Monday, August 04, 2008

Non-Profit Profits:  Dwight Tillery’s Salary versus other Executive Directors’

Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

Photo courtesy of here.

Last week, we brought you this story, featuring details about how much money former politician Dwight Tillery makes running his healthy-living non-profit.  He works 40 hours a week, advocating for people to be healthier and less obese, pulling in six figures:  with benefits and expense accounts included, his annual take reached $157,504 in 2006.  But what do these working hours and salaries look like compared to other Executive Directors for different non-profits in Cincinnati?  What else can we learn from looking at online IRS Form 990’s?

Stephen Leeper, over at 3CDC, worked 55 hours per week in 2005, pulling in $288,667.  On top of that, he was paid $12,700 in benefits.  Not a bad increase over Tillery for a mere 15 additional hours of work per week.  And this is a cool $100,000 more than Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney makes.  Leeper runs a development corporation for a small section of the City, and makes that much more than the chief executive of the entire City of Cincinnati!

Tom Bishop, the Executive Director at Media Bridges, worked 40 hours per week, and made $63,336 in 2006, with an additional $7,987 thrown in for benefits.  Now, we can argue about which work is more “beneficial,” between Tillery’s anti-obesity campaign, Leeper’s development of OTR, or Bishop’s work in media literacy—but that misses the point.  These three men are each working full time in the non-profit sector—yet their salaries are very different.  While Bishop is not living with an uncomfortable salary, he certainly isn’t getting rich off the gig. 

Georgine Getty, at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, takes home even less, earning $30,525 with no benefits in 2006.  Now, maybe from the perspective of working with the homeless daily, $30,525 seems like a nice gig.  But it’s certainly not near Bishop’s middle-class salary, and it’s an entirely different species from the stuff for well-connected political types like Stephen Leeper and Dwight Tillery.

Next up, consider the case of Gavin Leonard, one-time CityBeat person of the year.  Working to give urban youth a safe place to express themselves artistically at Elementz, he pulled in $14,640 in 2006.  If memory serves, those are technically poverty wages—assuming he has no other annual income. 

Certainly, each of these organizations differ in their ability to raise money—which impacts things like salary.  I don’t think I have a problem with a guy like Tom Bishop making middle-class wages, and I wouldn’t have a problem if Georgine Getty and Gavin Leonard made that same kind of money, too.

Some will say that Tillery’s work with Closing the Gap is more productive than Elementz.  Some will disagree.  Some will criticize the Greater Cincinanti Coalition for the Homeless.  Others will praise them.  But in the least, it does seem at least noteworthy to observe the different lifestyles various non-profits are able to provide for those who run the organizations.

Socializer!

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Caught on to you Dwight says:
04 Aug 2008  at  05:51 pm | #

We have caught on to you Dwight. Now- show us your outcome studies where your organization has made a difference. Prove to us that your NP Organization is worth it.

I’m willing that your can’t. You really are a rip-off. Show up the outcome studies.

Tillery's Not Closing the Health Gap says:
04 Aug 2008  at  06:00 pm | #

I can’t believe Mr. Tillery can go to sleep at night!  For a total of 4 events per year, he pulls in over $150,000 a year while all of these other non-profit organizations who are on the front lines everyday are making change!  Tillery seems to have every Democrat on Cincinnati City Council in his pocket. The black community does not expect people like Ghiz, Bortz, and Monzel to give a damn about the infant mortality rate in the black & poor communities, however, Cole, Thomas, Berding, Cranley, Crowley & Berding, as Democrats, should be voting in the interest of establishing an Office of Minority Health with FREE MONEY!!  Especially when Council just last year took $249,700 from the Health Department’s Operating Budget and gave it to Closing the Health Gap! (Item #200700293)Further, Dwight Tillery is making a formal request to have the Center included in the 2008 budget for another $250,000! (Item #200701285) What are these Democratic Councilmembers getting from Tillery in exchange for funding “Closing the Health Gap”?  How much money has Tillery given to these Democrats’ campaigns?  Not to mention that Tillery endorsed the deal to have Portune run unopposed for Commissioner and not run anyone against the Republican Judges, Joe Deters and Simon Leis in Hamilton County!

