Executive Compensation at the Heritage Foundation (2022)

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 17 voting members, of whom 15 are independent, although the Form 990 lists 22 voting members (trustees) of the governing body (Board of Trustees). 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 $332 million in net assets by the end of 2022.

In 2022, Heritage raised $107 million (compared to $106 million in 2021 and $119 million in 2020), most of which came from contributions, gifts, and grants ($95 million) and gains on the sale of assets ($7 million).

Expenses totaled $94 million (including $3 million in depreciation) with the largest expenses reported to be compensation ($44 million), office-related expenses ($23 million), and other fees paid to non-employees ($11 million) which is primarily consulting and professional fundraising fees.

499 employees received $44 million in compensation which equates to an average compensation of $88,000 (compared to 465 employees who received $41 million,  or an average of $88,000 in 2021) so the organization has remained relatively stable in terms of the number of employees and the average compensation.

150 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation in 2022 (compared to 127 employees in 2021, 107 in 2020 and 106 in 2019) with the 21 most highly compensated employees reported to be:

• $675,471:  Kevin Roberts, President
• $479,859:  Kay Coles James, Trustee, Former President
• $410,199:  Eric Korsvall, VP, Operations
• $394,687:  Andrew McIndoe, VP, Development
• $371,892:  Paul Winfree, Director, Thomas A Roe Institute
• $363,031:  Robert Bluey,  VP, Communications
• $352,910:  James Carafano, VP, Davis Inst for Nat’l Security
• $349,154:  John Malcolm, VP, Inst for Constitutional Gov’t
• $346,832:  Charles Stimson, Deputy Director and Acting Chief of Staff
• $336,029:  Carsten Walter, Sr Director, Dev and Ops
• $350,723:  John Backiel, VP Finance and Accounting
• $333,799:  Christopher Byrnes, General Counsel and Secretary
• $330,077:  Derrick Morgan, EVP
• $325,914:  Genevieve Wood, Director, Donor Comm and Spokesperson
• $324,635:  Bridgett Wagner, VP, Policy Promotion
• $311,931:   Chad Barefoot, Director, Donor Relations
• $306,185:  Jack Spencer, VP, Institute for Economic Freedom
• $276,074:  Thomas Binion, VP, Government Relations
• $268,391:  Andrew Olivastro, VP, Outreach
• $253,151:  Wesley Dyck,  VP, Personnel
• $240,573:  Roger Severino, VP, Domestic Policy

3 of the 21 (14%) most highly compensated employees are female while 18 of the 21 (86%) are male.

The 21 most highly compensated employees received $7 million in compensation. The most highly compensated employee was Kevin Roberts, the President who received $675,471 in compensation followed by Kay Coles James, the former President who received $479,859 in compensation in 2022, and has received $4 million in compensation from 2018-2022:

• 2022:  $479,859
• 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 (2022), Schedule J, Part III Supplemental Information.

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

• $4.4 million:  DPR Construction, of Redwood City, CA for construction
• $1.8 million:  Bognet Construction Associates, of Vienna, VA for construction
• $1.5 million:  MDS Communications, of Mesa, AZ for fundraising customer service
• $1.1 million:  Merkle Response Services, of Hagerstown, MD for mailings management
• $1.1 million: Conrad Direct, of Cresskill, NJ for mailing management

As illustrated above, Heritage spent significantly (nearly $4 million just above) on direct mailing using outside vendors and fundraising.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2022), click here.