August 15, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
Q. How can I evaluate salaries for a development specialist or coordinator job? I have recently been offered this job after only two years out of college, but I don’t know what fair compensation would be.
A. Once upon a time, you would have had to rely upon gossip, intuition, or the honesty of your friends to suss out a potential salary. Today, with the help of the Internet, you can find out whether your job offer is in the ballpark of fairness.
To get started, look at a few salary-comparison Web sites, which compile salary information for specific positions. It’s a good idea to check out more than one site, because salary-comparison Web sites “cut” their data in different ways.
First, browse salary reports recently posted on Philanthropy Careers, available in the Job Market library. Salary.com offers data for nonprofit positions, and while it won’t give you salaries for specific nonprofit organizations, it will adjust salaries by geographic region. Other places to try: The Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal, Wageweb, Salary Expert, and College Recruiter.com.
Some professional organizations, such as the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, have also recently completed salary surveys that you may find useful. Because it’s not available online, you might want to order the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ latest “Compensation & Benefits Survey”;. It costs $75 for association members, $150 for nonmembers. You can order the study through the association’s Web site, by calling (800) 666-3863, or by contacting the association’s Resource Center at 1101 King Street, Suite 700, Alexandria, Va., 22314.
