Majority of U.S./Canadian Fundraisers See Salaries On Upswing: Gender Gap Continues

May 17, 2013

Average salaries for fundraisers increased in the U.S. and Canada in 2012, with 66 percent of respondents to the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ (AFP) 2013 Compensation and Benefits Study reporting salary increases of up to 10 percent. Twenty-seven percent reported no change in salary, and less than 10 percent reported a decrease.

The overall average salary for U.S. respondents was $82,028 in 2012, an increase of nine percent over 2011. The overall median salary was $71,000, an eight percent increase from 2011.

The overall average salary for Canadian fundraisers was $88,332, an increase of 13 percent over 2011. The overall median salary was $76,000, a nine percent increase from 2011.

Gender Gap Continues

A significant gap continues to exist between the salaries of male and female fundraisers in both countries. Male fundraisers in the United Stated reported an average salary of $102,710 in 2012. Women earned $76,126 on average. With the exception of 2005 when the salary gap diminished slightly, the gap in the U.S. has consistently been $20,000 or more during the 13 years in which the survey has been conducted.

There was also a gap in salaries by gender in Canada, where male fundraisers reported an average salary of $97,881 and women earned $85,165 on average. The gender salary gap in Canada has been approximately $12,000-$16,000 each year of the survey except for 2007, when the difference was only $3,353. Seventy-four percent of all survey respondents classified themselves as female, while 26 percent classified themselves as male.

The average turnover rate (number of years in fundraising divided by the number of fundraising jobs held) for United States respondents was 3.9 years per job, and for Canadians the rate was 3.5 years per job. The average U.S. respondent has held 3.6 fundraising positions in his/her career. In Canada, the average is 3.3 positions.

The 2013 AFP Compensation and Benefits Report is available free to AFP members on the Members Only section of the AFP website. Nonmembers may purchase the 132-page report for $150.