2018

SALARY AND
BENEFITS SURVEY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A Study on Compensation and

Benefits in Maryland’s Nonprofits

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FULL REPORT INCLUDES
SALARY BENCHMARKS FOR:

EXECUTIVE POSITIONS PROGRAMMING & POLICY POSITIONS

Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director Program or Policy Director
Deputy Associate Director Program or Policy Manager
Program or Policy Coordinator
ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS Program or Policy Associate/Assistant
Chief Operating Officer
Office Manager CASE MANAGEMENT POSITIONS
Executive Assistant Case Manager/Case Worker/Social Worker
Administrative Assistant/Secretary
Receptionist MEDICAL PERSONNEL POSITIONS
Registered Nurse
FINANCE & HUMAN RESOURCES POSITIONS
Chief Financial Officer EDUCATION POSITIONS
Human Resources Director Director of Education
Finance/Accounting/Human Resources Manager Education Manager
Finance/Accounting/Human Resources Education Coordinator
Coordinator Teacher/Educator
Payroll/Accounting Clerk or Human Resources
Assistant INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS
Information Technology Director/Specialist
COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLICATIONS/SALES/ Information Technology Associate
MARKETING (CPSM) POSITIONS
CPSM Director or Editor RESIDENTIAL SUPPORT POSITIONS
CPSM Manager Housing Program Director/Manager
CPSM Coordinator Residential Living Coordinator/Assistant

DEVELOPMENT/FUNDRAISING POSITIONS FACILITIES PERSONNEL POSITIONS

Development/Fundraising Director Maintenance Technician/Custodian
Development/Fundraising Manager or Special
Events Manager
Grant Writer
Development/Fundraising Associate/Assistant

Acknowledgments
We are grateful for the 292 individuals and organizations who participated in the survey. This study and report
were conducted and prepared by Sawida Kamara and Jingwen Zhang.

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary Survey

INTRODUCTION & KEY FINDINGS
As the second largest industry in Maryland, behind only retail in total employment, the nonprofit sector
plays a critical role in improving the quality of life for all in Maryland. From 2011-2016, the nonprofit
sector experienced a 26 percent increase in wages and an 8 percent increase in overall employment.
With strong job growth and diverse career pathways, more professionals are pursuing careers in
nonprofits.

To successfully attract and retain talented employees, it is essential that nonprofit organizations
regularly assess and update their compensation structures, practices and policies. Fair wages and equity
are keys to sustaining a dedicated, productive, and thriving workforce. This report aims to provide a
snapshot of the current employee compensation and benefits trends and practices in Maryland’s
nonprofit sector. This report also supports nonprofit professionals and those seeking to work in the
nonprofit sector by providing them with valuable information they can use while planning their careers.
Lastly, this report can also be used by philanthropists, civic leaders, and others interested in
understanding the trends and challenges in nonprofit sector.

Note that the Standards for Excellence® call for the board of directors to periodically
review the salary scale of the organization, reviewing salaries horizontally for
comparison to other similar positions and comparing vertically for internal equity
between lowest and highest-paid employees.

Key findings of the 2018 Salary Survey are as follows:

• The average median salary for Chief Executives (CEOs/Executive Directors) in Maryland is
$85,000. Eighty-six percent of CEO salaries are $75,000 and higher, and 14 percent of CEO salaries
are less than $50,000.
• Although 67 percent of CEOs in the sample are women, median salaries for female CEOs are 14
percent less than their male counterparts.
• Smaller nonprofits—those with smaller revenue sizes—are more likely to be led by CEOs who are
women and people of color, and larger nonprofits are more likely to be led by CEOs who are White
and men.
• Seventy percent of nonprofits identify their Board Chair/President as White. The likelihood of
having a male Board Chair/President increased with organization revenue.
• Salaries paid to CEOs are highest among organizations with a Board Chair/President identified as
White and male.
• Seventy-six percent of nonprofits report providing salary increases/raises to employees in the past
two years.
• Over two-thirds of nonprofits (69%) provide health insurance for employees, and 49 percent provide
health insurance for family members.
• Majority of nonprofits (60%) offer some type of retirement plan for employees. Among these
organizations, 44 percent offer a retirement plan with an employer contribution.
• Three-quarters of nonprofits provide paid vacation leave, 74 percent provide paid sick leave, 32
percent provide paid personal leave, and almost half provide paid time off, which includes combined
sick, vacation and personal leave. The median paid time off provided is 10 days per year.

