To feel outraged at my friends re charity salaries?

[Pissedoffandbored]

Have a group chat going with a load of my girlfriends. There have been some additions to the group chat this week, some I know well and others are just acquaintances. One girl I don’t know sent a link to published salaries for charities. Girl didn’t know I work for a National Charity in a senior position and slated the amount I earn saying people don’t deserve to earn more than PM. At this point I interjected making her aware of my position and she proceeded to have a go at me. I defended my position but most of my friends agreed I earned too much since I worked for a charity.

So AIBU to be pissed off? Also, is this the general consensus or are my mates just dick heads?

@gleefulglitch , I am well aware that you don't get government funding, that was my point, your wages are all paid out of donations that come from people given in good faith that their money will be used to actually help the people/animals that the charities support.

I am also well aware that I can say no.... and I do but despite a 'no door knocking' sign we regularly have charities asking for monthly sign up donations at out door who are very hard to get rid of.

I am not bitter in the slightest, you are very defensive though which I can understand seeing as you appear to be one of those expecting others to hand over their donations so that your wage can be paid.

That's not bitterness, it's reality, without donations you would not get paid if you work in a paid position in a charity, presumably as a charity requires staff to run it the staff wages will be paid first then the rest of the money will filter on to it's cause after paying bills.

OP your mistake was to discuss your role and salary on a big WhatsApp group with someone you barely know. Or is this a millennial thing? What good could possibly ever have come of it? Who were you expecting to defend you when they don’t know your job and precisely what you do to add this value (nor do most people here either).

I work in the charity sector as well and I have special needs… It really annoys me when people like social workers, and educators of people with special needs ask me if I work… Not only do I something that I really really love, but I spend a lot of my time doing it. And I’m even doing things like advocacy for people with special needs to get dental care. So I’m not just very small work. I am proud of the work I do, and if people don’t think it’s a real job… They need a wake up call.

Really high salaries paid to charity workers are one of the main reasons that some people are reluctant to give donations. There is the feeling that only a small amount finds its way to the cause that is being supported. Reasonable salaries yes but certainly not more than the prime minister.

@StoppinBy do you really expect the CEO of an organisation that manages millions in donation and hundreds of staff to earn just basic living wage? So either they'd have to have some significant personal income behind them, having the experience to do the job well, or they'd have no real experience and qualifications at this level. Which I'm sure would work well...

I can understand why she was upset, this is why I look carefully at the percentage of money that goes to admin before donating money to charity.

My gut reaction is that people working for charities should not be paid very high salaries. I also think some of the v large charities have become so 'corporate' and PR focussed now, some have lost sight of who their actual beneficiaries - I'm in a really bad mood with the NSPCC right now, for example, because of the Munroe Bergdorf/rubberman fiasco.

I remember reading a good few years ago about the RSPCA spending an obscene amount of money refurbishing their offices, and that put me a bad mood too.

I've stopped donating to both those charities now - and tend to look for smaller charities, where my donation will genuinely make a difference.

I think the whole "chuggers' thing was a really bad look for charities too. Have they stopped that now? I haven't seen a chugger for ages.

The problem is not that charity workers are paid too much. It's that the PM is woefully underpaid. How about increasing the prime-ministerial salary to £20m a year? This is an utterly insignificant amount in proportion to public spending, and the importance of the job. But we might suddenly find that people with skill and ability would get interested, rather than the incompetent cunts, blithering chancers and lying charlatans that the post currently attracts.

@bristolianpielover yes I do, it is a charity, a business if you will that is run on by donations from people who believe their $20 a month is going to help the people or animals that they have chosen to help, yet on a wage of $150,000pa it would take precisely 625 people making $20 monthly donations just to pay the wages of one staff member.

That $20pm is a lot for many people and knowing it will never even make it to the people who need it most while the CEO of the charity is on really good money is a big reason why many people don't support the charity at all.

paid out of donations that come from people given in good faith that their money will be used to actually help the people/animals that the charities support.

Stop
Without my skills the donations would be unused in the most part. The donations mean staff like me with 20 years experience can provide support as well as cash grants. Which is what our clients need. They dont all need money thrown at them. They need help, guidance and people to navigate the areas of their life that they struggle with.

you are very defensive though which I can understand seeing as you appear to be one of those expecting others to hand over their donations so that your wage can be paid.

Of course I am defensive. You think charity staff are no better than thieves.

I NEVER expect anyone to hand over cash so my wage can be paid.
I earn £20,000 pa dealing with people who have desperate problems that the government and society have washed their hands of.
I am verbally abused almost daily. I have been physically abused many many times yet as far as your concerned my wage is all about my greed

You sound even more bitter tbh.

@gleefulpitch while we can all see why you have a reason to be defensive there is no reason for me to be bitter, think what you like about me but you are in the minority of people who think charity workers should be high paid earners.

