July 18, 2019 | Read Time: 1 minute
Fundraising salaries grew by 8 percent last year, although a relatively small percentage of fundraisers enjoyed most of those gains, according to a survey released on Thursday.
The median fundraiser salary in 2018 was $72,500, compared with $67,100 in 2017, according to the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ annual salary and benefits report.
“After a period of flat growth and even decreases in salaries, we’ve seen very strong increases in compensation for two years now — a very good sign for the profession,” Mike Geiger, the AFP’s chief executive officer, said in a news release.
However, 67 percent of all respondents saw salary increases of 3 percent or less, with 22 percent seeing no increase or a salary reduction. The remaining one-third saw salary increases of 4 percent or more.
The survey showed that salary disparities between men and women persist, with a median salary for men of $85,000 and for women of $70,000.
The association said that it had made a concerted effort to get responses from more fundraisers of color in the most recent survey, and that they represent 15 percent of the 3,600 total responses. The study found “no meaningful differences” between the salaries of minorities and the pool of respondents as a whole.
However, AFP cautioned against reaching sweeping conclusions about pay equity among diverse groups, saying it would continue to study the issue.
The survey found that fundraisers feel positively about most aspects of their work, although 37 percent are “dissatisfied or very dissatisfied” with their opportunities for advancement, and 32 percent are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their compensation and benefits.
One quarter said their organizations had an insufficient number of fundraising staff members.
