Pandemic-era bumps in pay at large foundations have given way to more modest pay increases slightly ahead of the rate of inflation, according to a survey of foundations released Tuesday that found greater racial and ethnic diversity at the nation’s grant makers as well as a higher proportion of women in charge.
Salaries among staff members were projected to increase 4.3 percent this year following two consecutive years of 5 percent increases, according to a survey the Council on Foundations conducted in March of 1,006 community, private, and corporate grant makers.
The higher results in 2022 and 2023 were likely the result of pay increases related to the Covid response, efforts to keep people on staff during the “Great Resignation,” which saw an increase in job churn, and relatively high rates of inflation, which topped 9 percent at its peak in June 2022. One exception was for community foundation staff, which reported a 1.5-percent drop in salaries compared with 2020, when adjusted for inflation.
The slower growth in salaries represented a “normalization,” said Nicole Bronzan, the council’s vice president of communications, with pay at foundations returning to their historic rates of growth.
“Salaries in most cases are starting to even out,” she said.
Grant makers also reported less job turnover this year, with average turnover rate for all staff dropping from slightly more than 13 percent in 2023 to 10.8 percent this year.
Foundations reported more diverse staff and leadership this year than they did previously. People of color accounted for 33.5 percent of full-time staff, up from 32.7 percent in 2023. People of color were in presidential or CEO roles at 17.1 percent of the foundations surveyed, up from 14.9 percent last year.
Even though nearly 63 percent of CEOs and presidents are women, up almost 2 percentage points from last year, the pay gap between women and men in the top job role widened this year. Female CEOs made 83.5 percent of the median salary reported for male CEOs in 2024, down from 85.3 percent in 2023.
“As with the rest of society, there were bumps in the road,” Bronzan said.
Separately, a survey of 225 grant makers focused on health issues released last week by Grantmakers in Health found that 31 percent of health care grant makers identify as BIPOC, and 69 percent are women.