anon says:
04 Aug 2008  at  07:47 pm | #

City Council should be ashamed of themselves!!!!!
Out of all these people - Getty is the one who should be pulling down that kind of salary.  She must be an incredibly dedicated person to sacrifice a deserving salary in order to stand up for the least of our brethern.  She’s incredible.
Dump Tillarys program -transfer his appropriations to the health dept to get the matching funds and let’s save some lives!!!!

says:
04 Aug 2008  at  07:56 pm | #

Looks like he gave the max to Cole in 2007.  But have at it.  Look around.  Tell us what you find:

http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/menu_ec.html

says:
04 Aug 2008  at  08:04 pm | #

Oh, I forgot when doing the article—but I better say this before the Impeach Mallory people show up:

Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation - Howard Cleveland:  $129,194 in 2005 with $13,000 in benefits. 

“Menelaous Trintafillou” made $50,118 for “Urban Planning Development” and is listed as one of the highest paid consultants.

JFD says:
04 Aug 2008  at  08:57 pm | #

Jason:

Oh, I forgot when doing the article—but I better say this before the Impeach Mallory people show up:
Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation - Howard Cleveland:  $129,194 in 2005 with $13,000 in benefits.

It’s no longer impeachment they’re after; I believe it’s now JAIL FOR DALE that the people want.

I believe it’s Harold Cleveland not Howard.

Tillery's Not Closing the Health Gap says:
05 Aug 2008  at  06:41 am | #

It appears that Tillery has made a contribution to not only Laketa Cole, but to David Crowley, John Cranley, Cecil Thomas, and LESLIE GHIZ?!  That’s just to name the individuals who were elected. All of these individuals voted to not accept the $264,000 grant to form the Office of Minority Health.  Coincidence?  Probably not...I’m sure Tillery told them not to do it. Take a look at the entire list of people…

http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/election/public/contributions/ResultSet?upp=0&rpp=25&w=NATIVE('contrib_date+<=+''20080801''+and+FNAME+inc+''Dwight''+and+NAME+inc+''Tillery''+and+election_year+=+2007')&order=native('candidate_code')

komarek says:
06 Aug 2008  at  01:17 pm | #

The connection between nonprofits and politicians is not just a local phenomenon. It’s national news to those who follow nonprofits and politics. The issue is highlighted in a recent message from the editor of the Nonprofit Quarterly at this link:

http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/cohenreport/2008/08/06/the-great-lobbying-fix/

You might have thought that the Abramoff scandal was dead and buried, but it’s not. Super lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s crimes weren’t due simply to his penchant for distributing campaign donations on behalf of various clients. Frequently he laundered his donations through nonprofits, including his own, the Capital Athletic Foundation-which had just about nothing to do with athletics, but a lot to do with his political lobbying.

In reaction to Jack’s mucking around with charities that might be linked to various politicians, Congress enacted modest lobbying reforms to limit the services the K Street influence industry could perform on behalf of its well-heeled clients such as purchasing face-time with politicians through donations to charities and foundations established or controlled by members of the House and Senate.

While controlling some of what registered lobbyists might do for politicians’ charities, Congress wasn’t able to muster the political wherewithal to rein in the charities themselves, for example, by compelling charities linked to members of Congress to disclose donors’ names and amounts. But last month, in a very quiet little move, Congress opened the door for lobbyists to get back into demonstrating their charitable intent toward 501(c)(3)s established and more or less controlled by legislators.


Although nonprofit abuse does happen, we do rely on nonprofits to do many kinds of work that governments can’t do well by themselves. While it’s important that governments continue to support the services that nonprofits deliver, it’s also always appropriate to focus on what these programs achieve.

That way the good, effective, innovative programs will stand out.

--pk---

says:
06 Aug 2008  at  06:31 pm | #

Dean,
You forgot,HAROLD Cleveland was a full time law student while doing his CEC gig. He was never there. There also was a pension contribution of about 30 large. Close to 200m/yr total compensation/
This guy is WAY overpaid.

SHOW ME THE OUTCOMES says:
06 Aug 2008  at  06:39 pm | #

SHOW US THE OUTCOMES OF THE PROGRAMS. SHOW US WHERE YOU HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE DWIGHT? SHOW US WHERE YOU HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE? PROVE IT!!!