9/11 Museum Executives' Get Massive Paychecks Off Donations

[Ragnus]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/m...Nn0XyKakSzYPzN

Schoolchildren thought their penny jars and bake-sale proceeds would go toward building a 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero -- not the six-figure salaries of nonprofit execs.

But 11 staffers at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum each pulled down more than $170,000 in total compensation in 2009, according to the most recent filings. Four execs took home more than $320,000.

Foundation President Joseph Daniels, 38, pocketed $371,307 after receiving hefty raises three years in a row -- 28 percent in 2006, when he was promoted from acting president, followed by 12 percent and 6 percent.

http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2011...s--300x450.jpg

PENNY ANTE: These girls each donated $1 to the 9/11 foundation, while its president, Joseph Daniels (above), was paid $371,307.
William Farrington

Museum director Alice Greenwald made $351,000, and capital planning Vice President Joan Gerner soaked up $337,143 before leaving last spring. Development director Cathy Blaney raked in $322,292. The full-time foundation employee also worked last year as a fund-raiser for Gov. Cuomo's election campaign.

The money to pay the $5.3 million in compensation for the foundation's 87 staffers in 2009 came from private donations -- $220 million raised in a Herculean grass-roots effort to honor the 2,974 victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and $150 million from blue-ribbon board members. More than 60,000 individuals in all 50 states and 31 countries donated to the cause.

The rest of the foundation's money -- about $330 million in tax funds from the state and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. -- is earmarked for construction of the $610 million project.

Donors ranged from Ohio high-school students who raised $14,000 by completing a 650-mile trek from their Toledo suburb to Ground Zero, to pupils at Bethpage HS in New Jersey who collected $746 in pennies.

Teacher Shawn Clincy of the Mary Volz School in Runnemede, NJ, whose middle-school students raised $1,000 knocking on doors, was shocked by the salaries. "They're taking money from 13-year-olds who went out and collected donations. That doesn't sit right with me," he said.

Michael Burke, whose firefighter brother, William, was killed in the attacks, questioned the generous pay: "These guys are making a fortune -- it seems extravagant."

Sandra Miniutti, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator, said the salaries were "on the high side for a comparable-sized organization." The average base salary for a CEO of a mid-size foundation like the memorial is about $160,000, and second-tier managers usually make much less, she said.

The memorial and museum is being built on 10 acres at Ground Zero, featuring two large reflecting pools with manmade waterfalls set within the footprints of the Twin Towers.

Originally scheduled to open in 2009, the memorial designed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker will be unveiled two years late, on the 10th anniversary of the attacks. The museum is expected to open in 2012, also two years late.

The underground 100,000-

square-foot museum will exhibit the iconic "survivor stairs" and "last column" and donated artifacts from the site and victims' families.

The foundation defended the salaries disclosed in IRS tax filings reviewed by The Post.

"We're setting up a venue that will be the highest drawing venue in New York City," said board member Tom Roger, who lost his daughter on 9/11. "You don't bring in your typical, well-meaning nonprofit person off the street to get that done. Once it's opened and operational, the salary structure will . . . come back down."

Foundation officials pointed to the compensation package of $456,558 earned by the head of the American Cancer Society's Eastern Division, which has similar annual revenue of $96 million.

Mayor Bloomberg, board chairman, said, "They're paid only a fraction of what they're worth, but at a level similar to people at comparable nonprofits."

High-priced execs

Highest earners at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum (2009 total compensation):

* Joe Daniels, President: $371,307

* Alice Greenwald, Executive VP for Programs: $351,100

* Joan Gerner, Executive VP, Capital Planning (Left in Spring 2010): $337,143

* Cathy Blaney, Executive VP, Development: $322,292

* David Langford, CFO: $224,113

* Luis Mendes, VP Design and Construction: $221,429

* Lynn Rasic, Senior VP, Public Affairs: $214,270

* Noelle Lillien, General Counsel: $193,316

* Suany Chough, Senior Adviser, Design Construction and Planning: $190,831

* Allison Bailey, Chief of Staff to President: $171,417

Can't really say I'm surprised but still it's really really wrong. =(

[Bingbong]

Wow, disgusting. Makes me reconsider donating money to anything without seeing a written breakdown of where funding goes.

