Pay and the executive title

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30429
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Date: 01 March 2017

2017 Nonprofit Executive Compensation Report 3

DOI 10.1002/ban© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company All rights reserved

Pay and the executive title

“Executive Director” remains far and away the

most common title in the Board & Administrator

network (58%), but it doesn’t generate as much

when it comes to the executive’s salary.

Other popular titles (“CEO” and “President/

CEO”) all earn considerably more than “Execu-

tive Director.” For execs who responded to B&A’s

survey last year, the title “President/CEO” earned

the highest pay on average: $134,418. “CEOs” also

work with larger boards, with a reported board size

for that title of 19, on average, whereas the average

board size reported this year was 13 members.

You will find that the executives who earn the

larger paychecks also manage considerably larger

staffs than executive directors, which may indicate

that they run organizations with larger budgets.

These are both factors that correlate strongly with

higher pay in the Board & Administrator reader-

ship. See the chart for more information on title

and compensation. ■

How many executives received a bonus

in the past 12 months?

Only 32% of administrators who responded to

our survey in late 2016 reported receiving a bo-

nus. The average value of this bonus was $5,021.

The average salary of those CEOs who received a

bonus last year was $113,523.

Executives who earned a bonus last year

report an average salary that is about $8,000

lower on average as well. Maybe the trade-off

for working with no bonus structure is a higher

base salary? ■

Executive title and compensation

Percentage

Responded

Average

Salary

Median

Salary

Years of

Experience

Years in

Current

Position

Raise

Past 12

Months

Raise

Next 12

Months Bonus

Fringe

Benefits

Board

Size

Full-Time

Staff

Part-Time

Staff

CEO 11% $129,243 $122,485 29 17 2% 3% $7,500 $22,750 19 190 34

Executive

Director 58% $107,911 $105,000 29 19 4% 3% $4,688 $16,244 13 79 28

President/CEO 22% $134,418 $137,000 28 18 3% 3% $10,000 $19,258 15 210 65

President 3% $142,000 $142,000 20 2 - 3% $250 $12,500 16 12 -

Director 3% $98,845 $98,845 18 13 5% 2% - $8,630 7 33 36

Administrator 3% $167,000 $167,000 35 12 2.5% 2.5% $5,000 $60,000 5 200 -

2016 bonus information

Percentage

Responded

Average

Salary Median

Years of

Experience

Years in

Current

Position

Raise Past

12 Months

Raise Next

12 Months Bonus

Fringe

Benefits

Board

Size

Full-Time

Staff

Part-Time

Staff

Bonus

Yes 32% $113,523 $107,000 24 9 3% 3% $5,021 $19,455 13 117 35

Bonus

No 68% $121,814 $132,536 31 21 3% 3% - $18,493 14 123 40