Fundraisers’ Pay Jumped 8% Last Year, Biggest Gain Since Before the Recession

The median salary of American fundraisers increased by 8 percent last year, to $71,100, according to a new study by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. That’s a stark change from a 1.5 percent increase in 2011 and the biggest percentage gain since 2007.

The survey is based on data from 1,750 members of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, but is it not necessarily a representative sample of groups of all sizes and causes.

Although salary increases were substantial last year, they still haven’t made up the big gap in pay between male and female fundraisers, the survey found. Last year, male fundraisers earned a median $85,000, which was 26 percent more than the median salary among women ($67,700).

The survey also demonstrated a lack of ethnic and racial diversity among fundraisers. Only 2 percent of fundraisers in the study identified themselves as African-American, Hispanic, or Latino, and smaller percentages said they were Asian or multi-ethnic.

Turnover Persists

The findings of the study conform with a string of reports indicating that turnover is a big problem in fundraising.

Nearly half of the fundraisers in the survey said they had been in their current positions for three years or less, and 43 percent said that in the previous 12 months they had looked for another job.

What’s more, many said they had considered leaving because they:

• Hoped to earn a bigger salary (39 percent),
• Wanted more responsibility and authority (34 percent), or
• Hoped to escape a frustrating work environment (29 percent).

When asked about their “main problem” in doing their jobs, fundraisers identified several, including having insufficient staff (25 percent), working for leaders who are unappreciative of fundraising (19 percent), and facing competing job duties (17 percent).

Credentials Matter

Fundraisers tended to earn more if they had professional credentials, such as certification as a fundraising executive at a basic or advanced level.

Fundraisers with basic certification earned an average salary of $96,923 and for those with advanced certification the average salary was $120,471, compared with $70,253 for those without such credentials.

The survey results highlight a significant change in the job path for fundraisers, showing that more people are training for the role in college, said Andrew Watt, president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Twenty-one percent of the survey participants said they prepared to enter the fundraising profession while in school, up from 13 to 14 percent in the previous three surveys. Such fundraisers, Mr. Watt said, “are several rungs up in information and understanding from the way we started.”

To appeal to young fundraisers, Mr. Watt said, the association recently started offering a membership rate of $75 to those under 30.

In comparison, the cost for older members is $250, along with chapter dues ranging from $125 to $250. The association now has 3,000 members under 30, and 80 percent of them are new to the organization.

The “2013 AFP Compensation and Benefits Report” is available free of charge to members of the association. Nonmembers may purchase the report for $150 by contacting the association’s professional advancement department at profadv@afpnet.org.