Is the President of the American Red Cross paid too much?

Does the President of the American Red Cross really make over $600,000.00 US Dollars per year? If so, I would like to nominate Mitt Romney to be the President of the American Red Cross. Mitt Romney contributed $1 million to the Olympics, and donated the $825,000 salary he earned as President and CEO to charity.[24] Source Wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney#CEO_of_the_2002_Winter_Olympics Why would those of us who struggle to contribute a little money want so much to go to the President of the Red Cross? Do I hear a "secondary motion" that Mitt Romney run for the President of the American Red Cross and clean it up like he did the Salt Lake City Olympics? ------------ In another thread, we determined that LDS Humanitarian fund spends 100% of donations ear-marked for disaster relief to disaster relief and picks up the overhead from the Church's general fund. Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuMCjMu_L03mqLlhiFHpXePty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080227174232AALxnQa In this thread, a representative of the National American Red Cross said that about 89% of the money donated goes to those in need and of course there is some overhead that they have to pay. LDS Humanitarian Fund http://www.lds.org/ldsfoundation American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/

Public Comments

1. probably
2. wow! application please.
3. Yes, and nothing irritates me more than some charity flack tooling up in a chauffeur-driven limousine and telling me to give 'til it hurts. That's why I only give to charities like the Salvation Army, where the members might be a little wacky, but at least they walk the walk.
4. And the irony of that is....it's a charitable organization! No wonder they have to keep asking the public for money!!
5. First off--the Red Cross is a bunch of balony. Most of the money you donate to it doesn't go to the needy. It goes to pay the wages of the people in the organization. 1.I lived in city that flooded in the spring, sandbagging and running an irrigation pump, pumping water back into the river. Local bakery donated donuts and rolls to the Red Cross for volunteers working the dikes. When flooding was over, Red Cross charged the city for the donuts and rolls. 2. When cousin was in hospital in France during WWII Red Cross come in and asked if he needed anything. He said yes that he wanted some cigarettes.The red Cross charged him 10 cents a pack, and a penny each for a sheet of paper and an envelope. The next day the Salvation Army came in and asked the same question. He said some cigarettes. He got the cigs at no charge. Ask any WWII veteran about the Red Cross and you will getthe same answer. Unatil the Red Cross changes their ways, I will not donate to them. I also don't donate to the United Way as the Red Cross is the number 1 receiver (top of the list).
6. Hi, This is Sarah, from the American Red Cross. Thanks for inviting me to respond to your question. The current Red Cross acting CEO makes about $334,000 per year. I know this may seem like a lot, but really it isn't if you consider what a big job the CEO has and the size of our organization. If the Red Cross was a public company, our combined expenses of $3.5 billion, paid workforce of nearly 35,000 and volunteer base of over half a million would give the organization an equivalent ranking of a Fortune 650 company. It is important to attract and retain talented individuals. Compensation figures made public in our 990 reflect the competitive market for top not-for-profit executives typical of a large market like Washington, D.C. You can see our complete financial report by visiting our website http://www.redcross.org/pubs/#report. Also, to respond to another commenter, 89 percent of every dollar is invested in humanitarian programs and services. Only 10.8 percent of our budget goes toward operating expenses, like salaries and electricity. This is an extremely low percentage according to watchdog groups. We are excellent stewards of the donor dollar and have received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, one of the leading watchdog groups. Have a great day!