Executive Compensation at the V Foundation (2023)

The V Foundation and Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc. are two separate non-profit 501 (c) (3)’s that can be best described  as follows:

V Foundation:  Formed in 1993 by Jim Valvano to raise money to fund cancer research; and

Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc.:  Formed in 2015 to raise funds for the V Foundation, this organization is the fundraising support arm for the V Foundation.

Although both organizations are separate non-profits,they are related because one exists (Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc.) to support the other (V Foundation). Both organizations operate out of the same office (14600 Weston Parkway) in Cary, NC. Although Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc. reports having no employees, they have compensation related costs because they utilize staff of the V Foundation  and reimburse the organization for those costs along with office related and other expenses.

Non-profits often establish a separate non-profit for fundraising (St Jude does this also) which serves to make fundraising costs on the primary non-profit appear very low.  Hence, you need to look at both organizations to gain a full understanding of revenue and expenses.

Total compensation-related costs of both organizations according to the Form 990’s (2022 representing the year beginning October 1, 2022 and ending September 30, 2023) was $8.2 million ($4.6 million for the V Foundation and $3.6 million for Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc.) for 76 employees which equates to an average compensation of about $108,000. However, 11 individuals received more than $100,000. The 9 most highly compensated individuals were reported to be:

• $594,344:  Shane Jacobson, CEO
• $300,864:  Jonathan Karron Chief Marketing Officer (until 2/23)
• $289,798:  Timothy Minor, CDO to 12/22
• $235,690:  Phil Pilewski, Executive Director of Development
• $232,267:  Devin Gilreath, CFO
• $224,544:  Susanna Greer, Chief Scientific Officer (from 4/22)
• $179,347:  Rebecca Bumgardner Ritt, Major Gifts Officer
• $170,222:  Carole Wegner, SVP Research and Grants Administration
• $161,829:  Alesia Husband, Sr Director, Accounting (to 6/23)

As listed above, 9 individuals received total compensation of $2.4 million which equates to an average of $267,000 each.  If the total compensation and total employees were adjusted to exclude the above, then $5.8 million in compensation was provided to the remaining 67 staff (which equates to an average of $87,000).

Of the 9 most highly compensated individuals, 5 were men while 4 were women.

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

To read the IRS Form 990 (2022) for Don’t Ever Give Up Inc., click here.