Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 6, 1993 TAG: 9304060382
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
NONPROFIT? NOT SALARIES
At least 99 of 122 major nonprofit organizations pay their top executives $100,000 or more, according to a survey by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.No. 1 was John W. Rowe, who as president of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City received $799,492 in salary and $26,249 in benefits, the Chronicle said in a study made available this week.
A spokesman for the American Red Cross defended the $200,000 paid last year to Chief Executive Elizabeth Dole.
"When you consider that she . . . is responsible for over half the nation's blood supply and her organization responds to 55,000 disasters a year, she's worth every penny and more," said American Red Cross spokesman Roy Clason.
Moreover, Dole, who manages a $1.4 billion annual budget, forfeited her salary the previous year, Clason said.
"The important thing is to make sure the group's volunteers are comfortable explaining why their executive is where he is, the rationale for his salary," said Dr. William McGinly, president of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy in Falls Church, Va. He receives more than $156,000 in salary and $16,000 in benefits.
Daniel Langan, spokesman for the National Charities Information Bureau in New York, said: "A guy who works at a plant or something, when he's asked to make a donation and then sees what some of these guys make, he's bound to get upset. It's the board of directors' decision, but . . . they have to realize that the compensation . . . can turn into an issue at any time."
The salary survey was based on publicly available tax information the organizations are required to file to maintain tax-exempt status.
\ NONPROFIT SAMPLER
Paul A. Marks, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York: $703,138
Robert R. Waller, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Rochester, Minn.: $426,769
Donald Brown, Children's National Medical Center, Washington: $337,110
Edward J. Feulner Jr., Heritage Foundation, Washington: $331,708