Executive Compensation at Save the Children (2021)
Save the Children – the Fairfield, Connecticut-based non-profit in the US – is formally known as Save The Children Federation, Inc. and is part of the Save the Children Alliance (a group of 30 Save the Children groups throughout the world that also support Save the Children International). Established in 1932, Save the Children is a 501 (c) (3) and one of the most well-known charities in the world.
There are 34 voting members (trustees) of the governing body (Save The Children Federation, Inc), 33 of whom are independent, although the Form 990 lists 38 (which appears to be due to timing differences), of whom 21 are female and 17 are male (note: The Form 990 does not disclose gender; determinations were made based on name and google searches).
In 2021, Save the Children raised $909 million (including $398 million in government grants) and spent $878 million (not including $3 million in depreciation) primarily on grants ($645 million) – mostly overseas, staff compensation and benefits ($120 million), fees for services ($48 million), office-related expenses ($21 million), and advertising and promotion ($21 million).
1,132 employees received $120 million in compensation, which equates to an average compensation of $106,000. However, only 335 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation. The 20 most highly compensated employees were reported to be:
- $583,432: Janti Soeripto, President and CEO
- $490,272: Mark K Shriver, SVP, US Programs
- $488,891: Eric Howell, EVP and COO
- $457,335: Greg Ferrante, CFO
- $404,312: Jennifer Roberti, VP, Marketing, Communications, and Fundraising
- $402,067: Debbie Pollock-Berry, VP and Chief of HR
- $382,381: David Barth, VP, International Programs
- $351,665: Brian White, VP, General Counsel
- $335,319: Luciana Bonifacio, VP, Resource Development
- $330,784: Ingrid Milne, AVP, Interim CFO (thru (3/31/2020)
- $331,442: Daniel P Abbott, Chief of Party
- $331,147: Sarah Angel-Johnson, VP, IT and Building Ops
- $317,986: Gregory A Ramm, VP, Humanitarian Response
- $316,395: Elizabeth A Zorio, AVP, US Programs
- $315,981: Nathalie H Gamache, Deputy Chief of Party HIHS, PR
- $309,958: Cynthia P Yeatman, VP, Corporate Partnership
- $303,727: Nora K O’Connell, VP, Public Policy Advocacy (thru 12/21)
- $291,887: Eid Natour, AVP, US Programs
- $204,906: Christy Gleason, VP, Policy and Hum Response (as of 4/21)
- $198,764 Andrea Williamson, Corporate Secretary
The 20 most highly compensated employees received more than $7 million in compensation. 12 of the 20 (60%) are female while 8 of the 20 (40%) are male.
STC paid for housing allowances or provided residences for personal use (see the Form 990 Schedule J, Part III, Supplemental Information for more details).
66 Independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation. The 5 most highly compensated were reported to be:
- $10.1 million: TV Fundraising Solutions, of Lanham, MD for digital media
- $ 3.6 million: Google, of Mountain View, CA, for digital ads
- $ 2.7 million: Facebook, of Menlo Park, CA for digital media
- $ 2.1 million: Digital Media Solutions, of Clearwater, FL for fundraising services
- $ 1.4 million: BKA Logistics, of Washington, DC for freight
As listed above, more than $14 million was paid to 4 vendors for fundraising and advertising.
To read the IRS Form 990 (2021), click here.
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Paddock Post 
save the children has been in affect for over 65 years so the people you see standing in feces water with one child in their arms and one in their bellies are the same people that were standing in that where 25 years ago the only people making good with this organization is the ones in their comfortable offices where is birth control after all these years you think someone would really help these people.
I’m surprised there’s anything left for the children
This is how all these people get rich on your donations! I would rather give 10 dollars to a homeless person on the street than to make these CEOs rich. Shame on everyone of you for what you are doing for yourselves!