I also think you are letting your feelings cloud your comprehension of what I have written, if you truly earn $20,000pa then you are not in the same pay category as the OP, not even close. This post is about high earning charity workers and not those who take a basic wage.

If you want badly managed charities, then pay charity CEOs peanuts. The type of person with the skills and experience to run a national charity is going to be able to earn six figures, and are willing to take a pay cut to some extent but not down to 50k.

On the other hand the PM's salary is just a part of the total package, they get loads of other benefits many of which are so valuable that you can't even put a figure on them. Even being a former party leader let alone former PM can open the doors to amazing opportunities for power and income for the rest of your life.

So the comparison is ridiculous.

I think people should be paid for what they bring to the table.
Our CEO is on more than the OP and it is well earned.
He heads a multi million pound organisation with 100s of staff and volunteers. His role is a highly skilled one that requires years of experience and he is an asset to the charity so his wage should reflect that.

if you truly earn $20,000pa

Why would I lie about that? I should be paid more tbh but I chose to work for this charity so I choose to except the pay.

How much money do you personally raise for the charity? Is it above your pay? Do you have a network of people who donate generously vast amounts of money? The best way to get people of your back is by saying for £150 000 I was able to make the charity £££ Then people would back off and think it is a fair investment.

I've never been paid as much as when I worked mid level for a national charity. It has a blue logo and is named after a person.

They had free stock (donations) and free labour (volunteers) from their national network of charity shops and my God how they pissed that money up a wall.

I had access to everyone's salaries as part of my role so I knew exactly how much the lazy overpaid management team were on. It was a total blag. They were forever having conferences and all expenses paid jollies in posh hotels. Recruiting extra staff so you had too many people in a team with not enough to do.

I work in a normal company now and the difference is staggering. Its put me off big charities completely.

All three points about 90% of the money going to fund extravagance or "the majority" of funds being used in running cost - all bollocks. You do know that all of that information is freely available on the internet? You can check ANY charity registered with the Charity Commission and see where the money is going. Afaik the industry standard is about 75% directly to the cause and some charities do much better.

Or perpetuate the myth that it's all fat cats loving the high life if you can't be bothered to find out .

IMO, nobody should earn more than the prime minister - except those who are self employed, and if they want work 24/7, that’s up to them! Salaries should be capped at a maximum of 7 times the employees’ lowest salary.

I was reading about how CEO salaries have gone up massively, relatively to average earnings the other day - the differentials are far lower in Germany, which still manages to have a more success economy than us.

I also look at charity accounts regularly. I looked at one last night, with a 6 figure income and the top 2 employees earned somewhere between £70,000 - £90,000 pa.

YANBU generally however, teachers go to university and if we want good teachers to join and stay we should pay them more but that doesn’t happen. There are other jobs I could point to, or even employers where people are paid a lot less than they would elsewhere due to public scrutiny.
As things stand YABU, charities should get the best possible people but it should be for the warm and fuzzies.

@DonkeyHohtay sadly I do know of a charity where the accounts proved incredibly dodgy dealings but the charity commission did nothingness.

Nothing not nothingness no idea where that even came from.

Yes £150k is a lot of money. But it is NOT a lot of money for a CEO - if it's a big charity with a lot of employees, of course the CEO isn't going to earn 50k. Because no one would do that work for 50k, no one would do director work for 40k, no one would head a department for 20k and no one would do admon for 5k. Peoples hard work and effort is still worth what it's worth when working for a charity! YANBU OP.

DontPressSendTooSoon
I think the problem is partially to do with situations like that. It destroys public trust.

I find it hard to accept CEOs on high salaries congratulating themselves when the only reason that much money is going around is because they have a network of volunteers and low paid staff.

Then you get Oxfam scandals, Kids Company, NSPCC lately.

I feel the same about CEOs of academy chains having their 'away days' in fancy hotels when the school has a meeting room at a time when TAs aren't paid enough and teachers are dipping into their own pocket to find classroom materials.
I'm sure some of these MAT CEOs would pay themselves on the back and say they've turned the school round, perhaps they have, but when the people on the front line aren't paid/resourced enough then I personally don't think they can justify their CEO treats and excessive salary.

Wondering what people think CEOs actually do and what they earn in the private sector? Of course £50k wouldn't attract someone with the level of skill and responsibility a CEO role requires

YANBU. The friend clearly does not understand how businesses work d, do they think they run themselves?!

The charity require a certain level of skill for the position, and your salary is what it takes to employ someone with those skills (considering the competition from other businesses wanting the same skills). They could choose to pay less, would get a lower level of skill, and probably make less money.

Altruistically, one thing that could be considered by those working in the charity sector is whether you could be paid significantly more working elsewhere, and whether then donating a proportion of your additional salary would make more of a difference to the charity than your skillset at a discount.