Feb 17 2010
Challenge to Wayne Pacelle: Put Up or Shut Up
HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle has a problem with numbers.
Last week in small-town Buffalo, Missouri, a columnist for the Buffalo Reflex printed a few statistics about HSUS that were provided by Missouri Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice-President Jeff Windett.
Hilarity ensued. This is from today's followup Reflex column:
Windett’s numbers were close, but not exactly the same as those on the HSUS’s 2008 federal tax return and annual report posted on their Web site.
The most glaring discrepancy was in Windett’s assertion that HSUS spent just $450,000 last year on “hands-on” animal care. Pacelle stated in an e-mail that the figure was actually $27 million, and that he could refute the other MCA numbers ...
Pacelle did not dispute the $250,000 annual salary figure, but noted that his was the lowest of leaders of comparable organizations — just a third that of some. “I have very consciously asked the board to keep my salary lower than the industry standard,” he stated. The 2008 HSUS tax return shows his base salary was below $250,000, and with all benefits came in at $252,000.
We bolded those two passages above for a reason.
Let's look at what Windett actually said last week:
And what about saving those poor, abused pets featured in HSUS TV spots? Windett states that HSUS gave just half of 1 percent ($450,000) of its total budget in grants to organizations providing hands-on care to dogs and cats.
Hands-on care for dogs and cats is a very different thing from the more generic "hands-on animal care." Yes, HSUS runs a couple of wildlife sanctuaries and a horse ranch. There are five facilities in all. But none of them accepts dogs or cats. (You know—the pets in all of those weepy HSUS ads? Remember them?)
Just so there's no mistaking what we're saying, HSUS doesn't run any "hands-on" dog or cat shelters. It isn't affiliated with any "hands-on" dog or cat shelters. And in 2008, it only gave out $450,000 to "hands-on" dog and cat shelters. Out of a $99 million budget.
Windett was right. But Pacelle is slick enough to try to claim running a horse-rescue ranch—one which we're hearing hasn't accepted any new tenants in many years—is the same thing as personally saving Fido and Mr. Bigglesworth.
And about Wayne Pacelle's salary, here's an eye-opener from Charity Navigator. The organization's "2009 CEO Compensation Study" found that the average nonprofit CEO salary in Washington, DC last year was around $175,000. (See page 4.) And the national average for CEOs of animal-related charities was near the bottom of the scale, at around $100,000. (See page 5.) Only leaders of religious charities earned less.
What "industry standard" was he talking about again?
Here's the deal: When Wayne Pacelle takes a 30-percent pay cut (from $250K to $175K), he can boast about not being paid more than average. And when he proves that HSUS spent $27 million of its 2008 budget doing "hands on" pet sheltering, I'll stop writing that the number was just one-half of one percent.
Whaddya say, Wayne?
Posted on 02/17/2010 at 04:15 PM by the HumaneWatch Team
Document Analysis • Animal Agriculture • (11) CommentsComments
interesting, bookmarked and linked from my blog.
So what? Who cares? The man has passed over 500 laws and is turning the agricultural animal industry upside down. Since he’s been in charge the HSUS is sweeping the nation gaining record numbers of new members and jolting courtrooms across the country. Let’s see you try to do it! Otherwise I say go pick on somebody that needs it or go find something more useful to do like be the voice of animals and seek and fight animal cruelty in your town!
I agree with Milly. A $250,000 salary for a CEO of an organization of that size, in no way offends me, and I am a VERY regular contributor to both my local HSUS and the national HSUS. The main mistake the HSUS has made is doing the donations campaign making it look like HSUS national is doing hands-on care of companion animals. I do not believe that is the HSUS National’s main purpose. For me, it’s passing laws, managing LARGE scale cruelty investigations (i.e. Canadian seal campaign, puppy mills, dog fighting, etc.), public education (i.e. spay/neuter, education about wildlife management, etc.). That was a huge mis-step in their marketing in my opinion, and I have definitely made my opinion known as a contributor. I felt it misleading. But. otherwise, I support the HSUS and Wayne Pacelle.
