October 3, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Chief executives at large groups that provide or promote educational activities received a median pay increase of 22 percent this year, while leaders of large health and social-welfare organizations saw their median earnings increase 2.9 percent, according to a study by PRM Consulting, a Washington company that advises nonprofit organizations on recruitment and compensation.
The increase for health and social-welfare groups barely kept pace with inflation, which rose 2.8 percent in 2001. The median salary — meaning the level at which half earned more and half earned less — was $185,000 for chief executives at education organizations and $180,000 at health and social-welfare groups.
The 51 education organizations included groups as diverse as Elderhostel, which provides learning opportunities for people 55 and over, and the Mathematical Association of America, which promotes college study of math, but did not include colleges or schools. The groups in that category had average budgets of $28-million, while the 86 health and social-welfare groups had average budgets of $71-million. Forty-four percent of the groups in the study, which also included 217 tax-exempt organizations such as trade associations and professional groups, had their headquarters in Washington, Virginia, and Northeastern states.
Top executives at trade associations, who received a median salary of $275,100, earned more than their peers at any other type of group surveyed.
Chief financial officers at education groups won an 8.3-percent pay raise, to a median of $93,000, while their peers at health and social-welfare organizations were awarded a 7.9-percent increase, to $102,500, the study found. Top fund raisers at education groups saw their earnings drop around 13 percent, to a median of $72,800, and at health and social-welfare groups top fund raisers’ salaries declined 6 percent, to $102,500.
Single copies of the “Management Compensation Report — Not-for-Profit Organizations” can be ordered by nonprofit groups for $350 on the Web at http://www.prmconsulting.com, or by contacting Lyn McCloskey at PRM Consulting, 1637 Montague Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20011-2873; (202) 291-3700.
