How Much Do Nonprofit CEOs Make?

Nonprofits often conjure up images of volunteers and other hard workers who forgo the big payrolls of the corporate world to do work to help society.  The truth of the matter is, however, that most nonprofits don't run much differently than a typical business.

The Advertiser recently wrote an article about executive compensation for nonprofit CEOs.  They focused on Sandra Purgahn, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Acadiana.  She earned $132,825 in 2010, and that number was $15,000 higher in 2009 because of a performance bonus.  Purgahn and her husband, Charles, founded Goodwill of Acadiana in 1990, and have been in charge of the organization ever since.  Charles still works there as vice president of business services, earning $101,304 in 2010.  Two other VPs at Goodwill earned $91,768 and $83,748 in 2010 according to the organization's Form 990.

The board of the organization defended the couple's salaries to The Advertiser, saying they are in line with similarly sized organizations.  Even after their revenue dropped by $200,000 in 2010, Goodwill would still classify as a mid-large sized organization.  If you are interested in finding out the pay of other nonprofit CEOs, you should check out The NonProfit Times' 2011 Salary and Benefits Report.  You can also read the full story on Sandra Purgahn in The Advertiser.