,500. His salary is determined by the mission’s board, he said, which looks at comparable organizations to make sure his salary is in line with what people in his position earn.
    The City Mission has grown steadily under Saccocio’s leadership. When he started working there in 1989 the budget was approximately $800,000; when he took over as director it was $1.2 million, and today it is $3.3 million. The organization has expanded its services in that time; in the past decade, it has built a $6 million women and children’s shelter.
    “It’s a bigger job,” Saccocio said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m working harder than I used to. For me, this job has always been very consuming.”
    Ed August, executive director of Better Neighborhoods Inc. in Schenectady, earned $58,252 in 2008; this year, he said, he has taken a pay cut, dropping to four days a week as a result of cuts in the organization’s grant funding. Four other staffers also dropped to four days a week.
    August said that when he started working at Better Neighborhoods in 1986 he was the only person on staff; about eight people had been laid off prior to his arrival. But the organization steadily grew and now has 11 employees as well as a budget of about $600,000. BNI has also expanded; the organization recently opened an offi ce in Amsterdam to help residents who are in foreclosure.
    Asked whether he felt his salary was reasonable, August said he wasn’t motivated by money. ....................>>>>...................>>>>.....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00102&AppName=1

Quoted from bumblethru

Of course they didn't include Morris!!!

It appears to just be a smear campaign from local government via the gazette, to try to get 'taxes' out of these nonprofits.

Quoted from bumblethru

Of course they didn't include Morris!!! that's the deep dark secret!

As far as what CEO's of non profits get.....perhaps it's too much....perhaps it's not. If they are not breaking the law or collecting illegally, then I see it as a moot point.

I take issue with 'what constitutes a nonprofit'??? When MVP is 'selling' a product to the consumer, how does that constitute a nonprofit? When Proctors is 'selling' a product to the consumer, while collecting rents in it's building, how does that constitute a nonprofit? Neither of them are providing a 'social service' such as the city mission. They 'sell' a product.

It appears to just be a smear campaign from local government via the gazette, to try to get 'taxes' out of these nonprofits. If they started to tax the businesses fairly and took the tax burden off the residents, we wouldn't be having this cyber conversation.   IMHO

Quoted from PatZ

Funny this should be mentioned. We are working on this right now.

Quoted from 615

Of course Phillip Morris's salary is not included

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Performing Arts in New York City to Receive $11 Million in Grant Money to Offset Recession’s Impact
Seventy-Nine Music, Dance, and Theater Organizations Across the Five Boroughs Will Receive a Significant Infusion of Funding
Press Release
Date: July 21, 2010
Contact:  Rachel Hart
rhart@sorosny.org
1-212-548-0378


NEW YORK—To give a boost to New York City arts organizations hard hit by the financial crisis, the Open Society Foundations today announced $11 million in grants to support community and educational arts initiatives.

"The arts—and arts education—are a vital part of the fabric of New York City," said George Soros, chairman of the Open Society Foundations. "This funding will help organizations that have been under severe strain because of the economic crisis."

According to a report released by the Alliance for the Arts in May 2010, more than 60 percent of arts organizations in New York City reported significant budget cuts since the recession which have resulted in fewer jobs in the arts industry and reduced public programming.

The $11 million investment is made through the Performing Arts Recovery Initiative, a special one-time grant program sponsored by the Open Society Foundations and managed by the Fund for the City of New York. The program is focused on supporting nonprofit music, dance, and theater groups that are recognized for the quality of their artistic work, their strong educational programs for young people, their employment of artists and their other contributions to the vibrancy of New York City’s cultural life.

Seventy-nine organizations will receive two-year operating-support grants ranging from $65,000 to $250,000. The groups, located in all five boroughs of New York City, vary in budget size from $75,000 to $7 million and are primarily small and less visible than larger mainstream organizations; consequently, they are most impacted by the economic crisis and most in need of assistance. They include the New York Youth Symphony, Bronx Arts Ensemble, Ballet Hispanico, Mark Morris Dance Group, Epic Theatre Ensemble and Dance Theater of Harlem. The full list of grant recipients is available for download at the bottom of the page.

"This initiative is part of our wide-ranging, ongoing work to address the economic crisis nationwide," said Ann Beeson, executive director of U.S. Programs at the Open Society Institute, who managed the program directly, along with Mary McCormick, president of the Fund for the City of New York, and adviser Holly Sidford of Helicon Collaborative. "New York City’s nonprofit arts and culture organizations employ more than 160,000 people—three times more than the law firms in the city. We’re not an arts foundation, but we know the central role arts and culture play in economic stability and social change."

The Performing Arts Recovery Initiative grants come as arts groups in New York face sharp reductions in support from the state and city. One goal of the initiative is to encourage other funders to support the arts and recognize the central role arts and culture plays in the city’s economy.

Over the last two years, the Open Society Institute’s U.S. Programs (part of the Open Society Foundations) has supported vital efforts to address the economic crisis in the United States. Other initiatives include the Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation, which focuses on education, access to benefits and workforce development; the Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative, which aims to prevent foreclosure, develop workforce and economic opportunities and expand access to fair and affordable credit; and support for eight state coalitions working to ensure transparency and equity in the distribution of federal stimulus money.

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Active in more than 70 countries, the Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. Working with local communities, the Open Society Foundations support justice and human rights, freedom of expression, and access to public health and education