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By Matthew Sinclair
It was the best of jobs. It was the worst of jobs. Major gifts officers
are posting salary gains of 6.8 percent on average for 2002. But with
the economic slowdown of 2001 moving into an economically and politically
tumultuous era, some organizations have begun to consider whether they
can afford to keep major gifts officers or are including those responsibilities
with those of planned giving officers.
And, if you're the top dog at a nonprofit, don't expect too much of
a pay hike in 2002.
Leaders of nonprofits and those holding directorial titles are finding
the economic slowdown translating to static salary increases in many
areas, with increases roughly between 3 and 4 percent overall.
The annual The NonProfit Times salary survey was sent to 3,000 organizations
in late October. Responses were compiled and tabulated with the assistance
of researchers of the Center For Public Service at Seton Hall University
in South Orange, N.J.
The survey sought information on 10 positions: executive director/CEO/president;
chief financial officer; program director; planned giving officer; development
director; major gifts officer; chief of direct marketing; director of
volunteers; Webmaster; and chief of technology. The two technology-related
job titles were new this year.
Though all 10 categories reported increases from 2001 to 2002, four
were less than 1 percent growth.
The national average projected pay for 2002 for the 10 positions are:
Executive director/CEO/president -- $90,903
Chief Financial Officer -- $61,518
Program Director -- $53,782
Planned Giving Officer -- $58,753
Development Director -- $57,312
Major Gifts Officer -- $62,951
Chief of Direct Marketing -- $53,011
Director of Volunteers -- $35,349
Webmaster -- $45,165
Chief of Technology -- $58,699
Top association executives posted an average $120,044 salary, the largest
salary among the organization-type categories. Foundation executives
posted more than $107,000 in average salary. Social/welfare organizations,
the largest group of respondents, showed a falling average salary, dropping
just under $84,000 for their top executives - down from an average of
$84,775 reported in this year's survey for 2001.
This year the other top average salaries among chief executives included:
Association -- $120,044
Foundation -- $107,145
Religion -- $104,085
Cultural -- $95,828
Education -- $95,514
Health -- $93,983
Social/Welfare -- $83,901
Civic -- $65,246
Government -- $61,125
The top spot showed modest growth, increasing 3.3 percent over the reported
salaries of 2001. CEOs across the board showed a mean salary of $90,903
for 2002. That figure was $87,986 in 2001 for the surveys reported this
year.
When it comes to executive salaries, organizational size still matters
most, with the top spot at the largest organizations ($50 million-plus)
reporting an average of just under $218,000. Those executives at organizations
raising less than $1 million posted an average of less than $59,300.
And though the salary difference among geographic locations was far
less dramatic than for organizational size, executive directors in the
mid-Atlantic region (which includes New York City and Washington, D.C.)
averaged almost $98,500. CEOs in the central region of the nation averaged
$76,212. Many positions showed barely any salary growth between 2001
and 2002.
Major gifts officers showed the only major increase, with mean salaries
rising just under 7 percent in 2002 compared to the previous year, reaching
nearly $63,000, up from just under $59,000.
Program directors in New England were the country's best paid on average,
earning $57,505. The southwest tended to be at the low pay range for
program directors at $40,841.
Webmasters, in the first reporting of their salary data in the NPT Salary
Survey, showed a mean salary of $45,165 overall - up 4 percent from
the $43,428 reported for 2001. The other technology-related newcomer
to the survey, chief of technology, showed an increase of less than
$200 - barely a blip in terms of growth, and less than inflation.
The only other positions that showed an increase of more than 1 percent
were direct marketing chief, development director and chief financial
officers. The DMers saw a 1.9 percent rise in pay to inch over $53,000
per annum, while CFOs' pay increased to $61,518.
Organizations reported their average staff pay increases were slightly
less this year than they were last year. In 2002, the average pay increase
was 3.65 percent across the board, while the average in 2001 was 4.14
percent. The highest response for staff pay increases in 2002 was 10
percent, while the highest in 2001 was 15 percent.
