While the median compensation for nonprofit executives grew steadily between 2015 and 2019, the gender gap for female CEOs and executive directors remained, a report from Candid finds.

Based on data from the tax filings of more than a hundred and one thousand 501(c) organizations for fiscal year 2019, the 2021 Nonprofit Compensation Report (sample report, 20 pages, PDF) found that median compensation across fourteen categories of executive positions increased from $106,000 in 2015 to $121,000 in 2019, although median compensation for CEOs and executive directors declined between 2018 and 2019 except among the largest and smallest organizations — those with budgets of at least $50 million and those with budgets of $250,000 or less. While the gender gap in CEO/ED compensation has been slowly narrowing, with all budget categories showing a reduction in the pay gap since 2005, in 2019 the median compensation of female CEOs remained lower than that of male CEOs across all budget sizes. Women represented the majority of CEOs/EDs at smaller organizations with budgets of $2.5 million or less, and the gender gap was narrower at smaller organizations than at larger ones: Women CEOs/EDs were paid 94 cents for every dollar male CEOs/EDs made at nonprofits with budgets of $250,000 or less, compared with 80 cents at those with budgets of at least $50 million.

The study also found that, as in previous years, science and technology-related research institutions and services paid the highest overall median executive compensation ($196,000), followed by health organizations ($189,000) and medical research organizations ($188,000), while religious institutions ($65,000), animal-related organizations ($86,000), and arts organizations ($92,000) continued to pay the lowest. In terms of geographic region, 501(c)(3) organizations in the Northeast paid the highest median executive compensation in 2019 ($137,000), with organizations in the District of Columbia reporting the highest median ($174,000), followed by those in New York ($152,000) and Massachusetts ($143,000).

"Nonprofits rely on Candid's Nonprofit Compensation Report for both IRS compliance and executive compensation benchmarking to ensure they are offering competitive salaries to attract and retain top talent," said Candid senior data services analyst Jenna Allen. "They also look to our report to surface continuing and emerging trends, such as the pay gap between men and women. Candid's 2021 report shows that while we see progress in this area, the gap persists with female CEOs making less than their male [counterparts] at organizations of all sizes."

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