Pay Varies Widely for Executives of Nonprofit Associations and Watchdogs

As part of its 12th annual compensation survey, The Chronicle this year examined the salaries and benefits

of top executives at 15 umbrella organizations that advocate on behalf of nonprofit groups, conduct research on the nonprofit world, and monitor the work of charities and foundations.

The compensation of those executives varies widely, reflecting differences in their groups’ missions and the constituents they serve. The executives and their compensation figures include:

• Audrey R. Alvarado, executive director of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, a Washington umbrella group for state charity associations, earned $123,161 in compensation and $29,401 in benefits.
• Rick Cohen, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a watchdog and research group in Washington, received $105,000 in compensation and $17,006 in benefits.
• Dorothy S. Ridings, president of the Council on Foundations, in Washington, earned $329,446 in compensation and $65,480 in benefits and expenses in 2002.

Ms. Ridings was the highest-paid chief executive among the 15 groups. “I’m paid well,” Ms. Ridings said. “I have no hesitation in saying that.”

The board of the council, which represents more than 2,000 foundations, reviews her salary annually by surveying executive pay at other trade associations in metropolitan Washington and at 10 foundations with assets of about $1-billion each. The median asset size of the organization’s membership is $11.7-million, according to the council.

Since Ms. Ridings assumed her post seven years ago, her compensation, excluding benefits, has risen by nearly $80,000.

The council’s board of directors “has liked the job I’ve done,” Ms. Ridings said. “If I wasn’t doing a good job and the council was going down the tubes and we were losing money and members all over the place, I wouldn’t expect to be doing as well.”

The organization’s membership has grown from 1,400 to about 2,129 since Ms. Ridings’s tenure began, she said. While she takes partial credit for the increase, she also said the historic growth in the number of grant makers during the 1990s helped swell the council’s ranks. “I came at the right time,” she said.

Education Executive

Among the 15 umbrella groups, the highest-paid executive after Ms. Ridings is Vance T. Peterson, president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, in Washington, who earned $300,000 in compensation. The council is a professional organization for fund raisers at elementary and secondary schools as well as colleges and universities.

Not included in The Chronicle‘s survey of 2002 compensation is Diana Aviv, president of Independent Sector, because she joined the group in June. Ms. Aviv earns $253,000 in salary and $37,950 in benefits.

More Than Predecessor Made

Robert G. Ottenhoff, president of Philanthropic Research, in Williamsburg, Va., which operates Guidestar, an online charity-information service, earns about 40 percent more than his predecessor. Mr. Ottenhoff, who joined the organization last year, earned $167,619 in compensation, compared to $120,000 for Arthur W. Schmidt, who founded the organization.

Mr. Schmidt, who now serves as the organization’s chairman, said Philanthropic Research offered Mr. Ottenhoff more money because of his previous experience, which includes working as chief operating officer of the Public Broadcasting Service, and because Philanthropic Research wanted to expand its operations. “We needed someone to build our business,” he said.

Lowest on the List

At the low end of the salary spectrum among the 15 umbrella groups is Christopher J. Hempe, former president of Wall Watchers, a group in Matthews, N.C., that evaluates Christian charities. For the group’s fiscal year 2002, which ends June 30, Mr. Hempe earned $47,802, a combination of his compensation as research director and president, a post he assumed in February 2002. Mr. Hempe’s annual compensation as president was about $60,000, the smallest among top executives of the 15 organizations.

Howard Leonard, Wall Watchers’ founder, is serving as the organization’s interim president until the group can raise money to pay for a new chief executive. Mr. Leonard, who owns an investment-management company, receives no compensation for his work at the charity, he said. “Sadly, there hasn’t been a lot of funding to keep Wall Watchers afloat,” Mr. Leonard said. “For the moment, I’m filling in and trying to cut the costs and save dough.”

At the Focus Project, better known as OMB Watch, which monitors government and nonprofit activities, the executive director earned the second-lowest compensation among the 15 groups, $75,228.

Gary D. Bass, who heads the organization, said increases in his pay are tied to raises received by the Washington organization’s 16 other employees to make sure differences in compensation are not drastic. “We want to make sure that the highest end, which is me, is not getting way ahead of the lowest end,” which is $25,000, Mr. Bass said.

OMB Watch’s approach is one that other nonprofit groups should adopt, Mr. Bass said. “It’s a board responsibility to ensure that not just the head of the organization has a reasonable salary, but it is structured in a way that is commensurate with the salaries of others in the organization.”