The average salary for a fundraiser jumped almost 8 percent last year, with nearly half of those surveyed seeing increases of 1 to 3 percent, according to a new survey. Despite the growth, a third of the almost 3,600 respondents said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their compensation and benefits package.
The 2019 Compensation and Benefits Report, released today by the Arlington, Va.-based Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), included responses from 3,596 members in the United States, for a response rate of almost 15 percent.
“After a period of flat growth and even decreases in salaries, we’ve seen very strong increases in compensation for two years now — a very good sign for the profession,” Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA, president and CEO of AFP said in a news release announcing the survey results. “While the increases are not across the board, there’s clearly now a very positive job environment for fundraisers,” he said.
Less than a quarter of respondents (22 percent) saw no increase in income for the year, or even had their salary reduced, compared with a third who reported 2018 compensation that was 4 percent or more than what they earned in 2017.
The overall average salary in 2018 was $83,826, an increase of 7.7 percent over the 2017 average of $77,862. The median was $72,500, 8 percent more than $67,100, the median in 2017.
Even when the largest 5 percent of salaries in the survey were excluded, fundraisers saw growth of 6.9 percent in the average salary and 7.7 percent in the median salary. The top 25 percent of respondents (the 75th percentile) earned more than $98,025 while the bottom 25 percent earned $53,889 or less. Both of those figures are up from 2017.
While high majorities are satisfied in their jobs overall, 37 percent responded being dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with opportunities for advancement compared with 32 percent who said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with compensation and benefits. One in four respondents said there’s insufficient staff to do the fundraising work at their organization.
Two-thirds (66 percent) of those surveyed looked for a promotion within their organization while a quarter (26 percent) sought opportunities at other organizations. Compensation (68 percent) and seeking greater responsibilities (56 percent) were the most common reasons for considering leaving an existing position.
For this year’s report, AFP specifically reached out to members who identified as “of color” and encouraged them to participate in the survey, resulting in a jump from less than 10 percent to 15 percent of respondents reporting ethnic heritage or race other than “white/non-Hispanic.” For these respondents, the study found no meaningful difference in salary. Salaries for respondents of color averaged $83,494 compared to $83,179 for all other groups.
The average salary of a male fundraiser was $100,008 compared with $78,326 among females. The median salary for a male was $85,000 while the median salary for a female was $70,000.
Within the six regions of the United States — Northeast, Southeast, North Central, South Central, Southwest and West/Northwest — average salaries for all survey respondents ranged from $76,490 in the North Central area to $91,285 in the West/Northwest region.
The survey asked questions about each respondent’s overall organizational profile, position description, salary, benefits — including health/medical, retirement and general perquisites or “perks” — and general outlook on the organization’s fundraising and workplace culture. The study also collected data related to AFP’s IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) program.