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 1

METHODOLOGY
The 2018 Salary Survey was developed and administered online in February-March 2018. Sections on
the survey included questions related to organization size and scope, staffing, compensation and
benefits. The link to the survey was distributed by e-mail to approximately 9,000 people, and a postcard
was mailed to 3,000 nonprofit organizations. The survey received the following responses:
• 323 accessed the survey; 31 were duplicates
• 274 respondents entered specific salary data
• 243 respondents completed the entire survey
• 44 respondents submitted only their basic organization and benefits information

Only one response per organization was accepted. In the case of duplicates, only the entry with the most
complete response was included in data analysis.

In order to keep the statistics as meaningful as possible, we have only included the salary ranges for
those positions on which we had information from at least 20 respondents, with the exception of the
following positions which had less than 20 respondents but were necessary to include for comparisons
with past Salary Survey Reports: Education Manager, Registered Nurse and Information Technology
Associate. We have excluded several positions from this report as the number of responses on the
survey for each was too small to make the salary findings reliable.

Median rather than mean data has been used to study salary data in order to reduce the effect of
extreme outliers which can skew averages. For example, organizations that choose to pay their
Executive Directors unusually large salaries or Executive Directors who volunteer their time. Such
high and low salaries can have a big impact on averages; median salary offers a more representative
range of what most organizations provide as compensation for a given position.

Respondents were asked to give three different types of salary information per position: Base Salary,
Average Salary, and Maximum Salary. This allowed for a much larger data set for each position,
permitting respondents to give a range of information for positions held by multiple people in the same
organization. As a result, the median average salary as well as the median base and maximum salaries
have also been included for each position in the report to further understanding of what organizations
should offer as potential salary ranges for positions within their organizations. In addition, salary
information has been broken down along percentiles, deciles, and quartiles. These figures convey what
percent of responses a particular value is greater than. The salary listed in the 99th percentile would be
higher than 99 percent of all other salaries listed. If there were exactly 100 responses for that particular
position, it would have been the 99th highest salary reported. With the same number of responses, the
salary listed in the 75th percentile was the 75th highest salary reported.

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 2

SURVEY RESPONDENTS PROFILE

Respondents to the 2018 Salary Survey included nonprofits organizations reflecting the diversity of the
sector in terms of revenue size, organization type/field of work, and staffing size.

Region
284 respondents provided information about their location, including:
• 150 organizations (53%) from the Central Maryland Region
• 64 organizations (23%) from the Suburban Washington Region
• 32 organizations (12%) from the Eastern Shore Region
• 20 organizations (7%) from the Western Maryland Region
• 18 organizations (6%) from the Southern Maryland Region

Revenue Size
The majority of respondents (60%) had gross revenues of less than $1 million. Over a quarter of
respondent organizations (27%) had annual gross revenues between $1 million to $4.9 million and 13
percent had budgets of over $5 million.

Figure 1.
Annual Gross Revenue Frequency Percent
Under $100,000 65 23%
$100,000-$249,999 38 13%
$250,000-$499,999 37 13%
$500,000-$999,999 33 11%
$1 million-$4.9 million 77 27%
$5.0 million-$9.9 million 15 5%
$10 million-$24.9 million 14 5%
$25 million+ 8 3%

Organization Type/Field of Work

Respondent organizations worked in a range of fields. Over one-third worked in Human Services (34%),
followed by Education (18%), Public/Societal Benefit (17%), and Arts, Culture, and Humanities (11%).
Please note that respondents were able to indicate multiple fields of work for their organizations.

