The environment is a good cause. Too good. Everyone asks about it and tries to find out who is greener than their neighbor.
It should come as no surprise that dozens of nonprofits receive significant donations. The benefactors want to give them the opportunity to spread their message loud and clear. Governments also write their checks to avoid being blacklisted by infidels who ignore the issue. Millions in subsidies, you guessed it.
Interesting investigation by veteran Canadian Press writer Pierre Saint-Arnaud into the salaries paid to managers of organizations working in the areas of environment, nature conservation and animal welfare. He searched the Canada Revenue Agency's public records.
The research shows that 17 of these large organizations offer their executives salaries above those of provincial premiers. We are therefore talking about annual salaries that are between $200,000 and $250,000. (Some exceed $300,000.)
Examples
The list of organizations most generous to their leaders ranges from the David Suzuki Foundation to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), including the Atlantic Salmon Federation and Ducks Unlimited. These are organizations that have a good reputation and are rarely asked questions.
Yet they have grown into large organizations with tens of millions of dollars in budgets, hundreds of employees, and considerable influence. They essentially survive on two main sources of income: (voluntary) donations from the public and (less voluntary) taxes from the public.
They also survive thanks to the tireless work of their thousands of volunteers. Men and women who give up their time for free in the name of the cause. In some cases, volunteers don't even claim their travel expenses but pay for them out of their own pocket.
The answer will be that the leaders of such organizations must demonstrate competence, advocate issues publicly and mobilize their troops. In the 2000s, skill pays.
But seriously: is it normal that so many heads of so-called charities earn more than Prime Ministers? Most importantly, are donors aware of this? And the volunteers? As for the ministers granting them significant sums of money, I wonder if they knew that the president of the organization earns much more than they do.
What always scares me about good causes is the natural tendency to turn a blind eye. This is why our governments have wasted millions in green funds. Which opposition MP would risk criticizing a so-called “GREEN” fund?
Nature conservation and environmental organizations play an important role. But they cannot be given carte blanche when it comes to accountability and transparency.