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Updated through 2024NTEE R · Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy

Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy nonprofitDevelopment Director salaries

Based on 94 organizations from 2022 – 2024. Each org counted once at its most recent filing. Sourced directly from IRS Form 990, Schedule J.

Median total compensation
$135,722
The median civil rights, social action & advocacy development director earns $135,722 in total reported compensation.
Median across all 94 civil rights, social action & advocacy nonprofits filing a Form 990, from the smallest to the largest
25th pct
$103k
75th pct
$191k
90th pct
$238k
94 organizations · 2022 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $103k and $191k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $238k, roughly 1.8 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$238,067Top 10% of earners
75th$190,99825% earn more than this
50th · median$135,722The typical executive
25th$102,76925% earn less than this
10th$20,79310% of executives earn less than this
How pay is structured

How the package is built.

The typical pay structure across 45 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (48% of the 94 orgs in this slice). Each share is the average across orgs of the fraction of total comp that goes to this component, so the bar fills 100%.

$191,149
typical total · 2024
Median total compensation in the subset. The dollar amounts below show what each share works out to on a package this size.
86%
Base salary
86.2% of total
$164,770
Bonus & incentive
1.4% of total
$2,676
Retirement & deferred
3.6% of total
$6,881
Benefits
7.3% of total
$13,954
Other reportable
0.2% of total
$382
Shares are averaged across organizations, so they sum to ~100%. Dollar amounts are illustrative (share% of typical total) and don't reflect any specific org.
How this compares

The number in context.

Every row links to its own dedicated benchmark page.

Development DirectorThis page
$135,722
Executive Director
$94,046
CFO
$111,835
COO
$116,390

All figures are median total reported compensation · IRS Form 990, Schedule J

Geography

Pay varies by state.

State-level medians for Development Directors in civil rights, social action & advocacy, ranked by typical pay.

Top 10 states · Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy Development Director median
Top-paying organizations

The ten highest-paid civil rights, social action & advocacy Development Directors by filing.

#OrganizationLocationTotal compensationFiling year
01American Civil Liberties Union Foundation IncNew York, NY$589,0822024
02American Jewish CommitteeNew York, NY$434,4162023
03Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund IncNew York, NY$427,8982024
04Naacp Legal Defense & Educ Fund IncNew York, NY$392,4962023
05Jewish Community Relations Council Of New York IncNew York, NY$329,3162023
06Trevor Project IncWest Hollywood, CA$308,4922023
07The Center For Reproductive Rights IncNew York, NY$293,9142023
08Committee To Protect Journalists IncNew York, NY$273,0032024
09Public Rights ProjectOakland, CA$249,6922024
10New York Civil Liberties Union FoundationNew York, NY$238,4802023

Total includes base, bonus, other reportable, and deferred/retirement compensation per Schedule J.

Compare your organization

What does a $X org pay?

Adjust the slider to your organization's revenue. The median Development Director compensation for civil rights, social action & advocacy nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.

Your organization's revenue
~$6M
annual revenue
$0$10M$100M$1B+
Median Development Director comp · $1M – $10M
$123,842
61 organizations in this band
Percentile range for your band
25th percentile$71,828
50th percentile$123,842
75th percentile$183,286
Questions

{sector} {role} pay, answered

How much does a Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy nonprofit Development Director make?
The median total compensation for a Development Director at a civil rights, social action & advocacy nonprofit is $135,722, based on 94 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $102,769 and $190,998.
What is the salary range for a Development Director in Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy nonprofits?
Pay ranges from $102,769 at the 25th percentile to $190,998 at the 75th and $238,067 at the 90th. The spread reflects differences in organization size, budget, and region within the sector.
Is this Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy compensation data reliable?
Yes. It comes from IRS Form 990 filings, legal documents filed under penalty of perjury, not self-reported surveys. Figures cover 94 civil rights, social action & advocacy nonprofits reporting a Development Director.
Why does Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy nonprofit Development Director pay differ from other sectors?
Compensation reflects the typical organization size, revenue, and operating complexity of each sector. Larger, better-funded civil rights, social action & advocacy organizations pull the upper percentiles higher, while smaller ones anchor the lower end.