March 9, 2000 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The median salary of chief fund raisers at colleges and universities rose by 6 percent last year, to $88,936,
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Median Salaries of College Fund-Raising Officials, 1999-2000
according to a survey by the College and University Personnel Association.
That’s one percentage point higher than the increase chief development officers received in 1998, and well above the inflation rate of 2.7 percent for 1999. Median salaries mark the point at which half of the officials earn more and half earn less.
Top development officials who also oversee public-relations efforts won even larger increases: Their pay rose by almost 9 percent, to $99,458. That gain, however, is less than the pay raise of almost 13 percent that those officials received last year.
The overall median salary increase for all administrative job types in colleges and universities was 5 percent.
The association’s survey is based on salary information for 174 positions provided by 1,433 public and private institutions. More than 85 percent of those respondents participated in last year’s survey.
Two fund-raising positions posted higher median salary gains than the chief development officer: coordinator of resource development (7 percent, to $41,405) and director of development and alumni affairs (7 percent, to $60,000).
Directors of corporate and foundation relations in higher education did not fare as well. Their median pay increase was about 4 percent, to $54,996.
Salaries varied significantly depending on the institution’s size and scope. Among top development officials, for example, the median salaries ranged from $62,000 at two-year colleges and $86,994 at baccalaureate institutions to $91,033 at institutions that award master’s degrees and $134,487 at those that award doctorates.
A free copy of the “1999-2000 Administrative Compensation Survey” has been sent to institutions that belong to the personnel association. Additional copies can be ordered from the association at 1233 20th Street, N.W., Suite 301, Washington 20036; (202) 429-0311, ext. 2, or from the organization’s Web site, http://www.cupa.org. The price per copy is $85 for survey participants, $140 for members that did not participate, $185 for non-members that participated, and $310 for all others.
