"How much does the CEO make?" is one of the most common questions people ask before donating, and one of the easiest to answer yourself. In the U.S., charities that raise more than a modest amount have to publish their executive pay every year. Here's how to find it.

Step 1: Find the charity's Form 990

Tax-exempt organizations file an annual information return with the IRS, and it is public. Which form a charity files depends on its size:

• Form 990: larger organizations. This is the detailed one, with executive compensation.
• Form 990-EZ: mid-sized organizations (under $200,000 in gross receipts and under $500,000 in assets).
• Form 990-N (the "e-Postcard"): small organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. It contains almost no financial detail.

The fastest way to read a 990 is ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer. Search the charity's name and open the latest filing. Candid (GuideStar) and the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search also have them.

Step 2: Look at Part VII and Schedule J

Part VII of Form 990 lists compensation for officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and the highest-paid employees. If anyone is paid more than $150,000 in total compensation, the charity must also file Schedule J, which breaks that pay down into salary, bonus, retirement, and other benefits.

Large national charities often pay their chief executive several hundred thousand dollars a year. Whether that is reasonable depends on the organization's size and complexity, which is why it helps to look at the next step too.

Step 3: See how much reaches programs

Part IX of Form 990 splits spending into program services, management and general, and fundraising. Program services is the money spent on the actual mission. Rating sites do this math for you:

• Charity Navigator rates financial health, accountability, and impact.
• CharityWatch grades charities on how efficiently they spend and how much it costs them to raise $100.

A low program share or very high fundraising costs are worth asking about. So is a charity that can't tell you, in specifics, what your donation paid for.

Questions worth asking any charity

• What exactly will my donation buy, and can you show me the receipt?
• Who decides who gets help, and how are recipients verified?
• How much of my gift is spent on salaries, rent, and fundraising?
• Will I hear what happened afterward?

What you'll find for OneFamilee

OneFamilee is a small, all-volunteer 501(c)(3). We have no CEO salary, no paid staff, no office, and no marketing budget. Volunteers in India verify each family, buy exactly what is needed, and send donors receipts and photo updates every month.

We explain how that works, and what the few unavoidable costs are, in why we don't have an office, a CEO salary, or a marketing budget.