Executive Compensation at Donors Choose

Donors Choose is a New York City-based 501 (c) (3) non-profit that connects the public to projects that need funding in public schools.

Founded in 2000 by a history teacher, Charles Best, Donors Choose asks public school staff to post projects that need funding so that the public can choose what they want to help pay for by making a donation. In 2016, the organization raised $121 million, spent $101 million with the remainder added to the net fund assets which had nearly $61 million at year-end.

Donors Choose reported having 199 employees in 2016 but about 40% of these employees were part-time or seasonal workers. At year-end (June 30, 2017) there were 118 full-time employees, 22 of whom received more than $100,000 in compensation with the most highly compensated individuals listed below:

• $407,059:  Charles Best, CEO
• $285,385:  Missy Sherburne, Chief Partnerships Officer (to April, 2016)*
• $265,665:  Oliver Hurst-Hiller, Chief Technology Officer
• $263,394:  Cesar Bocanegra, COO
• $240,458:  Katie Bisbee, Chief Marketing Officer
• $206,766:  Janelle Lin, SVP, Business Development
• $206,203:  Andy Kaplan, CFO
• $204,844:  Daniel Betz, Design Director
• $188,644:  John Ciardullo, Director of Engineering
• $184,170:  Nancy Mond, Principle Software Engineer
• $168,797:  David Crane, Director of Engineering

* Missy Sherburne received $185,000 upon her separation from Donor’s Choose in April, 2016 because her compensation was reported in the calendar year in which she received the compensation.

$2.6 million was paid to the 11 most highly compensated individuals (7 men and 4 women).

To read the IRS Form 990 (2016), click here.