Fundraiser salaries had been on the rise before the pandemic. But by the end of 2020, those gains were largely erased, according to the latest annual compensation report by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
By late 2020, the median fundraiser salary was $75,000, steady with the 2019 median. The group polled 3,261 fundraising professionals in the United States in March 2020 and again at year-end.
Individual fundraisers had very different experiences last year. More than 18 percent reported a drop in compensation, with an average decrease of $20,769. Meanwhile, 14.5 percent of respondents said they got a raise, averaging $7,885.
About 20 percent of respondents said their organization laid off or furloughed some fundraising workers in 2020. Among respondents, 3 percent were laid off and found a new job, and 10 percent accepted lower pay at the same employer or elsewhere.
About 40 percent of respondents were chief development officers. Fundraisers in specialties like major gifts and planned giving accounted for 14 percent of respondents, and 11 percent identified as staff who manage a fundraising program, such as the annual fund. CEOs or executive directors represented 15 percent of respondents.
Race and Gender Disparities
Women’s average compensation continued to lag behind men’s in 2020. Eighty-one percent of respondents were women — well over the 69 percent of AFP’s membership who are women — and their pay averaged $85,967 compared with the $103,175 average men reported. That 20 percent gap was higher than the 15 percent gap the survey found last year.
Previous research from AFP has found that 10 percent of the gap between men’s and women’s pay is attributed to gender. Other factors, including years of experience in the field and the size of the organization in which the fundraiser worked, also affected pay gaps.
Of the respondents who provided information about their race or ethnicity, 86 percent identified as white. Respondents who identified as Black, Indigenous, or people of color earned 10 percent less on average as those who identified as “white only.” This is the third year that AFP’s compensation report has collected information on respondents’ racial or ethnic heritage but the first time it has identified that gap.
More Fundraisers Plan to Stay Put
Fundraisers were more likely to say they planned to stay in their jobs than in past years, which AFP president Mike Geiger attributes to the pandemic. Just 50 percent of respondents reported thinking about leaving their jobs in 2020, a significant decrease from the roughly two-thirds of participants who said so in previous years.
Fundraisers were most likely to seek other employment opportunities to advance their careers. Others cited higher pay, a frustrating current work environment, lack of support for fundraising at their organization, and an employer’s unrealistic expectations as reasons they were job hunting.
When asked about their plans for 2021, more than 80 percent of respondents said they intended to remain in their job. The rest were evenly split between seeking another job at the same organization and looking for work elsewhere.
Respondents averaged 5.4 years at their current employer.
How Much Was Raised
For the first time, the study also compared the number of fundraisers on staff with the total amount of money raised. Most types of groups surveyed had two to three fundraising professionals for every $1 million raised.
Arts, culture, humanities, and environmental groups had more fundraisers per $1 million raised than international aid groups.
While many factors influence how much money is raised, said Kevin Foyle, vice president of development and public affairs for UTHealth and chair of AFP, this new data can be viewed as a baseline for setting expectations.
