Editor's Note

What's more, the median salary for fundraisers who manage specific programs, such as planned giving or annual gifts, increased by nearly 14 percent, to $62,500, and chief executives who are mainly in charge of fundraising saw their median salary grow by 8 percent, to $78,000.

Starting salaries might also be on the rise. Fundraisers who had been with their employers for one year or less -- representing 18 percent of all respondents who reported their number of years on the job -- earn a median salary of $70,000, up from $60,000 in 2003.