Figure 2.
Organization Type/Field of Work Frequency Percent
Arts, Culture, and Humanities 31 11%
Education 51 18%
Environment and Animals 18 6%
Health 23 8%
Human Services 98 34%
International/Foreign Affairs 2 1%
Mutual/Membership Benefit 9 3%
Public/Societal Benefit 50 17%
Religion 4 1%

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 3

Number of Employees & Staff Size Changes
Respondents provided information about the composition of their staff, including information about the
number of board and volunteers serving in their organization, as well as information on changes in their
staff size. Almost thirty percent (29%) of the organizations surveyed had a staff of 2 to 5 employees, 27
percent had 6 to 20 employees and 29 percent had over 20 employees. See Appendix for additional
information on staff size distribution.

While thirty-two percent (32%) of respondent organizations increased their staff size in the last year, 45
percent of respondent organizations’ staff size remained the same, and 18 percent decreased their staff
size. In 2017, there were a total of 4,215 employee separations across all respondent organizations, 914
new positions added across all respondent organizations, and 283 positions eliminated across all
respondent organizations. There was an average of 15 employee separations across all respondent
organizations. There was an average of 3 new positions added across all respondent organizations.

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 4

REPORT EXCERPT:
CHIEF EXECUTIVE SALARY

It is important to note that this data is based upon the responses of the survey respondents, not data on
all nonprofits in the State of Maryland. Salaries tend to be higher in Central Maryland and Suburban
Maryland regions, where a majority of the survey respondents were located.

The median salary range reported for Chief Executives was between $72,000 and $92,000. Slightly over
two-thirds of organizations (68%) paid CEO salaries of $75,000 and higher, and 14 percent paid salaries
less than $50,000. CEO salaries had a positive correlation with organization revenue size (Figure 5).
CEOs of Human Services and Public/Societal Benefit organizations had the highest median salaries
(Figure 6). Please note that instructions on how to read the Salary Range Box Plots in Figures 1-10 are found in
the Appendix.

Responses 227
Number in Position 259
Percentiles:
10% $42,000
25% $61,000
50% - Median $85,000
75% $120,000
90% $154,000
95% $175,000
99% $285,000
Median Base Salary $72,000
Median Salary $85,000
Median Max Salary $92,000

Figure 3.

25 CHIEF EXECUTIVE SALARY RANGE

20
PERCENT

15

10

0
0 $25,000 $75,000 $125,000 $175,000 $225,000 $275,000
CHIEF EXECUTIVE SALARY

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 5

 Figure 4.

Percentile
Region Responses 10th 25 th 50th (Median) 75th 90th
Central
125 $41,000 $65,000 $90,000 $120,000 $160,000
Maryland
Eastern Shore 27 $46,000 $56,000 $75,000 $122,000 $133,000
Southern
13* $35,000 $49,000 $70,000 $105,000 $120,000
Maryland
Suburban
46 $42,000 $67,000 $94,500 $126,000 $160,000
Washington
Western
14* $50,000 $61,000 $77,500 $103,000 $175,000
Maryland
Total Average 225 $42,000 $61,000 $85,000 $120,000 $154,000
*Indicates regions with fewer than 20 responses. Please exercise caution when using these figures.

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 6

 Figure 5.

Percentile
Organization
Responses 10th 25th 50th (Median) 75th 90th
Revenue
Under
26 $20,000 $25,000 $52,500 $80,000 $123,000
$100,000
$100,000-
35 $27,000 $45,000 $60,000 $75,000 $105,000
$249,999
$250,000-
34 $48,000 $55,000 $70,000 $83,000 $98,000
$499,999
$500,000-
32 $61,000 $69,000 $84,000 $100,000 $110,000
$999,999
$1-$4.9
68 $70,000 $84,500 $107,500 $130,000 $155,000
million
$5.0-$9.9
14* $89,000 $103,000 $132,000 $150,000 $160,000
million
$10-$24.9
12* $120,000 $121,000 $143,500 $168,500 $175,000
million
$25 million+ 6* $175,000 $202,000 $252,500 $350,000 $350,000
Total Average 227 $42,000 $61,000 $85,000 $120,000 $154,000
*Indicates revenue categories with fewer than 20 responses. Please exercise caution when using these figures.

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 7

 Figure 6.

