Executive pay at nonprofits can be a somewhat controversial topic. Some believe executives at nonprofits should be paid minimally, keeping overhead low and allocating more resources for the nonprofit’s mission. Others recognize the struggle to maintain adequate staffing and attract the necessary top-end talent to keep the organization running effectively and efficiently. In either case, CEOs tend to be the highest-paid executives at any organization.

With that in mind, below is a list of the top 10 highest-paid CEOs at nonprofits for the most recent complete fiscal year: 2018*

CompanyNameTitleSalary"Other" pay
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan IncBernard Tyson Chairman & CEO$15,709,853 $2,173,780
Delta Dental Plan of MichiganLaura L Czelada CEO, President$14,842,204 $23,592
United States Steel and Carnegie Pension FundW Donovan President (exited 12/17)$13,423,001 $0
Memorial Health SystemEdgar Curtis President & CEO$10,604,807 $140,392
American Petroleum InstituteJack N Gerard President & CEO$10,604,807 $64,686
Prohealth Care IncSusan Edwards President & CEO$8,750,430 $41,015
St Luke’s Health System LTDDavid C Pate MD JD President & CEO$8,530,470 $33,671
Advocate Aurora Health IncJames Skogsbergh Co-CEO, Director$8,463,174 $48,435
New York and Presbyterian HospitalSteven J CorwinPresident & CEO/Trustee$8,251,815 $2,123,705
Montefiore Medicine Academic Health System IncSteven M Safyer MD President & CEO$7,985,351 $45,244

It should be noted that salaries in the high millions for CEOs are not the norm, with typically only the largest of organizations paying executives in that vicinity. Average nonprofit CEO salary for the year was much lower, coming in at $148,733.

Of particular interest in this list is the high percentage of healthcare and health-related organizations represented here. ERI recently wrote a whitepaper analyzing CEO pay at nonprofits, which found healthcare to be one of the highest paying nonprofit industries as a whole. All of this compensation information and more can be found in ERI’s Nonprofit Comparables Assessor.

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Below is a list of the top 10 highest-paid CEOs at nonprofits for the most recent complete fiscal year: 2017*

CompanyNameTitleSalary"Other" pay
Banner HealthPeter S FinePresident & CEO$21,629,920 $3,919,724
Imanco IncJ Knox SingletonCEO, President$13,655,282 $1,945,495
Ascension Health AllianceAnthony R TersigniEx-Officio/President & CEO$13,200,960 $48,801 
Multiple OrganizationsKenneth Davis Chief Executive Officer$12,390,588 $67,326
Carilion Services IncNancy Howell AgeeDirector/President/CEO$11,987,536 $205,141
Dignity HealthLloyd H DeanPresident/CEO$11,927,529 $1,489,954
Money Management International IncIvan L HandPresident$11,873,017 $1,522,626
Delta Dental Plan of MichiganLaura L Czelada CEO, President$11,593,754 $3,521,854
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan IncBernard Tyson Chairman & CEO$10,709,503 $5,373,250
Aurora Health Care IncNick TurkalCEO, Ex Officio Director$10,663,333 $766,389

* Kenneth Davis’ $12,390,588 in compensation came from a combination of payments from the following 5 different organizations where he served as Chief Executive Officer: $1,919,302 from St Lukes Roosevelt Hospital Center; $281,266 from New York Eye & Ear Infirmary; $4,134,739 from Mount Sinai Hospital; $1,934,171 from Beth Israel Medical Center; and $4,121,110 from Icahn School Of Medicine At Mount Sinai.

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Below is a list of the highest-paid nonprofit CEOs for the complete fiscal year: 2016

CompanyNameTitleSalary"Other" pay
Ascension Health AllianceAnthony R. TersigniPresident/CEO$13,559,831 $67,855
Sutter HealthPatrick FryPresident & CEO$13,161,450 $279,177
Virginia Mason Medical CenterGary KaplanChairman, CEO$11,562,939 $154,309
Delta Dental Plan of Michigan IncLaura L. Czelada CEO, President$9,213,107 $2,693,718
Dignity HealthLloyd H. DeanPresident/CEO$8,712,814 $1,547,801
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan IncBernard TysonChairman & CEO$8,529,498 $1,509,737
Spectrum Health SystemRichard BreonPresident/CEO$7,945,374 $1,522,626
The Aerospace CorporationM. AustinPresident & CEO$7,941,497 $1,824,683
Sentara HealthcareDavid L. BerndDirector/CEO$7,825,434 $81,327
Medstar Health IncKenneth A. Samet CEO and President$7,675,042 $76,815

Looking for more information?

Detailed nonprofit executive compensation data, including source documents and historic data, can be found in ERI’s Nonprofit Comparables Assessor.

ERI Economic Research Institute compiles the most robust salary, cost-of-living, and executive compensation survey data available, with current market data for more than 1,000 industry sectors.

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