What Under $1M in revenue means for CIO pay
Nonprofits reporting under $1M in annual revenue are the smallest organizations in the dataset: local charities, single-program groups, and early-stage nonprofits. A CIO here typically wears several hats, and compensation reflects the tighter budget.
Across all nonprofit CIOs nationally, the median is $176,634. At organizations with under $1M in revenue, CIOs earn about $146,634 less than that.
CIO pay across organization sizes
How median CIO compensation scales with nonprofit revenue. Each size band is its own benchmark.
| Org revenue | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $11,250 | $30,000 | $39,193 | $124,135 | 145 |
| $1M–$10M | $71,840 | $134,169 | $166,091 | $218,176 | 492 |
| $10M–$100M | $131,859 | $166,891 | $222,995 | $302,421 | 1,792 |
| $100M–$500M | $197,800 | $275,622 | $401,477 | $587,710 | 679 |
| $500M–$1B | $281,387 | $422,973 | $591,379 | $816,814 | 134 |
| Over $1B | $286,279 | $536,720 | $848,420 | $1,360,188 | 160 |
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a nonprofit CIO at Under $1M organizations make?
- The median total compensation is $30,000, based on 145 IRS Form 990 filings from nonprofits with under $1M in annual revenue. The middle range runs from $11,250 to $39,193.
- Why does organization size affect CIO pay so much?
- Larger nonprofits handle bigger budgets, larger teams, and more complex operations, so the CIO role scales with them. Comparing pay within the same revenue band, rather than across all sizes, gives a far more accurate benchmark.
- What is the full pay range for a CIO at Under $1M organizations?
- The 25th percentile is $11,250, the median is $30,000, the 75th is $39,193, and the 90th percentile reaches $124,135. Where a specific role lands depends on region, tenure, and how complex the organization is.
- How does this compare to the national CIO median?
- The national median across all nonprofit sizes is $176,634. Filtering to organizations with under $1M in revenue isolates the size effect, which is one of the strongest drivers of nonprofit compensation.