Percentile
50th
Organization Type Responses 10th 25th 75th 90th
(Median)
Arts, Culture, and
27 $32,000 $45,000 $72,000 $105,000 $150,000
Humanities
Education 33 $20,000 $46,000 $70,000 $102,000 $133,000
Environment and
15* $60,000 $70,000 $105,000 $142,000 $160,000
Animals
Health 21 $51,000 $60,000 $84,000 $116,000 $147,000
Human Services 78 $50,000 $63,000 $93,500 $125,000 $175,000
International and
2** NA NA NA NA NA
Foreign Policy
Public/Societal
41 $60,000 $70,000 $85,000 $103,000 $135,000
Benefit
Religion 3** NA NA NA NA NA
Mutual/Membership
6* $75,000 $80,000 $99,000 $160,000 $235,000
Benefit
Total
227 $42,000 $61,000 $85,000 $120,000 $154,000
Average

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 8

 *Indicates organization type categories with fewer than 20 responses. Please exercise caution when using these figures.
**Salary data for organizational categories with five or less responses are omitted from this table. Organizations
categorized as “Other” are excluded from this table.

Chief Executive Salaries by Gender & Race/Ethnicity

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of respondent organizations were led by a female CEO, while 31 percent were
led by a male. Likelihood of male executive leadership increased with organizational revenue (Table 3).
Seventy-one percent (71%) of organizations with revenues under $1 million were led by female CEOs, as
compared to 68 percent of organizations with revenues from $1 million to $9.9 million, and 53 percent
of organizations with revenues over $10 million had female CEOs. Only two of the reporting
organizations with revenues of $25 million or more were led by a female CEO. The median annual
salary for male CEOs was $96,000 and for female CEOs was $83,000, compared to $105,020 and
$89,500 respectively in 2016.

Figure 7.

Percentile
50th
Gender Responses 10th 25th 75th 90th
(Median)
Female 152 $42,000 $60,000 $83,000 $108,000 $144,000
Male 70 $42,000 $68,000 $96,000 $135,000 $169,500
Total
222 $42,000 $61,000 $85,000 $120,000 $150,000
Average
Four organizations responding with “Declined to Answer/Unknown” are excluded from this table.

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 9

Eighty-one percent (81%) of respondent organizations were led by a White CEO, 11 percent by a Black
CEO, 2 percent by CEOs who were two or more races, and one percent by an Asian CEO. The
likelihood of having a CEO who was Black, Asian, Hispanic or Latinx, or other race/ethnicity decreased
as organization revenue size increased. Thirty percent (30%) of organizations with revenues under $1
million had a CEO of color, however, only 9 percent of respondent organizations with revenues of $1
million or more were led by a CEO of color. White, male CEOs had the highest median salary among
CEOs of all genders and race/ethnicities (Figure 10). See Appendix for additional tables on CEO salary by
CEO race/ethnicity.

Figure 8. Organizational Revenue by Chief Executive Gender

Annual Gross Revenue Female Male Total
Under $100,000 27 17 44
$100,000-$249,999 26 9 35
$250,000-$499,999 26 8 34
$500,000-$999,999 23 8 31
$1 million-$4.9 million 47 19 66
$5.0 million-$9.9 million 8 7 15
$10 million-$24.9 million 8 4 12
$25 million+ 2 5 7
Annual Gross Revenue 167 77 244

Figure 9. Organizational Revenue by Chief Executive Race/Ethnicity

Annual Gross Revenue American Asian Black Hispanic/ White Other Two or Total
Indian Latinx More
Under $100,000 -- -- 10 -- 27 1 3 41
$100,000-$249,999 -- 1 6 -- 27 -- 1 35
$250,000-$499,999 -- 1 3 -- 29 -- 1 34
$500,000-$999,999 -- -- 1 1 29 -- -- 31
$1 million-$4.9 million 1 -- 2 -- 59 -- -- 62
$5.0 million-$9.9 million -- -- 3 -- 12 -- -- 15
$10 million-$24.9 million -- 1 1 -- 10 -- -- 12
$25 million+ -- -- 1 -- 6 -- -- 7
Annual Gross Revenue 1 3 27 1 199 1 5 237

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 10

 Figure 10.

