June 1, 2000 | Read Time: 2 minutes
By MEG SOMMERFELD
The average annual salary for a fund raiser who specializes in planned giving is $65,204, up from $62,640 in 1998, according to a new survey.
According to the newsletter Planned Giving Today, which conducted the survey, the median salary also increased, rising to $62,500, from $62,000. The median marks the midpoint salary in the survey.
The survey revealed a gender gap in pay, with male planned-giving officers earning an average salary of $67,857 and females an average of $61,768. However, the median salary was the same for both men and women: $62,500.
Planned Giving Today mailed the surveys to a random sample of 500 of its subscribers. Surveys were returned by 221 people, or 44 percent of the sample group. All but 10 of the respondents worked for charitable organizations to obtain planned gifts — donations that offer special tax and financial benefits to donors. About half of the respondents said they spent 75 percent or more of their workday seeking planned gifts.
Of the people who spent at least three-fourths of their time on planned gifts, 58 percent were men The majority were between the ages of 41 and 60.
It was also a well-educated group: 92 percent had at least a college degree, 33 percent had earned a master’s degree, and 18 percent had received a doctorate.
Educational Levels
Different levels of educational attainment were reflected in their pay: Those planned-giving fund raisers with a bachelor’s degree earned an average salary of $60,300, while those with a doctorate earned an average of $75,156.
The typical work week for planned-giving fund raisers is about 47 hours, with one-third of the survey respondents working 40 to 44 hours a week.
Many of the planned-giving officials put their money where their mouths are: A large majority, 78 percent, reported that they had personally made a planned gift.
Of those who had made planned gifts, 77 percent did so through a will, 15 percent through a trust, and 5 percent through a charitable gift annuity, while 32 percent chose other planned-giving options. (The percentages total more than 100 percent because respondents could select all answers that applied.)
Copies of the survey are $29 each, or $19 for subscribers to the newsletter. Contact: Planned Giving Today, 100 Second Avenue South, Suite 180, Edmonds, Wash. 98020; (800) 525-5748; fax: (425) 744-3838; e-mail: roger@pgtoday.com; http://www.pgtoday.com.