Looking forward, organizations tended to see 2003 like 2002, with the
highest increase reported at 10 percent and the average rolling in at
3.67 percent.
As in past years, a strong percentage of organizations reported they
did not pay performance-related bonuses. This year 80 percent surveyed
did not pay such bonuses, while 19.3 percent did make bonuses based
on performance.
Of those that did, most often the position receiving the bonus was the
chief executive, who averaged $10,745 in bonuses. Development directors,
program directors, and chief financial officers were the next highest
recipients of bonuses, with bonuses of 5.5 percent to 6.8 percent of
their salaries. Some technology chiefs also saw bonuses go their way,
at an average of $990.
Whether an organization would consider offering one-time bonuses to
candidates, however, found mixed results. Most respondents said they
did not know, registering 43.5 percent. Only 15.3 percent said they
would consider offering a one-time bonus to the right candidate.
As in past years, only one-third of nonprofits reported they provided
their top executives employment contracts. Predictably, the most common
executive to hold such a contract was the chief executive. Next in order
were chief financial officers, program directors and development directors.
In those contracts, the most common element was the starting salary,
with cars the next most common contractual benefit, albeit much further
down the list. Also common contract elements were stipulated salary
increases, severance pay and expense allowances.
Of those organizations that did not offer contracts, 30.8 percent indicated
they would offer one if the new chief executive requested it. Another
20.4 percent indicated they wouldn't, with the rest - nearly half -
reporting they did not know.
By far, raises were most commonly offered annually, though nearly 5
percent reported that they did not give top executives raises until
more than two years of service.
Breaking salary increase policies down to "general," "merit"
and both, organizations tended to use both reasons as their policy (46.9
percent), while "general" received 26.9 percent and "merit"
26.2 percent.
A strong majority of organizations (72 percent) reported their hourly
and salaried "non-exempt" staff received similar increases
to the exempt, salaried staff. Only 6.5 percent reported their exempt
pay was increasing faster (by an average of 4.5 percent). Another 16.5
percent of organizations reported their non-exempt pay was increasing
more quickly, at an average of 7.8 percent.
Health insurance premiums have become a consistent concern for organizations
trying to control costs. Most organizations (90.6 percent) reported
their employee health care premiums raised in 2001, with the average
increase at 17.1 percent, though the most common increase was 10 percent.
The most common way of paying that increase was for the organization
to pick up the cost. In those organizations that indicated the employees
would be paying a greater share of the cost, however, the average increase
was 27.7 percent, according to the data. Other organizations tended
to shop their policies around for lower premiums or make changes in
benefit levels.
The largest category of organizations was human service/social/welfare
groups (47.6 percent of respondents). The next most common organization
types were education and health. The fourth most common category was
"other," which included some environmental organizations,
and many others that did not indicate a specific category. Also included
in the survey were religious groups, government organizations, associations,
civic groups, cultural organizations, and foundations.
Benefits and innovations
Maintaining benefits for employees - particularly health care coverage
- are among the largest concerns for nonprofit executives. Al Brislain,
executive director at the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Inland Northwest
in Spokane, Wash., said that having a strong benefits package is "the
least we can do." But, it's getting harder to keep from passing
along some of the costs. "Right now we charge for dependent coverage
a flat $50 a month," he said, noting that benefits costs overall
have been skyrocketing in recent years. "We did pick (the increases)
up this year. However, we did tell people we don't know how much longer
we'll be able to do that."
He said he believes benefits packages are being eroded at a lot of nonprofits.
"We are able to (stay away from a deductible) as long as people
stay out of the hospital," Brislain said. "For doctor visits
and urgent care, there's a co-pay." But for employees with children,
an emergency room visit can be par for the course.
Brislain said the organization offers employees a three-for-one trade
of accrued sick days. "After people have accrued 300 hours of sick
pay (which takes a couple years to accumulate), anything over that they
can trade three for one for vacation."
