Executive Compensation at the V Foundation and Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc.

The V Foundation and Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc. are two separate non-profit 501 (c) (3)’s that can be best described  as follows:

V Foundation:  Formed in 1993 by Jim Valvano to raise money to fund cancer research; and

Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc.:  Formed in 2015 to raise funds for the V Foundation, this organization is the fundraising support arm for the V Foundation.

Although both organizations are separate non-profits,they are related because one exists (Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc.) to support the other (V Foundation). Both organizations operate out of the same office (14600 Weston Parkway) in Cary, NC. Although Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc. reports having no employees, they have compensation related costs because they utilize staff of the V Foundation  and reimburse the organization for those costs along with office related and other expenses.

Total compensation-related costs of both organizations according to the Form 990’s (2016 representing the year beginning October 1, 2016 and ending September 30, 2017) was $4.6 million ($2.7 million for the V Foundation and $1.9 million for Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc.) for 45 employees which equates to an average compensation of about $102,000. However, 12 individuals received more than $100,000. The 9 most highly compensated individuals were reported to be:

• $368,737:  Susan Braun, CEO
• $241,268:  Norm Bowling, Chief Revenue Officer
• $202,170:  Robert Steeger, VP of Corporate Partnerships
• $185,132:  Jefferson Parker, CFAO
• $178,645:  Keith Goralski, Senior Director, Fundraising
• $170,362:  John Leshney, Employee
• $144,546:  Rebecca Bumgardner, Sr Philanthropic Gift Officer
• $131,387:  Shahrzad Mazur, VP, Communications
• $115,564:  Carole Wegner, VP Research and Grants Administration

As listed above, 9 individuals received total compensation of $1.7 million which equates to an average of $190,000 each.  If the total compensation and total employees were adjusted to exclude the above, then $2.9 million in compensation was provided to 36 staff (which equates to an average of $81,000).

Of the nine most highly compensated individuals, 6 were men while 3 were women (including the CEO).

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

To read the IRS Form 990 (2016) for Don’t Ever Give Up Inc., click here.