Fundraiser salaries increase just 1% overall but big swings in some categories, survey shows
Melanie May | 29 January 2019 | News
Fundraiser salaries increased by just 1% overall last year but some categories experienced big swings with events seeing the largest rise – 8.5% overall – according to Kage Partnership’s annual Fundraising Salary Survey.
Demand still outstrips supply for fundraisers with those at Manager level the most sought after, according to the survey, which is based on data on fundraising vacancies in 141 charities that were registered with Kage Partnership over a 12-month period from January-December 2018. The figures represent advertised salaries for jobs based in London and the South East.
Salary increases were seen in seven of the 14 categories, and events salaries across Officer and Manager levels showing the largest increases, with an average increase of 8.5%. Officer level roles saw the largest swings in average salary levels while Manager level roles saw a slightly more increases than this level. However overall, salaries only increased by just over 1% in the past year – a slight decrease on the previous year.
The starting point of the Junior salary range increased by 2% on average, rising to £21,500, with an average of £23.5k.
At Officer / Senior/ Senior Executive role level, average salaries ranged from £29k – £31k, ranging from £24k-£35k for a Community / Regional Fundraiser up to a top salary of 39.5k for a Major Donor Fundraiser.
Average salaries for Manager level roles ranged from £38k to £42.5k, with starting points of £30k for Trust Fundraising Managers, Major Donor Fundraising Managers and Direct Marketing Managers and rising to a high of £60k in some categories. There is however some overlap between Officer / Executive level posts and Manager posts and for the purposes of the survey, jobs listed under the heading of Manager include those with middle management responsibilities, managers of departments and posts that involve staff responsibility.
Senior roles of Director and Head of Fundraising in organisations with an income under £5m saw average salaries reach £55.5k, ranging from £43-77k.
In the survey, Liz Grimes, Kage Partnership comments:
“The NfP sector has taken a bit of a battering over the last few years with fundraising a primary target. The pressure on fundraising recruiters to get it right is immense. There is less appetite for taking risks, with some recruiters instead opting for ‘tried and tested’ rather than those who could be game changers.
“In what could be an increasingly unpredictable economic climate in the months and years ahead, the need to keep an open mind and employ creativity in relation to fundraising recruitment could be vital to future fundraising success. Fundraisers with proven experience and tangible achievements to match are in demand and still hold the cards but, even so, are having to jump through hoops to secure jobs.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.