Executive Compensation at the American Red Cross (2021)

When most people think of the American Red Cross (ARC), they often think of blood collection, testing, and distribution and/or disaster services – both domestic and international and in the most simplistic terms, this is what the ARC is about.

Formally known as the American National Red Cross (the organization is the designated affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), ARC was established by Clara Barton in 1881 and given a charter by Congress in 1900 and again in 1905 to carry out humanitarian services. Since that time, the charter has been amended nine times, with the most recent in 2009 to address reforms to the organization.

In 2021, ARC raised $3.1 billion with most revenue ($2.1 billion) coming from the sale of biomedical services (i.e. blood and plasma collected through donations and sold) with the remaining revenue obtained primarily through contributions, gifts, and grants ($1 billion including $170 million from the government).

Although contributions, gifts, and grants only comprised 33% of total revenue (or $1 billion), it is important to remember the revenue stream of biomedical services is dependent upon donations (i.e. blood and plasma) so although one donation is tax-deductible (revenue) and the other isn’t (blood),  donors and potential donors still need to understand where revenue dollars are spent.

Expenses totaled $2.8 billion with the largest expense reported to be compensation (salaries, pension, benefits, and payroll taxes).  17,918 employees received $1.353 billion or an average compensation of $76,000.  The 15 most highly compensated employees were reported to be:

• $781,120:  Clifford Holtz, Chief Operating Officer
• $751,789:  Chis Hrouda, President, Biomedical Services
• $723,696:  Shaun Gilmore, Chief Transformation Officer
• $640,483:  Gail McGovern, President and CEO
• $629,954:  Brian Rhoa, CFO
• $535,518:  Paul Sullivan, SVP, Donor Services
• $491,333:  Phyllis Harris, General Counsel
• $488,883:  Melissa Hurst, Chief HR Officer
• $468,179:  Don Herring, Chief Development Officer
• $451,121:  Jack McMaster, President, Training Services
• $444,692:  Peter Giamalva, SVP, Biomedical Sales and Marketing
• $409,434:  Pampee Young, Chief Medical Officer
• $408,920:  Ronnie Strickland, CIO
• $407,120:  Harvey Johnson, President, Humanitarian Services
• $326,631:  Jennifer Hawkins, Corp Secretary and Chief of Staff

As illustrated above, the 15 most highly compensated employees received $7.5 million in compensation.  10 of the 15 (67%) most highly compensated employees are male while 5 of the 15 (33%) are female (note:  gender is not reported on the Form 990; gender determinations were made based on name and google searches).

397 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation with the five (5) most highly compensated reported to be:

• $14.2 million:  TTEC Services Corp, of Englewood, CO for call center services
• $11.6 million:  Epsilon Data Management, of Chicago, IL for marketing
• $10.5 million:  Dropoff Inc, of Austin, TX for courier services
• $ 9.1 million:  One & All, of Pasadena, CA for printing and mailing
• $ 8.7 million:  Servicemaster, of Memphis, TN for building services

To read the IRS Form 990 (for the year ending June 30, 2021), click here.