U.S. Fundraising Salaries Barely Kept Pace With 2022 Inflation

Credit: AFP

The average fundraising salary in the U.S. increased by 6.7% in 2022, according to the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy’s 2023 Compensation and Benefits Report. While this growth is significant compared to the 1.5% increase in 2021, it is still barely keeping pace with the year-end inflation rate of 6.5%.

The 2023 study reported the average salary of U.S. survey participants increased by 6.7%, from $89,799 in 2021 to $95,841 in 2022. The median U.S. salary similarly saw a 6.4% increase in 2022 from $78,000 to $83,000. Despite these increases, due to the high inflation rates, many U.S. fundraisers saw little change in their actual purchasing power.

These economic pressures appear to have had an impact on many respondents’ job search, with 55% of participants saying they actively sought to change their employment, either by searching for a job with another employer, or making plans to become self-employed, sometime in the past year. On average, those looking for new opportunities earned less than those who were not.

In 2023 however, fundraisers are predicting more stability and positivity, with 78% of participants planning to stay in their current positions and 77% projecting higher compensation.

Another highlight of the 2023 study was an increased focus by many organizations on inclusion, diversity, equity, and access.

For example, the 2022 study reported a 24% pay gap for women compared to their male counterparts. This year, while still significant, this gap dropped to 15%, or an average of $92,452, compared with men’s pay of $106,773.

Additionally, 43% of U.S.-based organizations reported having one-quarter or more of their board members from minority or underrepresented groups, up from 38% the previous year. The study also noted that organizations who served under-represented groups as part of their mission, had better representation of these groups on their boards and staff.

When it came to salary, similar to the 2022 study, this year’s report found fundraisers of color had a 7%, on average, higher salary than study participants who identified as “white only”. This trend has fluctuated however, with 2020 seeing higher salaries for white respondents and 2019 seeing no difference, indicating a potential dependence on the fluctuating number of people of color who completed the survey from year to year.

The study also reported on benefits such as health (offered by 95%) and retirement plans (offered by 92%), as well as additional benefits such as the ability to work from home. 68% of survey respondents reported they had the option to work from home at least some days and 26% could work from home full-time.

The AFP Foundation for Philanthropy provides this research to AFP members who can download the full 2023 Compensation and Benefits Study here.

Source: AFP

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