Where Does $100 to God’s Love We Deliver Go?
God’s Love We Deliver (GLWD) is a New York City-based 501 (c) (3) that prepares and delivers “high quality and nutritious” meals (approximately $1.6 million worth in 2016) to people who are living with serious illnesses in the New York City metropolitan area who are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves. The organization also provides nutrition education and counseling.
Housed in a 48,000 square-foot relatively new building (2015), the 6-story facility (including rooftop garden) was named for the designer, Michael Kors whose personal donation in 2012 kicked off the building project, and whose rooms looks like a whose who of New York with The Joan Rivers Bakery and the Anna Wintour Volunteer Center. Read more 
Where Does $100 to the Childhood Leukemia Foundation Go?
The Childhood Leukemia Foundation (CLF) is a 501 (c) (3) based in Brick, New Jersey. Typically, disease-related foundations raise money to award grants for research but not so with CLF, an organization primarily engaged in using professional fundraisers to raise money to provide “wish baskets” and other products for special events. However, only 20% of revenue goes to these projects, so donor beware.
According to the IRS Form 990, CLF raised nearly $3.2 million in 2016, most of which ($2.5 million) came from contributions obtained through phone solicitations from four outside companies: Read more
Where Does $100 to the Children’s Wish Foundation International Go?
The Children’s Wish Foundation International (not to be confused with the Make a Wish Foundation) is a 501 (c) (3) based in Atlanta, Georgia.
The organization (CWFI) fulfills wishes for seriously and terminally ill children which is enough to make almost anyone pull out their checkbook or respond to telemarketers phone calls, mailings, or internet solicitations. But, donors should think twice before donating to this organization because $51 of every $100 in revenue went towards fundraising and management expenses while only $23 out of every $100 was awarded in grants ($16 in cash grants and $7 in non-cash awards). Read more
Executive Compensation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is a private non-profit 501 (c) (3) college that specializes in engineering, technology, and the sciences. Located on 300 acres in Troy, New York, RPI also has two campuses in Connecticut – in Hartford and Groton. But, what also makes this institute well-known is its inclusion on lists of most highly compensated employees.
About 7,500 students (mostly undergraduate) attend RPI where annual tuition is about $50,000 plus about $17,000 for room and board bringing the total annual cost to $67,000. However, 5,172 recipients received $122 million in tuition discounts (an average of $24,000) while 919 teaching assistants at the graduate level received $35 million in tuition discounts (an average of $38,000 each). Of the total revenue received in 2016 ($538 million), $166 million (or 31% of revenue) was used for tuition discounts. Total expenses were $490 million (not including depreciation) which means expenses did not exceed revenue. RPI had $364 million in net fund assets at year-end. Read more
Executive Compensation at Duke
Duke University (Duke) is one of the most academically competitive schools in the country with an acceptance rate at about 9% of applicants. Located in Durham, North Caroline, Duke has about 15,000 students, of which 6,500 are undergraduates. The annual tuition is about $53,000 while room and board adds another $17,000 for a total annual cost of about $70,000.
In 2016, Duke’s total revenue was $2.8 billion with most of the income coming from 3 sources: contributions, gifts, and grants ($1.4 billion), tuition and academic fees ($1 billion) and investment income/sale of assets ($0.3 billion). Expenses were $2.7 billion (not including depreciation). At year-end, Duke had $9.2 billion in net fund assets. Read more
Where Silicon Valley Community Foundation Spends Revenue
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) is one of the largest (in terms of dollars) donor-advised community foundations in the country, second only to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the NY Times. Never heard of it? Me neither until the New York Times printed an article (“Inside a Silicon Valley Charity, A Toxic Culture Festered“) about the organization’s “toxic culture” caused by the chief fund-raiser who allegedly bullied her staff while the foundation’s chief executive ignored complaints because her success at raising funds made him look good. Read more
Executive Compensation at Princeton
With all the talk about how much it costs for a college education (about $250,000 for 4 years of tuition, room, and board at the top ranked private universities including Princeton University), it seems only natural that people would start asking why a 4-year degree costs so much? The answer isn’t as complicated as some people want you to think.
In the most simplistic terms, the answer is: you’re supporting a huge education machine where, in the case of Princeton, half of the total expenses ($920 million of the $1.8 billion in expenses (not including depreciation) are compensation-related costs for the 14,331 employees in 2016 (an average of $64,000 each). The next largest expense categories were grants (primarily to domestic individuals for undergrad scholarships and graduate fellowships) which totaled $320 million and office-related expenses (office, occupancy, IT, insurance) which came to $195 million, and interest ($143 million). Read more
Executive Compensation at the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society (ACS) was established in 1922 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, although there are 11 geographic divisions. As one of the most recognized non-profits in the country, generating more than $800 million a year and with $1.1 billion (!) in net fund assets, the ACS focuses on making research grants (about $170 million annually or 20% of revenue), providing patient support, prevention programs and education along with disseminating information.
To accomplish the above, ACS reported having 6,679 employees in 2016 at a total compensation cost of $455 million (which equates to an average of $68,000 each). 368 individuals received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 12 most highly compensated individuals listed below: Read more
Executive Compensation at Harvard
Harvard University (Harvard) is one of the most well-respected institutions of higher learning in the United States and consequently, a popular choice among prospective students. With a 5% acceptance rate (40,000 students apply annually and only about 2,000 are accepted), Harvard is also one of the most competitive undergraduate schools in the country even though the cost to attend is about $65,000 annually ($45,000 for tuition and $20,000 for room, board, and fees).
Harvard is a 501 (c) (3) whose legal name is President and Fellows of Harvard College. There is also Harvard Management Company, Inc. (HMC) – a 501 (c) (3) – whose mission is to provide investment management services to Harvard (managing the $41.9 billion in net fund assets). Both of these organizations are key to understanding the financial aspects of what most people think of as “Harvard.” Read more
Executive Compensation at the V Foundation and Don’t Ever Give Up, Inc.
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. Read more