It makes perfect sense that the Montrose Counseling Center brings in
a stress therapist once a month. "We're a mental health clinic,"
said Ann Robison, executive director of the Houston-based agency. "We
bring in an outside therapist. They can talk about whatever they want."
The voluntary group began about 20 years ago, when many patients with
HIV started using the center's services. In addition to HIV patients,
the counselors also deal with people who've been victims of domestic
abuse and assaults. "They hear a lot of pain from their clients,"
Robison said.
Of the 60 employees, roughly 10 to 15 attend the monthly meetings, which
generally do not include supervisors, to allow the employees to vent
about on-the-job stresses to a therapist, who has no other association
with the agency.
While Robison indicated the organization's health insurance premiums
were only going up 2 percent, she is nervous she won't be as fortunate
going into 2003. "We're a United Way agency," she said. "They
couldn't afford to (cover the agency's health premium) another year."
Pious Thomas, fiscal director of the Violence Intervention Program in
New York City, said the organization's health insurance premiums have
increased 10-12 percent a year for the past few years, and this year
the family coverage increased 32 percent compared to last year. "We
don't get any kind of bargain," he said, "because we have
less than 50 employees."
The organization also provides employees dental and vision coverage
at an annual expense of about $9,000, Thomas said. "A lot of people
wanted it."
Alice Kinsler, executive director of the Hospice Foundation for the
Central Coast in Monterey, Calif., said the organization has turned
to partial self-insurance with a third-party administrator to keep health
costs down. A year ago the organization's health insurer was going to
bump costs up again, she explained, and she was faced with a difficult
decision. "We saved about $20,000," she said. "It's cheaper
and simple because it's the employee taking responsibility."
Bill Pfeifer, president and CEO at the American Lung Association of
Arizona/New Mexico, based in Phoenix, said all staff members who've
worked there at least one year receive a $300 expense account for the
year to cover any self-paid medical related coverage - a term he keeps
rather lenient. "If they want to pay for a pair of glasses, upgrade
those frames, they can do that," he said. "I've had staff
members use it for health club memberships or a day at the spa."
The health costs got so rough for some youth service organizations in
Oklahoma that they pitched together to start a self-insured plan with
the new year. Glenn Bracken, executive director of Payne County Youth
Services in Stillwater, Okla., said not only will pooling the resources
of six other local youth organizations enable them to reduce premiums,
it'll also let him offer better benefits.
"Currently, we're not able to offer dental," he said when
interviewed before the end of 2001. "Under this plan it'll be part
of the company-paid plan."
He said his premiums personally would drop $50 per month. "It's
better coverage for less money," he said, though it carries the
risk of having to hire an administrator who manages the program.
Nancy Harrington, who runs the Montgomery County United Way Service
Center in The Woodlands, Texas, said the organization covered a large
health coverage increase of 69 percent.
"Basically you're talking about a whole body -- 20-30,000 in insurance,"
she said. "It meant a position we were meaning to implement we
weren't able to implement. It impacts on staffing."
Potentially impacting on salaries will be the bankruptcy of Enron in
nearby Houston. "We're going to be analyzing our salary and wage
scale," she said. But the economy won't hit one of the organization's
employee benefits. Each employee gets a gift certificate that can be
used in a resale shop it runs as a fundraising effort.
"We're in an affluent community. We get incredible donations,"
Harrington said. "It doesn't actually cost us money, nor does it
raise their taxable income."
Some other innovative benefits organizations noted include:
o Domestic partner coverage;
o Membership at YMCA;
o Five hours per month to visit child's school;
o Spanish classes, weight loss group, and dry-cleaning pickup (same
organization);
o Reduced tuition at a local university;
o Subsidies for health clubs;
o AAA and "Sam's Club" memberships;
o Birthday off;
o Concierge service;
o Cell phones.
Along with some more standard "innovative" benefits, such
as flexible schedules and personal days, the little things can mean
a lot to those who make their careers in the nonprofit sector
NPT Salary Survey 2002
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