(Editor’s note: Non-Profit Watch is a recurring item providing public information from tax returns and documents of not-for-profit groups. While some, such as Lehigh Valley Public Media/Channel 39 and the Da Vinci center are ridiculous boondoggles, many do useful things and the salaries are justified but still merit scrutiny. In a few cases, the salaries are nonsensical. Also note, the Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle is a for-profit operation that just happened to spend $3 million-plus of public money.)
Sept. 29, 2026
The United Way of Greater Lehigh Valley says it improves 246,054 lives each year.
Pseudo-precision is a red flag — why not 246,055, or if a beneficiary moved, should it be 246,053? — but the Allentown-based United Way does put a lot of money into groups that support housing, healthcare and services for people who are young, old, poor and in need. It’s not a sham.
It also lists eight employees making six-figure salaries on its Form 990, the tax return for non-profit groups. The return is available via the fine people at Pro Publica.
In the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, the local United Way took in revenue of $35.8 million, according to the Form 990 from Pro Publica, and expenses were just over $30 million. Net assets at year-end were $17 million.
Here’s a look at the total compensation of its best-paid staff, as noted above with at least eight employees taking in more than $100,000 total.
At the top, Chief Executive Marci Lesko made $275,570 in the fiscal year, and at the low end of the reported compensation, an assistant vice president made a total $129,706.
Total compensation for the top eight, which appears to include one former employee, is reported as $1.558 million.
Donors and others will draw their own conclusions. The public has a right to know but locally, media has never covered non-profit groups with sufficient skepticism.
Disclosure: I used to “Give the United Way.” Then I had a boss who handed out the contribution forms and said we had to fill them out, giving or not giving. This was around 1993. This boss said I had to return the form no matter what. I replied that the form had nothing to do with work and I didn’t have to return it. I discarded it. End of story.
