Third Sector Magazine has looked at the annual accounts of the top 150 charities by income and created a list of the 100 charities that paid their top earner the most in 2011 or 2012. Thirty of the top 100 earners were paid more than £200,000 a year and nine were paid more than £300,000. See the full list here.
THE TOP 10 CHARITY PAYERS:
1. The London Clinic Highest pay: £990,000-£1m Independent charitable hospital
2. Nuffield Health Highest pay: £850,000-£860,000 Runs health services
3. Royal Opera House Highest pay: £741,403 Arts Company
4. Wellcome Trust Highest pay: £600,000-£610,000 Medical Research
5. St Andrew’s Healthcare Highest pay: £550,000-£560,000 mental health
6. City and Guilds of London Institute Highest pay:£440,000-£450,000 Vocational education awards body
7. The College of Law Highest pay: £330,000-£340,000 Legal Training
8. The Royal Society Highest pay: £330,000-£340,000 promotes science
9. Consumers’ Association Highest pay: £300,000-£310,000 Publishes Which?
10. The Institution of Engineering and Technology Highest pay: £280,000-£290,000 Engineers body
Should they have Charity Status?
There are many tax advantages to having charitable status. The question must be should these businesses have such status?
The philanthropist Gina Miller recently said there were too many “careerists” in charities, driven by six-figure salaries rather than the cause. She said the nation would be shocked if it knew how much donated money was “being used on someone’s wage package”.
The Miller Philanthropy motto is one we gladly support:
“We are humbled by the heroes that seek daily to make a difference without the backing of a big brand, professional fundraising, celebrity patronage or large investment portfolios. We want to help them to help others. These people are our primary focus.”
This idea was rejected by the Cabinet Office minister, Nick Hurd, who said: “It is entirely up to a charity’s trustees to decide how much they pay the staff.” Nick Hurd is an Old Etonian, not the only Etonian in the government. Eton College has charitable status. Eton College’s headmaster is paid more than £200,000 a year.
Workfare
You wont be surprised to learn that many workfare providers are included in the list. For details of charities involved in the workfare scheme see here.
Charity Watch
