July 16, 1998 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Employees of charities and foundations in the New York City area earned an average 5.1 per cent more in 1997 than in 1996, according to a new survey. The increase outpaced the rate of inflation — 1.7 per cent last year — and was about the same raise that employees got the previous three years.
The survey, conducted by the Ernst & Young accounting firm, found that the average salary for chief executives was $149,600, while top-ranking fund raisers earned an average of $81,900.
Over all, program directors received the largest percentage increase, an average of 5.7 per cent. Top administrators and grants managers received the smallest rise, an average of 4.3 per cent.
The report was based on information supplied by 192 non-profit organizations, including foundations, in the New York metropolitan area. The organizations had an average operating budget of about $22-million and an average of 235 employees, including full- and part-time workers.
Among the survey’s other findings:
* Chief executives of educational groups and libraries received raises of 6.4 per cent — a larger gain than received by their counterparts at other types of non-profit groups. Foundation executives earned the most, taking in an average of $168,900 last year.
* Chief executives of social service groups received the second-highest increase — 5.4 per cent — bringing their average salary to $137,300. Top executives at associations received the third-highest increase, with salaries rising 4.9 per cent, to $161,800.
* Chief fund raisers at cultural institutions earned the most, taking in an average of $88,800 in 1997.
* Twenty-one per cent of chief executives were eligible for a cash incentive as a reward for good performance, and two-thirds of those eligible received a bonus. The average amount was $20,205, or 11 per cent of base salary.
* Sixty-seven per cent of organizations reported a rise in the cost of providing health-care plans to employees, and many groups took steps over the past two years to reduce costs. Their most common course: requiring employees to contribute more.
To obtain copies of the study, “1997 Survey of New York Area Not-For-Profit Organizations’ Compensation and Benefits,” contact Mary Corallo, Marketing Associate, Ernst & Young, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York 10019; (212) 773-1240. The cost is $125 prepaid.
