Nonprofits are as diverse as our community
By John Flanagan
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Driving home, I heard a radio talk show host make this case: Despite their notoriety, the misdeeds of Michael Vick, Adam "Pacman" Jones and Tank Johnson aren't accurate barometers of the state of professional football in America.
He said there are 53 players on each of 32 NFL teams — 1,696 in all. Three miscreants — less than two-tenths of one percent — have put the rest in a bad light. Most NFL players are wonderful human beings, the radio man said, people you would be proud to associate with. I can't disagree.
Hawai''i nonprofits face a similar situation. Recent articles in The Advertiser might lead one to believe they are abusing the public:
The Internal Revenue Service lists 7,288 nonprofits in Hawai'i. Of these, 5,581 are public charities classified as tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. In other words, the three executives who took home big paychecks represent 0.05 percent of nonprofit CEOs in Hawai'i — five one-hundredths of one percent.
Nor are these "nonprofits" typical. Neither The Queen's Health Systems nor HMSA are 501(c)(3) public charities — in fact, HMSA isn't even federal tax exempt. Hawai'i Pacific Health, the third employer paying its CEO more than $900,000, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization but, with assets of $277 million and annual income of $92.3 million in 2005, it is extraordinary.
More typical is Keiki O Ka 'Aina Preschool Inc. Its executive director and founder, Theresa "Momi" Akana, got the extreme makeover. Whether or not the new house, which she will lease from the school, was a good idea — either for the show or for Akana — the question in this context is: Is she overpaid?
The preschool operates on annual revenues of $2.4 million. Akana's salary in 2006 was $97,018 — she also received $10,682 in employee benefits.
Some in similar jobs make more, some less. The CEO of nonprofit Alphabetland ($1.9 million in revenues) in Waipahu makes $109,800; the president of Children's House ($2.5 million in revenues) in Pearl City makes $101,614; and KCAA Preschools ($8.4 million in revenues) in Honolulu pays its top executive $85,540.
The TV show knew what it was getting into. It asks applicants to check off their income range and notifies them that they will have to submit the last three years' tax returns and W-2s if their family is selected.
Nonprofits, however, never saw it coming. Akana has been skewered on The Advertiser's blogs, called a fraud, a fake and worse. Meanwhile, the integrity and worth of all nonprofit leaders are being questioned.
So be it. Every nonprofit with revenues exceeding $25,000 files an IRS Form 990 annually disclosing its CEO's salary and a wealth of other financial and program information. Those forms are publicly available online at GuideStar.org. We encourage donors, volunteers and anyone else interested in nonprofits to check us out.
Now, about those net-wielding fundraisers snagging contributions at stop lights: Let's face it, with 5,581 nonprofits struggling to make ends meet, people will try almost anything, as long as it's legal and it works.
For every gala Heart Ball, humanitarian of the year banquet and PGA pro-am there is a chili or Huli-Huli chicken sale, walk-a-thon or car wash. Nonprofits are as diverse as our communities and public support from both the rich and not-so-rich is the lifeblood of charitable organizations.
As Cataluna points out, one way to end scoop-net fundraising is to "just say no." A better way is to write a check to support a cause you believe in and make a difference.
John Flanagan is president and CEO of the Hawai'i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.
