Right man for job gets top pay

The Atlanta Police Foundation decided to go for it.

Its board of trustees wanted to become a top-shelf nonprofit and was willing to pay top dollar for someone who could make it happen.

Board members say they found their man in Dave Wilkinson, a 48-year-old former Secret Service agent who closely guarded three presidents.

To land him, the board voted to pay him a salary that is more than double that of other leaders of police foundations of similar or larger size across the country, according to federal documents and interviews.

Wilkinson, the foundation’s president and CEO since 2005, brings in $211,000 annually.

“We were shocked” to find out Wilkinson’s salary, said Sgt. Scott Kreher, president of an Atlanta police union. “The foundation is a fairly new project in Atlanta, so we feel like it is a little exorbitant.”

The Atlanta Police Foundation was created in 2003 and is part of a trend of so-called “badge nonprofits” —- organizations devoted to supporting a city’s police or fire department —- that have been cropping up around the country.

Its mission is to support the Atlanta Police Department with grants and programs —- such as helping officers find affordable housing in the city —- funded by money raised from donations.

The top three leaders of the 27-member board of trustees that hired Wilkinson, set his salary and oversee the nonprofit are confident he is worth the money. The same goes for Wilkinson.

“I believe the Atlanta Police Foundation has been as effective as any other police foundation in the country,” Wilkinson said.

5 full-time workers

Wilkinson pulls in nearly as much as New York City Police Foundation President Pamela Delaney, who runs what is considered by peers to be the premier police foundation in the United States.

“One, it’s been around the longest,” said Renee Cunningham, executive director of the Seattle Police Foundation. “Two, it’s the largest. And three, it’s just exceptionally run.”

Delaney makes $5,000 a year more than Wilkinson, but her organization last year brought in more than eight times as much revenue as Atlanta.

In Atlanta, Wilkinson has a staff of five full-time employees and a 2007 revenue of about $801,000, which has dropped from $1.45 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2005.

Wilkinson’s salary accounted for 26 percent of the Atlanta foundation’s 2007 revenue and 14 percent of 2006’s revenue; while in New York Delaney’s salary is equal to 3 percent of her foundation’s revenue.

Wilkinson’s salary in relation to revenue “certainly is significant,” said Gary Snyder, a nonprofit consultant from West Bloomfield, Mich., and board member for the nonprofit watchdog National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. “Donors don’t want to contribute to salaries —- they want to contribute to the fulfillment of the [nonprofit’s] mission.”

Snyder said that, based on research by nonprofit watchdog organizations, a more appropriate salary for Wilkinson would be from $75,000 to $90,000 annually.

But the chairman and two vice-chairs on the Atlanta Police Foundation’s board of trustees say Wilkinson is worth every penny, if not more.

“I think Dave should make more money than what he’s making now,” vice chairman Sam Pettway said. “He’s absolutely that valuable.”

They say he floats effortlessly through the business community, has the respect and ear of police and city officials and has valuable law enforcement experience that helps him understand what needs to be done to make the city safer.

Atlanta unique

The board members and Wilkinson say it’s not appropriate to compare his salary to what other police foundation leaders earn because Atlanta’s foundation has become complex and unique since he arrived.

Rather than collecting money and handing out checks to the Police Department, they say the nonprofit has created programs that require continuous maintenance, such as Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line, a police recruitment program and another program that provides money to officers for college tuition.

“I spent a great deal of time strategizing,” Wilkinson said. “Our foundation has just decided to be more strategic and involved.”

Wilkinson’s salary is not the only issue, however, Snyder said.

In 2007, the Atlanta Police Foundation spent $1.2 million. Almost half of that —- $554,513 —- went to Wilkinson and his five employees’ compensation and benefits.

“You’re spending 50 percent of my money not toward programs and that’s what I’m giving you money for,” Snyder said.

Right man for job

The Atlanta Police Foundation’s board of trustees approved Wilkinson’s salary when he was hired in 2005.

Wilkinson said his starting salary was $175,000, plus a $25,000 bonus. The next year, he made $206,125, according to federal documents.

Cal Darden, who was chairman of the board at the time and is now a vice chairman, said the group agreed on the salary because they knew that’s what it would take to hire Wilkinson —- and they were determined he was the right man for the job.

Wilkinson had worked in the Secret Service for 22 years, most recently as a supervisor agent making $165,000 a year, he said.

The foundation’s previous leader, Elizabeth Kelly, drew a salary of $126,342 in 2004, documents show.

“We knew we were going to have to pay substantially more than what we were paying previously,” Darden said.

To accommodate Wilkinson’s salary, the board aimed to bring in more revenue, setting a goal of at least $1 million a year in total revenue, Darden said. The foundation reached that mark in 2005 and 2006, but not last year.

ATLANTA POLICE FOUNDATION

> President and CEO: Dave Wilkinson

> Yearly salary: $211,000

> Total revenue (from most recent full calendar or fiscal year): $800,770

> Percentage of revenue that goes toward salary: 26 percent

> Other paid staff: Five

NEW YORK CITY POLICE FOUNDATION

> President: Pamela Delaney

> Yearly salary: $216,000

> Total revenue: $6.7 million

> Percentage of revenue that goes toward salary: 3 percent

> Other paid staff: Seven full-timers and one part-timer.

LOS ANGELES POLICE FOUNDATION

> President: Karen Wagener

> Yearly salary: $135,000

> Total revenue: $2.47 million

> Percentage of revenue that goes toward salary: 5 percent

> Other paid staff: Five

SAN DIEGO POLICE FOUNDATION

> CEO: Wenda Alvarez

> Yearly salary: $85,000

> Total revenue: $1.6 million

> Percentage of revenue that goes toward salary: 5 percent

> Other paid staff: Two

SEATTLE POLICE FOUNDATION

> Executive Director: Renee Cunningham

> Yearly salary: $90,000

> Total revenue: $870,000

> Percentage of revenue that goes toward salary: 10 percent

> Paid staff: None

DENVER POLICE FOUNDATION

> Executive Director: Jane Norton

> Yearly salary: $120,000

> Total revenue: $1.18 million

> Percentage of revenue that goes toward salary: 10 percent

> Paid staff: None