Carefulmom - I failed to mention that we did remind the gate agent upon check-in that we had requested a peanut-free flight. We checked in about 1 1/2 hours before the flight per their request (thus, they had ample time to get another snack on board, but didn't). I'm glad your flight went smoothly, though.

Well, that certainly is disheartening. When I get around to it, I think I`ll start a thread on airlines (if there isn`t one already) and see what other people`s experiences have been.

About the salary: You really need to get all the facts before you insinuate that someone is doing something unethical. To have a fair debate you would have to know the going rate for CEOs in non-profits in that area of the country. I mean, believe me, I *wish* I made that kind of money. I wish daycare providers were paid the same as surgeons, & that teachers were paid as much lawyers, but that is not reality.
The reality is that CEOs generally make good money & have *tons* of responsibility to go with it. And, managing people is NOT a fun job. I really do not know if this is a fair salary, but let's be fair to these people, & get the facts before we just start slamming them.
I don't mean to sound too harsh but I think we have a responsibility to be fair to people we are commenting on.
Amy

I have to agree...I've been thinking about this one for several days and I think their salaries are probably right in there for what they do.
My boss is a corporate VP of communications for a Fortune 100 company and she makes about $125K plus perks. That's just for managing a department of 25 and a budget of $2M...she didn't have to start it all up!
Personally, I'm happy to send in my $30 a year. Based on some of the other NFPs I've seen, it could be run a whole lot worse!

Their salary may be in line with other charities, but I don't think that makes it right. The same could be said for the multimillion dollar salaries of sports figures. Personally, I couldn't sleep at night knowing that I was making that kind of money when my organization is supposed to be helping people who sometimes don't even have a home (not talking about faan here, but other ones like united way and red cross-which I won't donate to either one, btw). Anyway, I'm sure the red cross and the united way help even the people who don't send in $30 per year.
Gale

According to a popular online salary calculator ([url]http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html[/url]) which calculates how much you would need to make in one city to maintain a certain lifestyle you had or have in another city, $125,000 is about equal to $81,000 in Cincinnati (where I work). To me, that seems pretty reasonable compensation for running a national organization, whether you agree with its positions or not.

There are other threads in this Main Discussion Forum which also deal with how FAAN distributes its donations and corporate funding. For example, the Peanut Council gave Anne Furlong tens of thousands of dollars to prove that peanut bans in schools don't work. (!!!) Just type Anne's name into PA.Com's search engine - or type FAAN in - one way or another, you'll get lots of info.
Actually, if we keep discussing this heatedly enough, FAAN itself might even pop in to post a rebuttal. FAAN wagged its finger at PA.Com members last spring for daring to discuss distribution of funding, so perhaps they'll provide another chastisment in the near future.
Having said that, charitable donations going to a non-profit organization still MUST cover administrative expenses and pay cheques, or people won't staff it. A lot of people (not referring to anyone in this thread in particular!) think that a charity is staffed by volunteers and is supplied with donated office needs, etc. Charities and other non-profit orgs. have closed down, or been threatened with closure, due to lack of donations.
One such groups threatened is one I belong to - ADDO (Attention Deficit Disorder Organization) - to help me deal with my eldest child's ADD. This absolutely fantastic group has literally no funding, so it may fall apart. What an absolute tragedy and loss that would be to the Ontario ADD/ADHD community! We need as much support for brain disorders as we do for body disorders. I would hate to see such a thing happen to FAAN - although I disagree in principle with many of their policies, I can't discount the awareness they have raised on our behalf.
Carolyn

I don't feel that the compensation for the FAAN executives is out of line. NFP need to attract quality personnel just as much as industry does. I think that FAAN is a wonderful, quality organization and I am very thankful for their work and the products that they provide. I am a member and send an addtional annual donations when I can manage it.
Also in response to another comment in this thread, I agree with their position on "may contains" as potentially being a cop out that the manufactors can use to protect themselves instead of using thier brains to solve the problems of properly cleaning, testing or altering their plants to strive to make the products safe for allergy sufferers. While no one wants unsafe products represented as being safe, better labeling and safe manufactoring practices are linked but not exactly the same thing.

Speaking of donations to FAAN - I wonder how many of us really know that Chris of peanutallergy.com has done as much or more for all of us as FAAN?
Where is FAAN's bulletin board? How do they allow us as a group to interact with them? FAAN frequently indicates publicly that they represent the peanut allergy community.
They have some good information - but most of it is available on other sites or searches.
Chris is the one that has either refinanced or sold his HOME to provide us with this board to help us keep informed and to get to gether as a group to contact people and companies about the needs of our children.
So isn't it about time we all send in our donations to Chris? This board is NOT maintained free - it costs him lots of money and TIME. He doesn't set a fee that we must pay to use it. He has lots of links on this board that answer most of our questions and provides us with updated info.
Anyone notice that FAAN does not provide a link to peanutallergy.com - why? Could it be because he doesn't charge for his information? I used to be a member of FAAN.
Everyone that uses this board and that can afford it should send Chris some money today (yes, even if it is only five dollars). I know that this board has saved me money and time on Dr. visits and fighting schools. We all share such wonderful information and support because of Chris. He brings us together - FAAN gives us information for a fee. So if we want this board to keep running lets donate to the peanutallergy.com fund today.
Sue in Sunny Arizona

Chris, if you're out there, please let us know if you have not-for-profit status.
I have no problem sending a donation, but I'd like to be able to deduct it on my taxes!
Also, since you seem to be an internet wizard, how about setting up a "quick donation via Paypal" link?