Citizens who donate to charities soon realize that their names are sold to other charities. We can tell by the sudden proliferation of appeals for donations in our emails or in our mailbox.
Our names are highly valuable, whether a person donates to a nonprofit or a political party. Too bad we cannot collect a commission on the number of times our names are sold.
A good way to validate a charity’s honesty and responsibility in wisely using donated money is to check out Charity Navigator or Charity Watch online. Doctors Without Borders, for example, is apparently a highly approved organization, with a 98-percent approval rating by Charity Navigator. DWB claims to spend 83 percent of their funds on core medical rescue programs and takes no government funding. Ninety-four percent of their donations come from individuals.
However, if one examines the salaries paid to the top five administrators of DWB, one’s jaw might drop a bit. DWB’s top administrator gets $245,815 in “annual salary, cash, bonuses, and expense accounts.” The fifth person down listed in the top tier gets $195,117.  The other three people in between get over $200,000 a year. I am sure these are highly educated and talented men and women. 
However, as a person who has mainly earned their dollars by the sweat of the brow,” I have an issue with the salaries of these folks, who make great livings from donated dollars. I am sure most of us regular Americans who donate do not make these types of wages. Research I have seen in the past shows that the middle class and poor are the ones mainly donating to charities, because they have more empathy for those in need.
  I am personally re-evaluating who I donate to. I know church-based organizations like the Salvation Army are usually very responsible in their spending, and their salaries certainly are not comparable to the larger organizations. The local food shelf gets some of my surplus produce. Outfits that work against human trafficking and drill water wells in arid countries or build medical clinics in poorer countries get some of my dollars, and their admin salaries are half of what is mentioned above. (Check out Child Impact, Maranatha, and ADRA).
 United Service Organizations, Inc. is a congressionally chartered (but run privately) entity that helps military servicemen and women overseas. Highly rated for quality service, and a highly compensated staff. The CEO gets $705,905 per year. Habitat for Humanity gets a high approval rating for service, and its CEO gets an annual salary of $439,364. 
All sources are from Charity Navigator, which claims it gets its data from IRS tax return forms.
Mark Roalson
Hoyt Lakes