Executive Compensation at the Heritage Foundation (2021)

The Heritage Foundation (Heritage) is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization staffed by conservative “experts” who provide advice on political, economic, social, and financial problems in the United States.

Based in Washington, DC, Heritage is governed by 22 voting members (trustees) of the governing body (Board of Trustees), 19 of whom are independent. 17 of the 22 (77%) are male while 5 of the 22 (23%) are female.

Heritage raises about $100 million annually, has historically spent less (usually about 70-80%) and has consequently accumulated $367 million in net assets by the end of 2021.

In 2021, Heritage raised $102 million (compared to $119 million in 2020 and $123 million in 2019), most of which came from contributions, gifts, and grants ($75 million) and gains on the sale of assets ($23 million).

Expenses totaled $86 million (including $3 million in depreciation) with the largest expenses reported to be compensation ($41 million), office-related expenses ($24 million), and other fees paid to non-employees ($11 million) which is primarily consulting and professional fundraising fees.

465 employees received $41 million in compensation which equates to an average compensation of $88,000 (compared to 388 employees who received an average of $103,000 in 2020) so the organization has more employees than the previous year and is paying them, on average less.

127 employees (compared to 107 in 2020 and 106 in 2019) received more than $100,000 with the 20 most highly compensated employees reported to be:

• $962,158:  Kay Coles James, President
• $348,570:  James Carafano, VP, Davis Inst for Nat’l Security
• $348,345:  Jack Spencer, VP, Institute for Economic Freedom
• $347,084:  Robert Bluey,  VP, Communications
• $346,555:  John Malcolm, VP, Inst for Constitutional Gov’t
• $342,068:  Wesley Dyck,  VP, Personnel
• $329,320:  Andrew McIndoe, VP, Development
• $326,694:  Bridgett Wagner, VP, Policy Promotion
• $325,783:  Miguel M Gonzalez, Senior Fellow
• $324,364:  Carsten Walter, Sr Director, Dev and Ops
• $323,864:  John Backiel, VP Finance and Accounting
• $321,782:  Eric Korsvall, VP, Operations
• $319,157:  Paul Winfree, Director, Thomas A Roe Institute
• $316,235:  Angela Sailor, VP, The Feulner Institute
• $315,561:  Genevieve Wood, Director, Donor Comm and Spokesperson
• $308,972:  Charles Stimson, Deputy Director and Acting Chief of Staff
• $306,672:  Thomas Binion, VP, Government Relations
• $290,236:  Christopher Byrnes, General Counsel and Secretary
• $229,724:  Charmaine Yoest, VP, Institute for Fam, Comm, and Opp
• $219,447:  Kim Holmes, EVP

7 of the 21 (33%) most highly compensated employees are female while 14 of the 21 (67%) are male.

The 20 most highly compensated employees received nearly $7 million in compensation. The most highly compensated employee was Kay Coles James, the President who received nearly $1 million in compensation in 2021, and has received $3.5 million in compensation from 2018-2021:

• 2021:  $962,158
• 2020:  $995,708
• 2019:  $956,394
• 2018:  $532,265

Heritage paid for first class or charter travel and travel for companions. To read more about this expense, please refer to the Form 990 (2021), Schedule J, Part III Supplemental Information.

44 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 5 highest reported to be:

• $2.1 million:  Bognet Construction Associates, of Vienna, VA for construction
• $1.5 million:  Merkle Response Services, of Hagerstown, MD for mailings management
• $1.9 million: Conrad Direct, of Cresskill, NJ for mailing management
• $1.2 million:  Next After, of Plano, Texas for mailing management
• $1.2 million:  MDS Communications, of Mesa, AZ for fundraising customer service

As illustrated above, Heritage spent significantly (nearly $6 million just above) on direct mailing using outside vendors.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2021), click here.