Pay Rates in Nonprofit Organizations

Compensation in Nonprofit Organizations, 15th Edition

PUBLISHED: September 2002

Summary of the 1,485-page Compensation in Nonprofit Organizations, 15th Edition survey report of 125 benchmark jobs from Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc.  The following describes the highest paid job characteristics, the national median total cash compensation for 46 benchmark jobs, and the factors affecting salary (Level of Supervisory/Managerial Responsibility, Type of Organization, Number of Employees, Annual Budget, Scope of Organization, and Geographic Area).

The following is preliminary information on the survey report; the more extensive summary described above will be available here one month after it has been mailed to participating organizations of this survey.

Who is the highest-paid employee in the nonprofit sector? A composite representing such an individual was drawn by Dr. Steven Langer, using data from his recent survey of over 51,000 employees in 125 benchmark jobs reported by 1,351 nonprofit organizations of widely-differing types.

Copies of the complete two-volume, 1,485-page report entitled Compensation in Nonprofit Organizations, 15th Edition can be purchased for $195.00 (for Volume I - Professional Societies and Trade Associations), $240.00 (for Volume II - All Other Organizations), and $295.00 (for both Volumes I and II) through our On-Line Order Form or from Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc., Dept. NET, 548 First St., Crete, IL 60417 (telephone 708/672-4200; fax 708/672-4674). State/regional editions for Illinois, Ohio, New York/New Jersey, and the Mid-Atlantic states (Washington, DC, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) are available for $195.00. Fringe Benefits and Working Conditions in Nonprofit Organizations, 5th Edition, can be purchased for $250.00.

The composite executive with the highest annual income in a nonprofit organization in the U.S. is a Chief Executive Officer of an international or national organization with 100 or more employees and an annual budget of $10,000,000 or more. This composite individual is probably with a manufacturing trade association, a foundation, an exhibition/fair, a management society, a research/scientific/testing organization, a medical/dental society, a nonprofit trade association, or a social service/social welfare organization. He or she is located in or near Washington (DC), New York City, Arlington/Alexandria, Philadelphia, Austin, Kansas City (MO), Chicago, or Des Moines, or outside the metropolitan areas studied in southern California or Virginia. While the median income of nonprofit CEOs is $81,000, some of the highest-paid Chief Executive Officers make well over $600,000.

The median incomes of some of the other 124 benchmark jobs for which data were reported in the survey report are:

Naturally, these nation-wide rates vary among the many regions, states, and metropolitan areas and numerous types of nonprofit organizations [ranging from advocacy/consumer organizations through chambers of commerce, hospitals/nursing homes, professional societies (by type), social welfare organizations, trade associations (by type), etc.] surveyed, as well as on the basis of the other demographic variables studied. Obviously, such benchmark jobs as Chief Legal Officer, Director of Government Relations, Field Staff Director, and Chief Economist occur primarily in the larger and/or better-financed nonprofit organizations.

The apparent anomalies in the list above tend to "wash out" when consideration is given to the type and size of nonprofit organization and the other demographic variables studied, as is possible with the entire report.

Also, see Fringe Benefits and Working Conditions in Nonprofit Organizations.

the 1,485-page survey report, Compensation in Nonprofit Organizations, 15th Edition, described on this page for $295, with charges for shipping & handling (and IL sales tax, if applicable). The report is IN STOCK and can be shipped out within two business days. The mean, median, 1st and 3rd quartile, and 1st and 9th decile data for base salary, bonus/commission/profit sharing, and total annual cash compensation are reported for many demographic variables, including level of supervisory/managerial responsibility, geographic location, type and size of employer, etc. To purchase the report, use our On-Line Order Form, call 708/672-4200, email, fax, or write per the information at the bottom of this page.