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The Impact of CEO Compensation on Nonprofit Donations

The Accounting Review 2014 89(2), 425-450
In this paper we show that supporters reduce donations to nonprofits subsequent to disclosure of high executive compensation. We find evidence consistent with large, sophisticated donors actively seeking out and reacting to compensation information made available in IRS Form 990, while smaller donors react to compensation disclosures in the media. Additional analysis indicates that these results vary systematically across nonprofits, as we find a stronger negative relation in nonprofits classified as more charitable, and a weaker relation in nonprofits that provide services to their donors. In contrast neither grantors nor patrons appear to react to executive compensation disclosures. Data Availability: All data are available from public sources.

The Effect of Nonprofit Governance on Donations: Evidence from the Revised Form 990

The Accounting Review 2015 90(2), 579-610
We examine whether donors reward nonprofit organizations that report better governance. From a sample of 10,846 organizations from 2008 to 2010, we first identify seven nonprofit governance dimensions using factor analysis. We then test whether the quality of governance influences donor decisions by including the seven governance factors in the standard donor's demand model. We find consistent evidence that donations and government grants are positively associated with six of the seven factors that capture good governance, including formal written policies (e.g., conflict of interest), independent audits and audit committees, review and approval of executive compensation, board oversight (e.g., board independence), management characteristics (e.g., no related parties), and accessible financial information. Our results have implications for nonprofit managers and regulators. Moreover, mandatory disclosure of governance policies for nonprofit organizations provides an interesting contrast to mandatory adoption of governance policies for publicly traded companies. JEL Classifications: G18; G38; H39; L30; L31; L38; M40; M41; M42; M48. Data Availability: All data are publicly available.