BY JODI MAGALLANES, Truth Staff
jmagallanes@etruth.com
Most of the numbers are going the wrong way in Elkhart County.
Unemployment and foreclosure rates are up, credit extensions are down and the need for public assistance is up.
Managing the community's charitable funds is more important than ever. At the United Way of Elkhart County, president Jerome Quatman, his staff and board of directors put a premium on people who are skilled at doing just that. And the board believes that Quatman and the staff should be comfortably compensated for their success.
Quatman's own salary rings up at slightly into six figures, and those of his five-person staff are also slightly above average compared to their counterparts in similar-sized or larger counties, such as St. Joseph and Allen. But executives say the salary figures, obtained from federal form 990 that nonprofit agencies are required to file every year, don't tell the whole story.
The agency makes an effort to inform all United Way donors that only 11 cents of every dollar collected during the annual pledge drive stays "at home" for administrative costs. That's less than half of the 23-cent average for all nonprofits.
Pam Hluchota, president of the board of directors of the United Way of Elkhart County, said the board regularly checks into the salaries of comparable positions and evaluates agency salaries every year. Last year, it froze the top salary at its current level and will decide in the spring whether to do the same this year.
Quatman's 30-year tenure as a United Way administrator, the size of the agency and the size of the local community all play in to the local board's decision to offer the top administrator the salary it thinks is appropriate. It's been that way since day one, before Quatman came on board, Hluchota said.
"He certainly is in line with 30-year, experienced professionals in the area," she said. "I think the United Way of Elkhart County is actually fortunate to have someone as experienced as we do."
Quatman's real value is his initiative and leadership, according to Hluchota and Jessica Koscher, United Way of Elkhart County vice president of resource development and marketing.
Even now, a plan to ease the effect of the recession on low-income residents is coming into focus. In 2008 the office applied to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to have Elkhart declared a dentally underserved area. Now, agencies such as Heart City Health Care Center and the Elkhart County Health Department have another tool to recruit dental professionals. Dentistry school graduates who come to Elkhart County may have up to one-third of their dental school loans forgiven.
According to the Board Cafe, an Internet site for directors, staff and board members of nonprofit organizations, the average salary for nonprofit executives with budgets of at least $1 million, such as the United Way of Elkhart County, is $75,000.
Koscher says Quatman leads by example, including pledging four and often five figures of his income to the campaign every year. The staff has been whittled down to a more efficient five full-time people over the last 16 years, the newest employee has been there six years -- and female employees now earn wages on par with the men, unlike when he first came on board.
And don't be surprised if his is the first voice you hear when you call the United Way office.
"Hey, it was ringing," he responded recently when Hluchota expressed surprise that the top exec was answering the agency's main phone line.