Wayne Pacelle is a Yale graduate and an extremely effective and hardworking CEO who has raised the HSUS’s profile in a way that no one else could do before. What do people expect? Is he supposed to live on peanuts just because he works for a charity? He could take his pick of companies to work for, and for a much higher salary, but he chose HSUS because he has a personal commitment. I’m just someone who’s frustrated and upset that animal cruelty isn’t considered a bigger issue in America. And yes, I contribute to HSUS and about 50 other animal charities. My motto: give now and know where your money is going.
@Catherine—Pacelle is a Yale graduate, but that doesn’t entitle him to anything. The Unabomber was admitted to Harvard at age 16. So what? Land-grant university graduates have a far more consistent record at the helm of major charitable organizations.
Wayne Pacelle has never worked in the private sector (or for government). His entire career history consists of running The Fund for Animals, being a VP of HSUS, and then running HSUS. So it’s hard to see how he has credentials that would be useful in a lateral move to anything other than another giant animal charity.
In a marketplace where the only realistic lateral moves would be to PETA (whose CEO makes less than $40K), to the Best Friends Animal Society (where you need actual shelter-administration experience to be effective), or to the RSPCA (which frowns on American executives), Pacelle may be the most over-compensated nonprofit executive in America.
As a recruiter, I couldn’t submit his resume for anything except maybe a government job running a huge city animal services department. But since he’s primarily seen as a schmoozing politician in serious circles, no municipal administration would hire him. (What mayor would want the competition for the spotlight?)
Or, put another way, it’s all downhill from here career-wise. How long could he run in place, and where could he possibly go next? If I had to bet, I would say you’ll see him running for Congress soon—or pursuing some other sort of cynical “glamour detail.”
Wow, Nonprofit Executive Recruiter has some huge jealousy problem going….Did you not attain the job you wanted? Are you mad that Wayne is so successful and good looking? I highly doubt you are a nonprofit executive recruiter. Why such a hater?
I cannot believe there are people who support Wayne Pacelle or HSUS. His ONLY goal is the elimination of all animal agriculture and pet ownership. HSUS’s commercials are so blatantly misleading, those poor little animals they show are NOT helped by them. Less than 4% of HSUS’s 99million dollar budget goes to help companion animals but their pictures make them millions. Donate to your local shelter only.
There is a sucker born every minute, and Wayne Pacelle knows how to target those suckers, to seperate them from their money. Slick Wayne, runs the best money scheme on the planet. You have to be dumber than dirt, to give money to HSUS. HSUS is tricking these suckers into donating money to finance an all out campaign to eliminate all aspects of the animal industry, including but not limited to YOUR animal(pet)ownership, and YOUR food animals. Wayne is so afraid that the truth will get out and ruin his millions of sucker money, that he plants people (troll puppets) to sit on these forums to praise him, and to debate or argue with those who tell the true story of Wayne Pacelle and the HSUS, just to keep the suckers who donate, confused enough to continue to send money. Yep, you have to be dumber than dirt to donate to HSUS. Smart people don’t give money to HSUS, if they truly want to help animals. Smart people donate to their local shelters!
Something about the Wayne Pacelle facade lacks credibility if I am properly informed
I understand that Mr Pacelle once found standards of caging of egg laying hens to be cruel. Suddenly we find him practically leading the parade in favor of the egg producers who see no cruelty in their abominably inhumane cage conditions.
He lauds an industry approach which wants 18 years (EIGHTEEN) to eliminate primitive confines to establish confines slightly less primitive.
What utter nonsense. May we enquire if there is grossly political motivation to such a stance. which puts the daily tragedy of animal abuse onto a dark industrial backroom shelf for never never action
What an awful use of funds paying $250.000 salary
to a man who seems to have lost direction or awareness of what HSUS should have as its central concern. Dealing with cruelty to animals
Mr Pacelle must use an excellent brand of sleeping pill to permit his mind some repose while he condones cruelty over humane practices.
Shame on duplicity on behalf of special interests who could not care less about humane practices.
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