THE primary purpose of a non-profit or charitable organisation
is to raise funds and to allocate them to the needy ('Charities
offer big pay to draw talent'; Tuesday).
Why then is a huge sum of money - in the case of City Harvest, a
quarter of its expenses - spent on attracting talent?
While I understand such organisations need competent leaders,
their salaries should not be pegged to or compared with salaries
drawn by others outside the charity sector.
People should want to join non-profit organisations mainly
because they want to make a difference. Competitively commensurate
pay should be secondary.
If the talent being pursued is motivated primarily by financial
benefits, he or she should not be offered the job.
Victor Looi