Fuck those Armstrong bracelets too, that dude is making bank on rubber bands.

[ZarakiKujata]

Hey, the 9/11 museum is meant to honor America, and what's more American than execs doing this?

[Yabby]

Are these programs considered non-profit? If so, it must be amazingly easy to run a business as "Non-profit" and give yourself a raise. BRB going to make the new Wal-Co with prices they can't compete with because i don't have to pay taxes.

[Uzor]

Are these programs considered non-profit? If so, it must be amazingly easy to run a business as "Non-profit" and give yourself a raise. BRB going to make the new Wal-Co with prices they can't compete with because i don't have to pay taxes.

Good idea. It's a completely legit non-profit organization that donates all of its earnings to your well-being.

[Yabby]

I need a CFO, who's down?

[Uzor]

Well, you're not allowed to distribute the surpluss funds to the owners or shareholders in a non-profit organization, so you'd have to donate it all to your parents, grandparents, partner, siblings, friends or children, sadly. But it would be easy enough to strike a deal with one of them.

Perhaps you could donate it to improve the living conditions of "poor children" if you have any kids. Alternatively to improve life for the elderly - assuming your grandparents or parents are alive.

[Izzy]

You know if there wasn't any money in it for these people, this whole memorial shit wouldn't be happening at all.

Just sayin'. People don't work for free.

[Correction]

Wasn't this an episode of The Boondocks?

[Bingbong]

You know if there wasn't any money in it for these people, this whole memorial shit wouldn't be happening at all.

Just sayin'. People don't work for free.

Nobodies saying they should work for free, but an average salary of 250K/year while working in a non-profit seems a bit exorbitant.

[Egon]

This is why I only donate to my church.

[BerenTebogo]

Lol

[Yuri-G]

can't even bring myself to care about shit like this anymore. greed begets power begets more greed, welcome to reality.

[Kurokikaze]

Color me surprised...

[Acturus]

Well, you're not allowed to distribute the surpluss funds to the owners or shareholders in a non-profit organization, so you'd have to donate it all to your parents, grandparents, partner, siblings, friends or children, sadly. But it would be easy enough to strike a deal with one of them.

Perhaps you could donate it to improve the living conditions of "poor children" if you have any kids. Alternatively to improve life for the elderly - assuming your grandparents or parents are alive.

You can't distribute profits to anyone in a non-profit. Revenue in excess of cost must be re-invested in the company. In order to give your family buttloads of money, they have to work for the company.

Besides, I'd like to understand the revenue of this company. There are a lot of non-profit businesses that pay executives 6-7 figure salaries (insurance companies and hospitals come to mind), but I find it easy to justify the salaries in some of those situations, given the size of the company and the amount of work done.

This doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me, unless these salaries are a disproportionate amount of the total generated revenue.

The article comes off as very inflammatory. As far as I can tell, these guys aren't stealing little kids' penny collections here, but the author wants you to believe otherwise.

I need a CFO, who's down?

Yo!

[Ragnus]

Been there recently. It's a roughly 50x50 room with exhibits and videos. The items they sell say that profits help the people who were involved in the 9/11 rescue efforts and to help rebuild ground zero.

A flag was 27 bucks after taxes, and a hoodie was 48 after taxes. I imagine the revenue is really large because of the donation bins and souvenirs combined with a close to body pack crowd that's filling almost as quick as it's emptying.

[Osede]

This doesn't surprise me, since usually about half of donation are distribute as the nonprofit workers paycheck. It just like all the funding provide by the NSF or any company to the university. 40 to 60% will be collected by university as compensation, then the rest will used to hire researchers a.k.a die hard phd student.

[archibaldcrane]

You know if there wasn't any money in it for these people, this whole memorial shit wouldn't be happening at all.

Just sayin'. People don't work for free.

That's fine but

Sandra Miniutti, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator, said the salaries were "on the high side for a comparable-sized organization." The average base salary for a CEO of a mid-size foundation like the memorial is about $160,000, and second-tier managers usually make much less, she said.

[Yuri-G]

in response to what Acturus said: what archi said.

[solanis]

The only appropriate way to determine if this is wrong or exploitive is to compare their work against their salaries. if their work is worth 300k+ to the organization, they should be paid accordingly.

all of them would likely make significantly more on wall street, they're already taking a cut to work there.