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CEO's of charities earning vast sums.

(48 Posts)
Greatnan Tue 06-Aug-13 07:12:39

The new boss of the RSPCA has a salary of over £150,000 - a rise of about 45% on the last boss. Many charities are paying their CEOs in excess of £100,000. Should we do some research before we sign up to donate to any charity?

Iam64 Wed 07-Aug-13 08:03:58

I realise this is of post - but it's reminded me again of the MP Salary debate. If CEO's of charities need to be paid £150,000 to get people who are bright enough, why do we expect MP's to do a demanding job, in the public eye, for less than half this amount

bluebell Wed 07-Aug-13 08:20:48

I don't think you can make that comparison - for one thing, being an MP for many ( not all I accept) is not a full time job. It's only if second ( or third, fourth etc) jobs were banned that I would support some increase in salary.

henetha Wed 07-Aug-13 10:58:21

I think there are people out there, Bags, who would work for a more realistic salary and not expect endless perks.... but would they fit in to today's greedy and materialistic world? It needs a real change in attitude in society in general, I think, and particularly amongst the rich and powerful.

JessM Wed 07-Aug-13 11:21:37

noodles exactly, which is why it is better for large charities to pay a bit more and get really good managers in. This is easier said than done - speaking as one who has done a bit of recruitment in her time - finding really talented managers with the skills and vision these charities need must be pretty difficult. With poor management donated money is going to be badly used.
I found it dispiriting yesterday that the head of the charities commission (nice part time salary thanks) was wading in, being critical and also the minister. No news in August so lets have bash the charities week. hmm Deflects criticism from the government I suppose.

bluebell Wed 07-Aug-13 12:06:12

Well I'd like to do quite a bit of Charity Commission bashing - they let some real tax avoidance scams through not to mention public schools ( so I won't) - oh here we go again!! Nothing wrong with paying CEOs of large charities good money for a job well done. I had a friend who was paid a fortune as a fund raiser for a major cancer charity and she was brilliant at it and raised hundreds of times her salary

Bags Wed 07-Aug-13 13:06:05

This article seems appropriate to this thread

j08 Wed 07-Aug-13 13:10:20

The school my son went to turned itself into a "charity" for tax purposes. hmm

I hope this hoo-ha doesn't stop people giving to these charities. Oxfam do good work.

gillybob Wed 07-Aug-13 13:14:40

I appreciate that running a successful charity takes a certain amount of skill but I think it is only fair to the people who give to these charities that the amount of money used to pay salaries/expenses/company cars etc. should be made public.

On the industrial estate where we have our small factory, a charity has 3 seperate units where it stores charitable donations. Their vans are in and out all day every day and it has just recently come to the attention of the tenants that they are paying neither rent or rates.

Butty Wed 07-Aug-13 13:18:05

Interesting. Trade, not aid, although I rather think it's trading with the Chinese economy. Not that I think that's necessarily a bad idea, but I fear it's a hidden and false economy for many Africans. I think the Chinese could be seen as profiteering.

Butty Wed 07-Aug-13 13:18:41

That's to B's link

gillybob Wed 07-Aug-13 13:20:34

Blimey I have just re-read the second half of my last post and I think I have been spending too much time with Frank shock

Galen Wed 07-Aug-13 13:34:26

I said it was catching. I can recognise a contagious condition when I see one grin

Stansgran Thu 08-Aug-13 11:36:43

But all these CEOs move around with golden handshakes from one post to another very much like the managers in the NHS . It is quite extraordinary looking at their cvs

harrigran Thu 08-Aug-13 13:05:41

Talking about CEOs of charities, CEO of Red Cross earns £184,000
Oxfam £120,000 and Save the Children £163,000.
Imagine how much a charity has to collect in donations before the needy get one penny.

gillybob Thu 08-Aug-13 13:29:18

.....and thats just the man/woman at the top harrigran there are plenty more salaried workers below them.

Faye Thu 08-Aug-13 22:39:37

I believe a lot of charities are rorts. Two weeks ago I donated towards an ad being made regarding asylum seekers and I am about to donate to change.org. I will donate for appeals such as the Japanese Tsunami.

I won't line the pockets of CEOs of large charities because I know in a lot of instances besides the CEO's wages there are the numerous staff, their vehicles and their flash offices. One such charity in South Australia also receives millions in Government finding and the majority of children with disabilities don't get any help. I know this for a fact as a relative had many dealings with them and in the end she applied for Individualised Government Funding. With the grant received she was able to pay for physiotherapy, speech therapy and swimming lessons for her son. Beneficial to his health and he had been denied by this charity even though they received the funding from the government which is meant to be spent on the children with disabilities. My relative has now helped other parents who had also been denied help, receive their own individualised funding.

Judthepud2 Thu 08-Aug-13 23:30:07

Do people really NEED £185,000 to live on comfortably. Lots of us manage on a lot less. To me, a charity needs to be run by people with an ethos of caring for others. Directors of charities who demand huge salaries seem to be out of step with this ethos. I'm not naive. People need to be rewarded for their skill and experience but why pay so much money?

gillybob Fri 09-Aug-13 09:54:11

Many of the big cities and towns are now plagued (yes that is the right word) with charity workers stopping people in the street and badgering them into signing up for on going donations. The unwitting person doesnt realise (and certainly isnt made aware) that they are normally signing up for life and whilst the sum is not usually astonomical it is quite significant and can take quite a lot of hassle to get out of. There are so many of these Chuggers (Charity Muggers) in Newcastle city centre that some of the stores are compaining that people are avoiding walking past them and subsequently avoiding their stores. The "workers" (they are paid it is not voluntary) usually hae a patch that they operate from and will not/cannot be moved.

Poppikok Mon 12-Aug-13 17:45:01

So how come a has been,second rate politician lands the job of head of a large US charity at £280,000 a year.
Best man for the job?
You must be joking.
It isn't what you know,it's who you know.

nanaej Mon 12-Aug-13 18:21:06

I do feel that if you work for a charity there should be some commitment to it! If you are committed to it you might feel a salary over £100k did not illustrate that commitment!

Mishap Mon 12-Aug-13 19:00:12

We gave a lot of thought to where donations should go in memory of Dad and looked at various charities. In the end we came down on the idea of buying a specialist electrically controlled bed for the home where he died. It is not a big place - just a small family-run home where they have to save up for large itmes like this. An item of concrete benefit to many and we will know exactly where the money has gone.

nanaej Mon 12-Aug-13 19:19:24

Good idea mishap