September 23, 1999 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Employees of non-profit organizations in metropolitan New York
ALSO SEE:
Average Salaries at New York Non-Profit Groups in 1998
saw their pay go up by an average of 5.2 per cent in 1998, according to a new survey.
That increase outpaced last year’s 1.6-per-cent inflation rate and was just slightly more than the 5.1-per-cent pay raise employees received in 1997.
Chief fund raisers saw the largest percentage increase, an average of 7.8 per cent, according to the survey, conducted by the Ernst & Young accounting firm.
Top-ranking fund raisers earned an average of $85,900, while chief executives took in an average of $152,000, a 5-per-cent increase over the previous year. Social workers received the smallest pay increase — an average of 2.5 per cent — and earned an average of $33,900.
The report was based on information from 193 non-profit groups in the New York metropolitan area, including cultural institutions, educational institutions, foundations, grant-making charities, libraries, membership organizations, and social-service organizations. The organizations had an average operating budget of about $16.9-million, and an average of 163 full-time and part-time employees.
The survey provided salary information on 20 employee positions commonly found in non-profit groups, from executive director to secretary. For the first time, in response to requests from survey participants, the position of social worker was included.
In addition to salary information, the survey also contained information on other forms of compensation, including medical insurance and retirement-savings plans.
Among the survey’s other findings:
* Chief executives of foundations and grant-making charities earned the most money in 1998, an average of $194,000, representing a 4.2-per-cent increase over 1997. However, chief executives at membership associations saw the biggest percentage increase in pay — 6.9 per cent.
* Thirty-six per cent of chief executives were eligible for a cash incentive as a reward for good performance. The average amount was $23,483, or 17 per cent of base salary.
* Seventy-two per cent of organizations reported an increase in the cost of providing medical benefits, and two-thirds of the organizations said that they had taken steps to reduce such costs.
Copies of “The 1998 Metro New York Not-for-Profit Compensation & Benefits Survey” may be obtained for $125 each by contacting Mary Corallo, Senior Marketing Associate, Ernst & Young, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York 10019; (212) 773-1240; http://www.ey.com.
