9 Investigates CEO Pay For Mecklenburg Nonprofits

Across Mecklenburg County, more than 50 nonprofit agencies take millions of dollars in money donated to the United Way.

These days, all of them face heightened scrutiny over how much their top executives are being paid.

“As a result of the United Way scandal, legitimate concerns are being raised regarding executives' compensation, and it's appropriate and it's legitimate,” said Denis Arnold, a business ethics professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

The United Way fired CEO Gloria Pace King after news got out about her $350,000 salary and a million-dollar pension plan.

Arnold said nonprofits should be taking a closer look at how much they're paying their leaders, but how much is that?

To find out, Eyewitness News searched through federal tax forms called 990s that all nonprofits are required to file.

For many of the Mecklenburg County agencies accepting United Way funds, executive salaries are modest. For example, at the Seigle Avenue Preschool Cooperative, the executive director earns just under $47,000 a year. The salary is $56,000 for the head of Charlotte's senior centers.

But Eyewitness News also found 11 agencies whose leaders are paid over $100,000 each, including compensation of $147,000 for the head of Mecklenburg County's Boy Scouts, $165,000 for the president of Child Care Resources, and more than $200,000 in salary and benefits for the CEO of Goodwill of the Southern Piedmont.

But by far the biggest salary is paid to the head of Charlotte's YMCA, where CEO Andy Calhoun earned a salary of $381,000 for 2008, plus benefits of almost $37,000 for total compensation of over $417,000 a year.

At a time when Charlotte's YMCA is laying off employees, Y member Phil Rutledge said he isn't happy to hear that.

“It suggests that they're kind of spoiled. Maybe they're decadent. I'm not sure what the word would be, but that's way too much money,” he said.

Yet at Charlotte's YMCA, the CEO's top four deputies each earned more than $200,000 in total compensation, and 11 others earned over $100,000 -- all while accepting nearly $1.2 million in United Way funds.

For Arnold, that's a red flag.

“If you can afford to pay that level of salary, is it necessary to get United Way support?” he asked.

That's what Eyewitness News wanted to know. The YMCA declined a request for an interview, but sent a statement saying it will continue to request United Way funds for programs, not salaries. It defends the pay given to executives as appropriate, but said because of economic factors, “Our CEO's compensation will be 28 percent less." For Calhoun, that's a cut of $106,000 to $274,000.

For the Y and other agencies in Charlotte that take United Way's donated dollars, Arnold believes public perception of pay will play an ever bigger factor.

“Every board should be considering, reflecting, seriously on the moral legitimacy of its executive compensation packages,” he said.

At the YMCA, the CEO isn't the only one getting a pay cut. Last week, the rest of the management team was told its compensation is being cut from 11 to 18 percent, and that the YMCA’s executive bonus program is being eliminated.

Eyewitness News asked the United Way if executive salaries should play a role in which agencies get funding. Officials said that right now it's not part of the criteria that's used.

Eyewitness News compared the salary of the CEO of the Charlotte YMCA to those in other cities. While Calhoun was paid $381,000 last year, Y CEOs in Raleigh, Nashville and Atlanta made less -- between $240,000 and $300,000.

• PDF: Compensation For Mecklenburg Co. Non-Profit Agencies Accepting United Way Funds • PDF: Charlotte YMCA 2007 Form 990 • PDF: Charlotte YMCA 2006 Form 990 • PDF: Comparable YMCA Executive Pay