LA domestic-violence nonprofit CEO's $1.6M pay and Hawaii residence draw scrutiny

Right · 2The Los Angeles Times reported that Carol Adelkoff, CEO of the 1736 Family Crisis Center, received about $1.6 million over two years, making her the highest-paid homeless services executive in the city. 1 2 Right · 2The nonprofit runs domestic violence shelters, crisis hotlines and homeless programmes in Los Angeles and Orange counties on a budget of roughly $15 million a year, and the outlets say 90% or more of its funding comes from government contracts or grants. 1 2 Right · 2According to nonprofit records reviewed by the Times, Adelkoff has listed the Big Island of Hawaii as her primary residence for at least a decade, although the organisation has no shelters or clients in the state. 1 2

Right · 2The organisation also paid for a $6,500-a-month apartment near the beach in Santa Monica for her visits and leased a BMW for her personal use in Hawaii. The board approved the apartment in 2018, and it is unclear how long the arrangement lasted or whether it continues. 1 2 Right · 2Hot Air cites IRS filings showing Adelkoff earned $742,181 in 2024 and $907,923 in 2023, the latter including a $495,000 bonus. The next-highest-paid employee, the finance director, made $206,000. 2 1 Right · 1Adelkoff told the Times that nearly half of the sum was a payout of vacation time accrued over four decades, and said her base salary has stayed at about $405,000 for several years. The New York Post reports that about $824,000 of the two-year total was accumulated vacation. 1

Right · 1The nonprofit's attorney, Kerry Garvis Wright, said the board worked with legal and financial advisers to reduce the vacation liability before Adelkoff's eventual retirement. She said the leave built up because the job made time off difficult, and that the Santa Monica apartment was cheaper and more predictable than hotels and added security. The nonprofit said Adelkoff works about 70 hours a week and that her pay has returned to its historical level. 1 Right · 2Experts questioned the payout. Most nonprofits cap vacation accrual, and the Times reported that 1736 capped it for other employees but not for Adelkoff. Brian Mittendorf of Ohio State University asked whether it was appropriate for her to accrue so much money and have it paid out suddenly, and Laurie Styron of CharityWatch called the payout "highly unusual." 1 2 Right · 1The Times compared her pay with 16 other LA County nonprofits serving people escaping domestic violence or homelessness. The next-highest earner, the CEO of Jewish Family Service LA, made $423,932 in 2024, and the median was $159,737. Hot Air adds that the Weingart Center paid its CEO $481,271 in 2024 and that People Assisting the Homeless paid its CEO about $379,000 in 2023. Both organisations are much larger. 2

Right · 2Spending concerns date back to 2019, when three senior staffers hired attorney Dorsey Kleger-Heine. She wrote to the board in December 2019 and then complained to the California Attorney General's charities division. Hot Air adds that the three later sued the organisation for retaliation and wrongful termination. 1 2 Right · 1Adelkoff declined to confirm where she lives, saying that disclosing her location could be a security risk because the nonprofit serves people fleeing abuse, and did not say how often she travels to Southern California or who pays for the trips. Property records show she owns a 3,700-square-foot home in Hawaii, and her daughter testified in court that she lives there "year-round." 1