Obama Presidential Center wants 100 unpaid volunteers while Valerie Jarrett makes $740K

The Obama Foundation is looking for 100 unpaid volunteers to work alongside the former president's highly paid cronies at the $850 million Obama Presidential Center in Chicago when it opens in June.

Foundation officials told Fox News Digital the volunteers will complement about 300 full- and part-time employees at the long-delayed center, which the organization is promoting as a $3.1 billion economic catalyst for the Windy City's South Side.

The foundation describes the volunteer program as a key component of its mission, saying volunteers represent its values both onsite and in the community.

It is unclear what the salary range for those paid workers will be. However, the foundation's most recent tax filings provide insight into compensation at the organization's senior levels.

Total salaries and benefits at the foundation climbed from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024 as staffing expanded to 337 employees and annual revenue reached nearly $210 million, according to the filings. The foundation's main office is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, where it runs leadership and community programs in the U.S. and abroad.

Still, the foundation is looking to have a cohort of unpaid volunteers help out at the new presidential center. It's common for presidential libraries, museums and nonprofit cultural institutions to employ unpaid volunteers.

Jarrett, one of the Obamas' closest advisors, said in a statement that the center will be "a place where the world meets the best of the city of Chicago, and our volunteers will help bring that vision to life every day."

She became CEO in 2021 and is overseeing development of the 19.3-acre campus in Jackson Park.

Other former Obama administration officials have also earned substantial compensation at the foundation in past years, including former White House political director David Simas, who made more than $600,000 annually while leading the organization from 2017 to 2020, and Adewale Adeyemo, who later became Biden's deputy Treasury secretary and made roughly $540,000 during his tenure. 

Several other senior leaders with Obama administration ties have earned between roughly $300,000 and $400,000 annually, according to tax filings.