The San Diego Foundation's $400,000 Man

Last month the San Diego Foundation had a big success on its hands when the $275,000 in matching funds it put up for its “giveBIG” event resulted in more than $2 million worth of contributions to various local charities. “The moment we saw contributions in excess of $1,000 per minute,” Bob Kelly, president and chief executive of the foundation said in a news release, “we realized that the level of support our community has for nonprofit organizations far exceeded the giving in other areas. We have been working to see what else we can do to support this success.”

In fact, the foundation has consistently done well and shared some of the bounty with its employees, including Kelly. During the 12-month period ending June 2010, it posted gross receipts of $454,152,021 and had net assets of $393,268,654. It made $38,113,793 in grants and had total expenses of $51,130,790. Costs included $4,054,479 in salaries.

At the top of the pay scale was Kelly himself, who received $400,014, including compensation of $282,894 and $117,120 in estimated “other compensation from the organization and related organizations.” Senior vice president and chief information officer Duane Drake got $161,864, and Sarah Slaughter, chief financial officer, was paid $128,242. Finally, vice president for charitable giving Adrienne Vargas got $118,563. She’s married to Democratic state senator Juan Vargas, currently campaigning to replace Congressman Bob Filner, who is running for San Diego mayor.