4 ms·

The general form of this is such an urban legend that there's even a Snopes page: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/charities.asp http://www.snopes.com/p

• napoleond 13y ago
  That page, while refuting the specific claims of a few old chain letters, actually seems to support the parent's assertion that the executives of some charitable organisations get paid fairly well (several over $500k). Then again, I'm not sure what people expect--it is presumably difficult to retain the sort of people required to manage very large organisations without paying them something in the ballpark of what they could get at a for-profit.
  • g8oz 13y ago
    The salaries can also be explained by the lack of active "shareholders" to keep the self-interest of management in check. If you can't find competent managers for less than $400k a year you need to get out more. Charitynavigator.org breaks down the admin costs etc of most charities. I wouldn't consider donating to one that devoted less than 85% to actual program expenses.