Taking a closer look at donations
ETTING charities to admit how much they pay their staff is like squeezing blood from a stone.
Of course they are happy to tell you their annual turnover, the services they provide and the army of volunteers they have at their disposal.
But ask them 'how much their chief executive earns' and some charities are quite reluctant to part with such figures.
In fact, the voluntary sector has significantly grown in the last ten years with a staggering 169,387 registered charities now operating in the UK with an income exceeding s45b.
A study published by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations revealed a 26 per cent growth in employment rates - with jobs in the charity sector now outweighing jobs in science, retail and construction on a number of job sites.
Of course, this is all positive news for the sector and I would be a real killjoy to say that charity doesn't save lives and isn't worthy of our donations.
But with some charities pulling in such excessive amounts of money - I cannot help but feel a chunk, and a rather big chunk at that, is going on the job vacancies rather than the direct cause itself.
One charity, Save the Children - who aims to save the lives of 10m children who die needlessly each year - is pumping a massive s421,000 into its communications team.
Positions include head of media (s54,000), head of communications planning (s45,300), head of creative and publishing (s45,300) and a video producer (s30,100). Now I'm no mathematician but that's an awful lot of collecting tins.
A spokesman from Save the Children is happy to dispute this. She says 82p of every s1 goes straight to the cause although she is unable to elaborate on how they set their salary bands.
In fact, this charity is not alone. Some charities I spoke to wouldn't even disclose the amount they pay their staff.
A spokesman for Sue Ryder Care - a charity who helps people with serious illnesses said: "Sue Ryder Care provides a banding structure that is appropriate to our needs as a direct provider of specialised health and social care and support services. We do not disclose our employees salaries."
Tony Donovan, executive director of Age Concern Charnwood, added: "We wouldn't be paying top whack but we wouldn't be paying minimum wage either. We have to compete with the local market and that means finding the right calibre of candidate to do the job."
And isn't that one of the problems - with thousands of charities now operating in the UK, some more financially successful than others, getting the right person for the right amount of money is never going to be an easy task.
So, can't we regulate the wages charities give their staff?
A spokesman for the Charity Commission, who registers charities in the UK, said: "We don't tend to give guidance on what they should be paying their staff. It is the trustees job to think through wages and what sort of people they want to attract to the charity."
In conclusion, I feel sure that all charities, including those mentioned, are doing immeasurable good. However, the high wages being earned by some charity employees are questionable, perhaps food for thought the next time you see someone rattling a tin.
By Matt Jarram