The argument is not working for free. Instead, the criticism of many non-profits generally concerns the amount of compensation and first class or charter travel, discretionary spending accounts, free travel for companions, social club dues and/or initiation fees, and personal residences when it comes to non-profits.
There are also several key points that need to be remembered:
Non-profits are not paying taxes because of their tax status;
Most non-profits rely on donations and people who make donations generally want to see their hard earned dollars helping people (and not paying high salaries, first class travel, or being diluted by a non-profit using revenue to make a grant to another organization (who has overhead); and finally
Transparency is important.
I suggest you read the following post that addresses how Save the Children spends revenue:
The bottom line is that Save the Children makes grants to other non-profits
And, finally most CEO compensation of non-profits is not benchmarked and cut by 50-75%. Look at the Form 990’s of the non-profit healthcare companies, colleges and universities, and other organizations with a tax-exempt status.
Some of the commenters on here are way out of line. Asking people to work for free is ridiculous everyone has living expenses. I set up a non-profit and ran it for almost a decade before handing it over to a new CEO. Having spent the first 3 years of its life receiving no salary and the next 3 years receiving a part salary I can tell you the toll of this kind of sacrifice is enormous. Never having money to do anything other than work. You can’t ask people at the top of their game to work for free that’s absurd. We want people who are the best of the best-running organisations of this size. Save operates in some 117 countries most of them the hardest and riskiest countries in the world (thanks Google). A Corporate CEO with that kind of remit would be on 20+million a year. As they say, You pay peanuts you get monkeys. If you feel so strongly about it roll up your sleeves and start volunteering. People in non-profits deserve to get paid what they are worth. Most non profit salary including the CEO’s of all the big ones have their salaries benchmarked to the market and then downgraded. Generally 50%-75% of the market rate.
This has to be passed on to the general public. It is wrong on every level that these so called saviours are just in it for the money and no accountability
I’ve been a sponsor and supporter of STC since 2015. I never looked into the employees salaries, till now. As stated on the website, 86% of all expenditures went to program services. But now I see 86% collected does not. I no longer donate to this organization.
These highly overpaid CEO’s and other executives of these charities need to be imprisoned for ROBBING these charities for their outrageous salaries!
To answer your question:
So how much actually goes to saving children’s lives?
I was about to donate to children suffering in gazza, then I said let me check who is the ceo and how much money they get paid, even though it’s highly rated!(questionable). I am glad i did, wth.. is that? It seems to me the more children suffer and die around the world, more people donate, and you get paid percentage! Almost $600k for ceo and the rest about half a million dollars or less? This is not save the children, it’s more of rob the children. You should list your salaries on the front stc page to see how many people will donate to your fake charity, should be sued and banned, shame on you.
Children suffer and cannot find peace, food, health, safety… and people get rich on their blood.
You may want to check out Mercy Ships:
Your dollar figures for the fat cats almost made me vomit. I tore up my check and sent it to Mercy ships. How do you people even look yourself in the face? Disgusting.
Yous should be ashamed of yourselves taking any salary at all shows your not doing it for the kids how many kids could eat on the ceo salary I’m sure their kids eat pretty dam good as well as the rest of your staffs kids it’s really sad to think yous use children to get a paycheck it’s disgusting an sad to see these kids live the way they do while your foundation profits a salaries of that magnitude totally sad
This is one of the reasons I carefully scrutinize these organizations. Upper management in most charities receive salaries that are not inlined with what they do. Unfortunately this another charity I will not donate my hard earned dollars to
The ceo is supposed to get $235,00 a yr just like save children europe ceo gets the same. The 4 assistant ar3 to gey 115,000 to 200,000 the charities commission needs to be notified.
I would like to know who determined the salary and wages of the upper management of STC?
Seems outrageous to me so I need to know how these large sums of money are justified?
I would increase my donations if it’s proven to my satisfaction that these people deserve the sums their receiving.!
If the salaries weren’t so much, I would give more money, I work very hard and make about 17,000 a year, some of the payments to the upper echelon is way out of line