September 16, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
Greg Elfers
Chief Field Development Officer
American Diabetes Association
2011 compensation: $352,050
When the American Diabetes Association hired Greg Elfers to oversee its fundraising operations in January 2008, it had to make an important concession.
Mr. Elfers lived in Ohio and wanted to keep it as his permanent home.
But the American Diabetes Association needed him to work full time at its headquarters in Alexandria, Va.
As a result, it agreed to pay $20,881 for Mr. Elfers to live in Washington. Added to his salary, the housing payment makes Mr. Elfers the organization’s second highest-paid person, just behind Larry Hausner, the chief executive.
“The housing reported in the 990 provides him the opportunity to live in close proximity to our national headquarters during the work week,” wrote Colleen Fogarty, a spokeswoman for the organization, in an e-mail. “This is not considered a standard benefit but was an integral part of the original hiring agreement, based on his personal circumstances.”
Before joining the organization, Mr. Elfers worked for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, where he was senior vice president for revenue development. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007—the last before he left—the charity raised $246-million from private sources, up 53.7 percent from five years earlier, according to The Chronicle’s annual rankings of the 400 charities that raise the most money.
In his current role, Mr. Elfers oversees about 500 employees who work in the American Diabetes Association’s offices across the nation, as well as those who handle special events and training of volunteers. He was not available for comment.
