Executive Compensation at the Boy Scouts (2022)

The Boy Scouts of America (Boy Scouts) is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization headquartered in Irving, Texas.  As one of the largest youth organizations in the US, the Boy Scouts has gone through some tough times the past few years with allegations of child sexual abuse by former scouts, scoutmasters and other leaders that triggered a bankruptcy filing in 2020. With a recent settlement of $2.4 billion (to be established in a trust) for the thousands of sexual abuse victims (estimated to be 80,000), the Boy Scouts has experienced significant financial changes over the past few years.

The Boy Scouts has 74 independent voting members (board members) of the governing body (National Executive Board), 66 (89%) of whom are male while 8 (11%) are female (note: The Form 990 does not report gender; determinations were made based on name and google searches).

The most recent Form 990 (2022) reports the following key financial information about the Boy Scouts:

In 2022, total revenue was $267 million with the largest sources reported to be program revenue ($134 million which includes $37 million in local council assessments) and membership dues ($67 million).

Expenses were $2.558 billion with $2.272 billion categorized as insurance claims (leading to bankruptcy) leaving $286 million (107% of total revenue) in other expenses, with the 2 largest other expenses being bankruptcy ($96 milli0n) and compensation ($51 million).

3,105 employees (300 less than the previous year) received $51 million in compensation (compared to 3,422 employees having received $58 million in 2021, 2,506 employees having receiving $65 million in compensation in 2020 and 4,026 employees having received $79 million in compensation in 2019) which equates to an average compensation of $16,000. 166 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 15 most highly compensated reported to be:

• $523,524:  Roger C Mosby, President and CEO
• $436,052:  Patrick Sterrett, EVP, High Adv Base
• $434,365:  Steven McGowan, Secretary and General Counsel
• $428,061:  Michael A Ashline, Treasurer and CFO
• $409,232:  Lisa Shorb, EVP, Administration
• $400,010:  Joseph Zirkman, Asst Secretary and Deputy General Counsel
• $364,474:  David Verbraska, COO
• $351,461:  John Mosby, EVP, Chief Youth Dev Officer
• $327,217:  Faisal Rajani, SVP, Chief Investment Officer
• $320,902:  Jeffrey Hunt, VP, Reg CNCL Ops
• $319,557:  Mark Winkelmann, SVP, Supply
• $318,566:  Chasity McReynolds, EVP, Development
• $308,096:  Lisa Young, SVP, Human Resources
• $295,939:  Shane Calendine, VP, Reg CNCL Ops
• $219,815:  Vijay Challa, SVP, Information Technology

The 15 most highly compensated employees received $6 million in compensation. 12 of the 15 (75%) of the most highly compensated employees are male while 3 of the 15 (15%) are female. The 5 most highly compensated employees in 2022 received $11.5 million from 2017-2022 (note:  highly compensated employees in 2017-2021 – i.e. Michael Surbaugh who received $3 million from 2017-2019 –  but not in 2022 are not included in the historical summary below):

Roger C Mosby:  Total Compensation 2020-2022:   $1.5 million

• 2022:  $523,524
• 2021:  $521,158
• 2020:  $521,820

Steven McGowan:  Total Compensation 2017-2022:  $3 million

• 2022:  $434,365
• 2021:  $455,603
• 2020:  $471,899
• 2019:  $521,049
• 2018:  $517,686
• 2017:  $511,902

Michael Ashline:  Total Compensation 2017-2022:  $3 million

• 2022:  $428,061
• 2021:  $462,650
• 2020:  $544,978
• 2019:  $720,966
• 2018:  $590,393
• 2017:  $546,355

Patrick Sterrett:  Total Compensation 2018-2022:  $3 million

• 2022:  $436,052
• 2021:  $550,356
• 2020:  $475,839
• 2019:  $616,455
• 2018:  $566,209

Lisa Shorb:  Total Compensation 2020-2022. $1 million

• 2022:  $409,232
• 2021:  $417,914
• 2020:  $214,677

It is important to note that up until 2021, the Boy Scouts paid for first class or charter travel, companion travel, and provided tax indemnification or gross up payments.

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

• $32 million:  White and Case, of NY, NY for legal work
• $20 million:  Pachulski Stang Ziehl and Jones, of Los Angeles, CA for legal work
• $13 million:  Omni Management Group, of Woodland Hills, CA for consulting
• $ 5  million:  Alvarez Marsal Holdings, LLC, of NY, NY for legal work
• $ 4  million:  Haynes and Boone, of Dallas, TX for legal work

It is important to note that the Boy Scouts reported total legal fees were less than $200,000 on the Form 990, Part IX, Statement of Functional Expenses 11b although the above disclosure on the Form 990, Part VII, Section B Independent Contractors reports the legal fees were more than $61 million just to 5 independent contractors. Legal fees also appear to be classified as “bankruptcy expenses” and/or “insurance claims.”

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