HOUSTON -- A spokeswoman for the YMCA of Greater Houston explained on Thursday what determines salaries after a report noted that the organization s leader is the highest-paid administrator of any non-profit human services organization in the country.
The report was released Tuesday by the consumer watchdog group Charity Navigator. The non-profit organization evaluates charities and reviewed about 3,000 charities across the country.
The report revealed that most leaders in charge of the charities made a median salary of $150,000 in 2008. Clark Baker, the President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Houston, made $661,634. That s 0.60 percent of all revenue.
We didn t anticipate it to be such a stir up, such a heated thing, said YMCA spokeswoman Alicia Alaniz. We re the third-largest YMCA in the country and the fastest-growing Y in the last10 years. Our ratings are unbelievable for the last eight years. We have received the highest rating for Charity Navigator and that rating shows that the YMCA of Greater Houston holds the highest standards. We actually out-perform most other non-profits.
11 News also looked at the salaries of other top executives with the YMCA of Greater Houston and learned that in 2008, 14 other leaders in the organization made between $150,000 and $334,074.
The chief financial officer made $193,089. The senior vice-president of development received a salary of $205,052. According to financial statements, another senior vice-president made $233,607 and the chief operating officer made $334,074.
If you combine all of their salaries, including Baker s salary, that comes to more than $3.3 million.
Alaniz said all of the salaries were reviewed by a third-party consultant.
Our firm that we engaged in to do this study, and to find out if we were in line with our management and structure, and team and leadership and capacity, the compensation structure was in line with what they agreed to, said Alaniz. Our board approved it and our donors and community have to and it s open and those reports are open to anyone to see.
According to YMCA of Greater Houston spokesperson Ann Herlocher, five of the executives that were making six-figure salaries in 2008 are no longer with the non-profit organization. Their positions have not been filled, she said.
None of the executives has received a pay raise since 2008, according to Herlocher.