Board Chair’s Gender, Race/Ethnicity & Chief Executive Salaries

Respondent organizations had an equal distribution of female and male Board Chairs or Board
Presidents (45%, respectively). However, similar to CEO gender, the likelihood of having a male Board
Chair increased with organizational revenue size (Figure 11). In addition, 88 percent of all respondent
organizations identified their Board Chair as White. Of the 89 respondent organizations with revenues
of $1 million or more, 85 percent had a White Board Chair (Figure 12). There were no Board Chairs of
color reported among organizations with revenues of $25 million or more. Salaries paid to CEOs were
highest among organizations with a Board Chair identified as White and male. See Appendix for
additional tables on Board Chair and race/ethnicity.

Figure 11. Organizational Revenue by Board Chair Gender

Annual Gross Revenue Female Male Total
Under $100,000 23 14 37
$100,000-$249,999 16 15 31
$250,000-$499,999 19 12 31
$500,000-$999,999 12 17 29
$1 million-$4.9 million 29 31 60
$5.0 million-$9.9 million 6 9 15
$10 million-$24.9 million 2 9 11
$25 million+ 2 3 5
Annual Gross Revenue 109 110 219

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 11

Figure 12. Organizational Revenue by Board Chair Race/Ethnicity
Annual Gross Revenue Asian Black Hispanic Pacific White Other Two or Total
Islander More
Under $100,000 -- 12 -- -- 25 1 -- 38
$100,000-$249,999 1 4 2 1 23 -- 2 33
$250,000-$499,999 1 4 2 -- 24 -- -- 31
$500,000-$999,999 -- 3 -- -- 24 -- 1 28
$1 million-$4.9 million 1 5 -- -- 51 -- -- 57
$5.0 million-$9.9 million -- 4 -- -- 11 -- -- 15
$10 million-$24.9 million -- 2 -- -- 8 1 -- 11
$25 million+ -- -- -- -- 6 -- -- 6
Annual Gross Revenue 3 34 4 1 172 2 3 219

Figure 13.

Percentile – Salary of CEO

50th
Gender Responses 10th 25th 75th 90th
(Median)
Female 93 $38,000 $60,000 $80,000 $103,000 $147,000
Male 101 $60,000 $70,000 $95,000 $126,000 $150,000
Total
194 $46,000 $65,000 $89,500 $120,000 $150,000
Average
Organizations responding with “Declined to Answer/Unknown” are excluded from this table.

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 12

Board Chair Founding Status & Chief Executive Salaries
A majority of respondent organizations (80%) reported having a Board Chair who was not a Founding
Chair. The likelihood of not having a Founding Board Chair increased with organizational revenue.
Thirty-eight percent (38%) of respondent organizations with revenues of under $100,000 had a
Founding Board Chair compared to 9 percent of respondent organizations with revenues of $1 million
or more. The median salary for CEOs in organizations in which the Board Chair was a Founding
member was 22 percent less than the median salary for CEOs in organizations where the Board Chair
was not a Founding member (Figure 15).

Figure 14. Organizational Revenue by Board Chair Founding Status

Annual Gross Revenue Yes No Total
Under $100,000 17 27 44
$100,000-$249,999 8 25 33
$250,000-$499,999 6 28 34
$500,000-$999,999 5 27 32
$1 million-$4.9 million 5 59 64
$5.0 million-$9.9 million 2 13 15
$10 million-$24.9 million 2 11 13
$25 million+ 0 6 6
Annual Gross Revenue 45 196 245

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 13

 Figure 15.

Percentile
Founding 50th
Responses 10th 25th 75th 90th
Chair? (Median)
No 181 $50,000 $70,000 $90,000 $122,000 $150,000
Yes 31 $30,000 $42,000 $70,000 $103,000 $150,000
Total
212 $46,000 $64,000 $88,500 $120,000 $150,000
Average
Organizations responding with “Declined to Answer/Unknown” are excluded from this table.

Maryland Nonprofits – 2018 Salary and Benefits Survey 14