Non-Profit Executive Salaries

The cluster discusses how non-profits often pay high salaries to executives and staff, debunking the myth that non-profit status means low pay or pure altruism, and highlighting it as a potential tax dodge or grift.

📉 Falling 0.3x Startups & Business
2,001
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#9893
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

2007
1
2008
6
2009
24
2010
32
2011
34
2012
47
2013
83
2014
49
2015
46
2016
100
2017
98
2018
113
2019
159
2020
159
2021
191
2022
184
2023
307
2024
206
2025
146
2026
16

Keywords

JSTOR HN CA IKEA NFP NGO PSA HUGE CTO www.ted non profit non profits profit profits non salaries employees executives pay paid

Sample Comments

croes Feb 15, 2024 View on HN

Just because it's non-profit doesn't mean it's not about money.

hn_acc1 Oct 7, 2025 View on HN

Non-profit doesn't mean the board/CEO/etc aren't getting paid HUGE salaries..

ecshafer Nov 20, 2023 View on HN

Plenty of non-profits give a lot of money to employees. There is nothing stopping non-profits from paying exorbitant sums to their employees, and executives often do get paid exorbitant. Non-profits mean they don't pay out to investors, but they are usually used as a grift to get people to work for less so the top people make more money and do fundraising on their pet projects.

bawana Jan 26, 2019 View on HN

non profit does not mean low salaries. They pay themselves enough to just run a little red ink so they can cry to the state.

BurningFrog Sep 22, 2021 View on HN

PSA:Non profits can be as greedy as any other organization.Typically the money goes to wages for the leadership rather than profits to the owners.

paulhauggis Apr 30, 2012 View on HN

Although they are technically a non-profit, the people that run it are probably getting nice salaries off of the hard work of others.

lsaferite Jul 2, 2023 View on HN

Even non-profits provide a 'profit' to employees in the form of a salary. It's not like they all work for free.

hueving Sep 30, 2017 View on HN

Non profits don't give extra leftover revenue to employees, so it's still a bullshit statement.

y_gy Mar 1, 2024 View on HN

You're thinking about the wrong thing. It's not about salaries for staff. The fact that it's a non-profit means no corporate taxes. That's where the profits go into the pockets of management, practically.

smittywerben Apr 27, 2025 View on HN

What's wrong with being a tax-paying non-profit?