
Executive Compensation at the University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM) is a private research (primarily at the Miller School of Medicine) university with 11 schools and colleges serving more than 17,000 students in undergraduate and graduate studies in 180 majors. Tuition, room, and board cost about $75,000 annually or $300,000 for a 4-year degree.
For the year ending 5/31/2018, UM reported total revenue of $3.8 billion which came primarily from hospitals and clinics ($1.4 billion), tuition and fees ($774 million), medical professional practices ($468 million), government grants ($463 million), and contributions, gifts, and grants ($229 million). Read more

Executive Compensation at Intermountain Healthcare (2018)
Intermountain Healthcare refers to a large healthcare system in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho (24 hospitals and more than 370 healthcare facilities with more than 45,000 employees) based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Although there are numerous non-profits under the Intermountain Healthcare system, the primary entities include IHC Health Services, Inc. and the Intermountain Healthcare Foundation, Inc. – both of whom operate out of the same office.
In short, IHC Health Services, Inc. reported $6.6 billion in revenue in 2018 (compared to $6 billion in 2017). Expenses were $6 billion (including $312 million in depreciation) which helped the organization (after adjusting for nearly $400 million in net unrealized losses on investments) to increase the general fund (or net fund assets) by $300 million in 2018 from $6.5 billion to $6.8 billion. Read more

I Am Not Alexa
Just a few short months ago, we were doing simple things – turning the lights on and off, playing music, and shopping on-line – all by ourselves. But, things changed around the holidays when the cloud-based voice service called “Alexa” entered our home. Thinking her dad would love to have someone turn the lights on and off, give a weather update, or turn on whatever music he wants to listen to, my daughter decided to give him “Alexa” for Christmas. But, my daughter was also thinking of me. Read more

Where Does $100 to the YMCA Go?
If you donated $100 to the YMCA in 2019, how was that $100 spent? The answer depends on whether the donation was made to one of the local chapters (there are about 2,700 in the US) or to the YMCA of the USA (which is legally known as the National Council of YMCA’s of the USA) and is the parent organization in the US (that seeks to strengthen local YMCA”s through grants and program support) or the World Alliance of the YMCA (the parent organization of the 119 countries in the world that have YMCA’s), based in Geneva, Switzerland. For the purposes of this post, let’s assume the donation was made to the YMCA of the USA (because each of those local chapters is a separate 501 (c) 3 that files its own IRS Form 990 so the answer could have 2,700 different answers). Read more

Executive Compensation at the National Equity Fund (Chicago, IL)
The National Equity Fund (NEF) is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c) 4 – a social welfare organization – engaged as a national syndicator of low-income housing tax credits. There are 15 voting members of the governing body, 11 of whom are independent. 11 of the 15 (73%) directors are male while 4 of the 15 (27%) directors are female.
NEF reports total revenue of about $50 million ($55 million in 2018; $49 million in 2017) most of which is from low income housing. For the past two years the organization has spent about $6 million more than they have raised annually but because of capital additions, net assets have increased (to $46 million) rather than declined. Read more

How Revenue is Spent at the National Equity Fund in Chicago, IL
The National Equity Fund (NEF) is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c) 4 engaged as a national syndicator of low-income housing tax credits. According to the NE website, they “revitalize communities, empower individuals, and create economic opportunities nationwide.” What they don’t write about on their website is that most revenue goes to compensate employees and that only about 20% of revenue is used for grants. It is also important to note NEF is an affiliate of Local Initiatives Support Corporation – a tax-exempt non-profit 501 (c) 3 based in New York City, NY and who also happens to be the recipient of nearly all the grant money awarded in 2018. Read on. Read more

How Revenue is Spent at the National Opinion Research Center
The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago is an objective non-partisan institution conducting research to produce data in the fields of social science and public opinion. This data helps guide critical program, business, and policy decisions.
A tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c) 3, NORC was established in 1941 in Chicago, Illinois and prides itself on “research you can trust.” In their own words: Read more

Executive Compensation at ERCOT
Most people outside of Texas had not heard of ERCOT (Electrical Reliability Council of Texas) until this past week when the company was slammed for the massive loss of power across the state.
Although ERCOT is considered an independent system operator, the organization is a membership-based tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c) (4) governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature (who decided decades ago not to allow power to come from outside the state to avoid having to comply with federal regulations that kick in with interstate transactions). In other words, the responsibility to provide power falls upon the management of ERCOT and Texas state officials – not the federal government.
ERCOT’s members (303 as of 12/31/2018) include consumers, cooperatives, generators, power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned public utilities, transmission and distribution providers, and municipally-owned electric utilities. Read more

Executive Compensation at the NRA (2019)
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a non-profit 501 (c) (4) organization or what many people refer to as an membership advocacy organization that fights tirelessly for our second amendment rights and pays their executives very well while also paying for first class or charter travel, travel for companions, health or social club dues or initiation fees, gross up payments and tax indemnification, and provides housing allowances or housing for personal use.
The most recent IRS Form 990 (2019) reports the organization employed 770 individuals who were compensated $57 million, which equates to an average compensation of $74,000. 149 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation while the 15 most highly compensated key executives received more than $12 million dollars in 2019: Read more