Are the board members highly paid?

Do you really think $70k/year is a lot of money for a Director of anything?

Are you yelling or did you forget caps-lock was on?

 70K isn't that bad considering the 100K PLUS from administrators in school and local government...but I see your point.....too many 'chiefs'-not enough 'Indians'.....

 Do some cursory research, and you'll discover  the non-profit world is suffering big-time during this down turn, recession, collapse, golden age, or whatever label you want to attach to our current economy. To continue to imply on these blogs that a few folks making a modest middle class income as directors have created a funding problem is ludicrous.

Are we all forgetting the money, $408,767.00,  that Don Clark received for getting donations to the Bakersfield Rescue Mission. There is where the shortfall came from.

 TJ, I'd like to know where you get your information about salaries. 

As would I. 

 Just, Don got that money based on fundraising gross.  Didn't someone say it was 20%?  If he got that much..now much did they actually raise and what was the net?

Adam, once again I find myself agreeing with you.  This has got to stop.  It worries me.  :-)

 Don Clark got a pretty good Payday.......he's not taking it in the shorts....but he does do some good work---squeezing blood out of some of those turnips out there.....

 Don Clark got up to 20 percent of donations that he personally recruited. Most of the BRM's donations he had nothing to do with. He targeted specific high-net-worth donors who tended to prefer donations for capital rather than operations. In some cases, Gorman dipped into other funds to pay Clark's commission, in order to keep the funds Clark raised going toward capital. That, Gorman told me, was a tough call, and he had to evaluate it each time.

Not granting Clark that commission might have kept the shelter going a little while longer, but not much.

The BRM's board of directors is not paid by BRM.

Thanks citybeat for clearing that aspect up for us.  

 I was by Stinson's on Baker Street this morning, so I went by the BRM & the Cheese Factory in the alley next to St Paul thrift store. I spoke to several homeless people. Two young men said they had moved to the BRM couple of weeks ago because their unemployment could cover  not cover  the expenses of a apartment. They were told by the BRM this morning to pay $300.0 a month each or get out. They moved because $300.00 for cot and terrible food was stupid. Yesterday for breakfast they had cereal with watered down 2% milk. They watched the cooks pour one gallon of milk in a 5 gallon jug then the 2% milk. Everyone I talked to had only bad things to say about the PPM (piss poor management ) of the mission. I drove by the mission on 21st Street and 3 guys were fixing sprinklers and planting flowers. One said they spend thousand of dollars on beautifying the place but only a few hundred of on food for the homeless. Today they had powered eggs and spoiled sausage for breakfast. He said most of them threw the sausage away it tasted so bad. Dan Gorman purchased the old Urners building a waste of  money,  why feed not feed   the homeless first then buy old buildings. They had to sell the building on 21st Street. What happened the the money or did they lose money? If Dan Gorman wants to use money for capital improvments that Don Clark got for the BRM why shut down the old part of the BRM why not remodel it and make it useful.

 citybeat,

who pays them?

Here's an idea...

Why don't all these churches with expansive square footage (i.e. Valley Bible, Valley Baptist, etc.) open up their doors and get their hands a little dirty with the homeless of Bakersfield.  There is a whole lot of wasted space only used on Sundays.  Just an idea...

And, $70,000 per year is not much for a director of a non-profit.

 tracy, i know for a fact valley bible contributes a ton of cash and service to the brm. also, thats not just one salary there are several high paid salaries in that board room some of which are not neccessary...and all of gormans expenses are taken care of on top of his salary.

 I doubt any church could just "open up" their buildings as a shelter. There are a lot of permits to gain and I doubt the neighborhoods housing the churches would be happy about it.

Plus, you have to look at access. How many homeless want to mull around the outskirts of town when their social services are generally downtown.

 TJ,

They don't get paid for being on the board. They have day jobs.

You can view the reports at Guidestar. (You may have to register first.)

Is it a matter of could or would?  There would not be such a need for expensive social service organizations if the common person was more charitable.  If churches and other religious institutions spnt more of their resources housing and caring for the poor rather than building mega churches, I'm sure that there would be more transformed lives.  Taxpayer money is need to run programs such as BRM (as well as donations).  Where is the church tithe going?  Usually, to upkeep an expensive building that is used for the comfortable and well off members.  I've never seen these big churches bus in the homeless...perhaps too dirty, smelly or too real?  Why complain about the board of directors, the man in charge, and the quality of services when there is no personal committment to the desititute by each individual.  Perhaps if religious organizations began to house the poor, they would no only enhance membership but improve their community.  Just an idea...