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Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

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Re: Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

#151

Post by buu700 »

wegs wrote: post #148
buu700 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adding my 2c: his salary has nothing to do with "fairness" or an arbitrary upper limit on non-profit compensation, but a negotiation based on supply and demand. For the sake, of argument, let's take it as a given that 1) he could easily earn the same amount or more somewhere else, and 2) if offered $1 less than $800k, he would walk. The question then becomes whether the organization could replace his value for the sa…

If Khan Academy did the same thing without Khan, I think it would work better, rather than worse. The personality-cult model is less scalable than the best-and-brightest model.

I could see that, but I could also see Khan having unique value in terms of marketing, relationships, vision, and tribal knowledge.

Re: Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

#153

Post by decasteve »

dmayle wrote: post #27

(Replying to a trollish comment, but don't want to push it to the top). There was a comment about the salary that CEO Sal Khan takes, with is over $800,0000 per year. I think Khan Academy is fantastic, and was going to donate until I saw this figure (verified). I think that it's entirely inappropriate to extract that much from the donations.

Do you treat other organizations the same? Neflix pays Reed Hastings 10s of millions. Does that stop you from subscribing?

I still think "donating" is appropriate regardless of what they pay their executives. Just don't treat it as an altruistic charity.

Think of the donation as a pay-what-you-can/want for the service. If you have the means, pay $10 per month and treat it like a subscription while you're using the service.

Re: Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

#154

Post by caseymarquis »

wendyshu wrote: post #139

Salman Khan takes $800k/yr from Khan Academy donations for himself, maybe he should donate.

I'd be curious to know Sal's response to this. From what I remember, he left a lucrative position at a hedge fund for an uncertain position at his newly founded non-profit. He doesn't seem like the money driven type. With absolutely no evidence, I would guess that:

   1. Someone probably had to convince him it was okay to take that salary. 

   2. The level of his salary is probably just above what it took to hire their top talent, as a technology focused non-profit.

Re: Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

#155

Post by jessaustin »

barry-cotter wrote: post #142
jessaustin wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...good teachers are rare and it’s good for everyone if they stay in education instead of being lured to Google or Goldman Sachs. Is this a common Goldman pipeline? Do they have recruiters hanging around teachers' lounges? The teachers I know who have gotten fed up with all of it have become insurance agents, agricultural extension people, etc. b^)

https://www.thecrimson.com/column/plain-truth/article/2020/3... > After your stint at Teach for America, a two-year post-undergraduate teaching program, you decided to leave the academic world behind and work in New York City. Where are you most likely to be employed? Goldman Sachs.

Offered without comment, I'm not sure what this link to an opinion column is supposed to mean. The quote is a hypothetical example. It seems that T4A is more of a temporary diversion program than a recruitment program anyway. Harvard students, who in a just universe would all become wealthy investment bankers, are encouraged to teach in urban schools for a couple of years. This despite the fact that their Economics and Philosophy concentration probably included very little on pedagogy. This despite the nearly universal (although not necessarily justified) opinion among teachers and administrators that first-year teachers are pretty much useless. This despite the writer's apparent suggestion that the point of the whole thing should be an easier "in" to Goldman.

Re: Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

#156

Post by djohnston »

throwaway13337 wrote: post #3

I quite enjoyed khan academy when it was just Khan doing lectures. They were terrific. I can't imagine, though, that servers should account for any sizable amount of overall expense. Is this really an issue for them? The linked page didn't seem to talk about it.

i think the platform has evolved quite a bit over the past 5 years

Re: Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

#157

Post by lotsofpulp »

wegs wrote: post #143
bbrree66 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not even close to the same thing. If you don't want to donate, then don't. But this is a red herring. What you should be thinking about is the value he provides, not the absolute amount he is paid. The net positive effect of him running it and getting paid $800k is much higher than someone else who can't run things as well getting paid $100k. The goal is to maximize the output of the non-profit, not to keep s…

I think it's a false statement to say someone less expensive will run things less well. I've been at a number of not-for-profits, and that does not match my experience at all. Compensation should be set at a level where people don't need to worry about money, with a reasonable but basic standard of living. In the Bay, unfortunately, that's around $200k. On the other hand, compensation should not be set at a level whe…

> Compensation should be set at a level where people don't need to worry about money, with a reasonable but basic standard of living. In the Bay, unfortunately, that's around $200k. On the other hand, compensation should not be set at a level where people are there for the money. You want people to be there because they are passionate and care.

This is not realistic based on my experience with what motivates people.

> I'd gladly take a job for $200k with a lifetime guarantee of doing meaningful work over one at $800k without that guarantee.

Nature doesn’t offer guarantees on a lifetime timescale.

Re: Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

#158

Post by thebiglebrewski »

wendyshu wrote: post #139

Salman Khan takes $800k/yr from Khan Academy donations for himself, maybe he should donate.

Far less than many charity heads, I think it's completely fair with what he's created and how little he made in the early years from it.

Do you work for a charity/donate all of your time by the way?

Re: Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

#159

Post by skinnymuch »

Farfromthehood wrote: post #146

PornHub didn't ask for help. Just sayin'

Look into the parent company of Pornhub, the exploitation they do, and the semi-duopoly they are a part of.

I’d hope people don’t want people in porn to get screwed over figuratively too.

Re: Khan Academy requests for donations as their servers are at 250% normal load

#160

Post by joppy »

vowelless wrote: post #116
woofie11 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked for a not-for-profit where, 3 years in, we learned the CEO was making as much as everyone else combined for the first year. Guy was also doing minimal work. I got fed up with these things. If Khan either open-licenses the platform, or takes a pay cut to $200,000, I'll donate. If he does neither of those, I'm treating this as a 501(c)3-by-technicality only. It's a good for-profit, mind you, but still a for-pr…

> takes a pay cut to $200,000 That’s less than new grad money at tech companies. It shows you are not serious about your suggestions

What companies hire new grads for $200k?
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