Aviation non-profit executive compensation.

See the question above in the thread. Is it OK or not?

  • No

  • Yes

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Radek Wyrzykowski

Radek Wyrzykowski

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Radek
If organizational program budgets are cut, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization is constantly pleading for donations from the public and industry. Is it ok for individual executives to receive compensation of over $475,000.00 per year?
 
I recall a TED talk about charity. The guys said the best way to run a charity was to become the CEO of a private company and get on the board of the charity, so you could boss around the CEO of the charity while you make more than him or her. There was one instance where it really smelled. When Paul Poberezny retired from running the EAA he turned it over to his son. That kind of nepotism isn't something you want to see in a high profile nonprofit.
 
RudyP said:
Yes, if they are worth it. That's not a large amount for executive compensation.
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Yes, if they are worth it. It is in a private (for-profit) sector, I would definitely agree with that. But if it is at the expense of programs with which this NON-PROFIT suppose to serve the public and its members...?
 
How about “It depends.”?

If that exec is well connected to other company executives and politicians, success to the goals of that non-profit, nefarious or completely philanthropic, becomes much easier. That non-profit will have to compete against for-profit and other non-profits for a “star player”.

I don’t like it, but, I don’t like the expense of nice planes either. Except in the odd case, you get what you pay for.
 
it depends
 
How many people are really worth what they’re paid?
How many people are paid what they are really worth?
 
Ted said:
My executive compensation as president of an aviation non-profit was $0/year.
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LOL Not quite the same things, but you're an exception in any case.
 
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Salty said:
LOL Not quite the same things, but you're an exception in any case.
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Yeah, I know. :)

I also am the first one to say that not all non-profits can (or should) operate on an all-volunteer basis like Cloud Nine did.

Morgan3820 said:
And worth every penny. :D
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Nobody ever tried to give me a raise, that's for sure. ;)
 
Rgbeard said:
Ummmm, MODS?

WTF. this place needs to be sprayed….
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I think the question is fair, but I also think it shows that someone has an axe to grind when they jump in a forum and that’s their lead. Imagine walking up to a group of pilots chatting at an airport and your introduction is jumping in with *that*.
 
The question isn't whether they should be paid whatever sum (475k in this example), the question is do they do a better job than the discount executive you'd replace them with?

(in my travels, that answer is generally yes, the executive you pay 475 does a better job than the executive you pay 200 or 0)
 
As the original question was posted, sure.

The non-profit asked for donations, and the public and industry chose to support the ask with donations.

I understand where that can go sideways really quickly, mostly because it involves humans and money.
 
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schmookeeg said:
(in my travels, that answer is generally yes, the executive you pay 475 does a better job than the executive you pay 200 or 0)
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Radek Wyrzykowski said:
If organizational program budgets are cut, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization is constantly pleading for donations from the public and industry. Is it ok for individual executives to receive compensation of over $475,000.00 per year?
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For an organization with revenues of $475,001, no.

For an organization with revenues > $47,500,000, yes.
 
One should also keep in mind that the job the CEO of an NGO is often to keep the money rolling in.
 
Morgan3820 said:
Start your own nonprofit.
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Yep and then…

1. Hold a fly-in. See how many people come. Compare.

2. Sell memberships. See how many you sell. Compare.

3. Hold aircraft building seminars. See how many people attend. Compare.

4. Lobby FAA and Congress for change. See how successful you are. Compare.

Let’s us know how you compare.
 
Radek may have legitimate gripes...we don't know enough detail to judge. I think a lot of the pushback he's getting is due to him joining the forum, making an introductory post, then immediately unloading a long list of grievances in a couple of threads (with some significant details omitted), without taking time to assimilate into the community a bit. That's some people's way...

There are plenty of examples of nonprofits that support very worth causes getting derailed, at least for a time, by leadership that treats the organization as a personal piggy bank. I'm not at all suggesting that's the case here; I'm a member of EAA, but don't have the foggiest idea of what actually transpired. But it's always something to watch out for.
 
GaryM said:
Radek may have legitimate gripes...we don't know enough detail to judge. I think a lot of the pushback he's getting is due to him joining the forum, making an introductory post, then immediately unloading a long list of grievances in a couple of threads (with some significant details omitted), without taking time to assimilate into the community a bit. That's some people's way...

There are plenty of examples of nonprofits that support very worth causes getting derailed, at least for a time, by leadership that treats the organization as a personal piggy bank. I'm not at all suggesting that's the case here; I'm a member of EAA, but don't have the foggiest idea of what actually transpired. But it's always something to watch out for.
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Bitching about the CEO’s pay is not really a legitimate gripe. It’s just something that’s easy to get sheep to baaa about.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Yep and then…

1. Hold a fly-in. See how many people come. Compare.

2. Sell memberships. See how many you sell. Compare.

3. Hold aircraft building seminars. See how many people attend. Compare.

4. Lobby FAA and Congress for change. See how successful you are. Compare.

Let’s us know how you compare.
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How long has the EAA been around doing it’s thing.

It is better to light a single candle than curse the darkness.
 
I spent last summer doing pro bono work fixing a charity's books. They shoulda paid their accountants more (hired better) because it was a disaster.

You get what you pay for. I can't remember the charity's operating budget. It was millions and they offer a very needed service.
 
I don't think it's too much money. The key metric is how much do they spend in overhead (including CEO's comp) vs what they return to the donors and public in terms of projects and contributions to the aviation community.
 
F*** no, assuming you are talking about EAA, no. Unfortunately orgs like this attract leaches.
 
$475k for a $40 million dollar organization? You'll have to pay that to get someone good to run it. It doesn't guarantee they'll do a good job, but that is definitely what's required to attract the talent.
 
Judging by what people are paying for homes, cars, RVs, airplanes, etc nowadays isn’t everyone making that?
 
Have y’all ever noticed, in these type of conversations when the new to the forum OP doesn’t get the validation that they seek, that the thread often goes on far longer than their interest? And we rarely ever see them again.
Just something that I have observed, fwiw.
 
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