United Way CEO steps down for N.Y. return
Caspersen taking on role as interim chief
United Way of Southern Nevada CEO Bob Morgan has resigned as head of one of the largest nonprofits in the region.
Morgan will return to Buffalo, New York, to work with a development company, according to a statement Thursday.
Robyn Caspersen will serve as interim CEO. Caspersen is a donor and board member of the nonprofit. She previously co-chaired United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council and retired as a partner at multinational accounting firm Deloitte.
Morgan will stay on for an indefinite amount of time to help Caspersen transition into her new role, which she assumed this week. The nonprofit employs about 40 people and has about 2,000 volunteers.
Some of the 22 members on the board of directors will form a committee to find a permanent CEO, Caspersen said. The board hasn’t decided yet whether it will be a local, regional or national search.
Caspersen has worked with United Way since the 1980s when she lived in Seattle. She moved to the Las Vegas area in 2008.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to see the other side,” she said.
Morgan moved to Southern Nevada from New York to take over the role in fall 2015.
In 2005, Morgan and his wife founded a boutique real estate and property management company in Buffalo, New York, according to his account on the Linkedin social media network.
He served as chief operating officer at United Way of Buffalo and Erie County from 2007 to September 2015, according to Linkedin.
Before that, he led sales and marketing efforts for Lpciminelli, a commercial construction company, for about two years.
Morgan replaced Stanley “Cass” Palmer, who left United Way of Southern Nevada for a director role with the city of North Las Vegas.
Morgan’s final yearly pay is not yet known, but between his start date and June 30, 2016, he made about $60,000 in total compensation, which might include benefits, according to the nonprofit’s latest annual report to the Internal Revenue Service.
Contributions, gifts and grants brought United Way of Southern Nevada a total of $7.58 million during that same period, according to the report. The nonprofit made about
$2.4 million from activities outside of its own campaigns.
Morgan received credit for the the nonprofit exceeding its goal for the first time in six years. The nonprofit’s financials show a decline year after year in contributions and membership fees, something made up for with less overhead, Caspersen said.
The Southern Nevada branch’s financial health has followed the trends of other regional branches, she said.
United Way of Southern Nevada spent about $9.22 million during that period. About half of that money went to grants and aid to organizations, governments and individuals. The nonprofit spent about $3.2 million on pay and benefits and the rest on overhead such as office expenses and insurance.
At the time, the nonprofit employed four times more people than today and had one-and-a-half times more volunteers.
United Way of Southern Nevada isn’t the only major local nonprofit searching for a CEO. The former CEO of Goodwill of Southern Nevada, one of the largest employers in the region, had his last day in May.
Las Vegas Review-journal Audience and Circulation Vice President Chris Blaser serves on the board of directors for United Way of Southern Nevada.
Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-4602. Follow @ wademillward on Twitter.