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

Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy nonprofitExecutive Director salaries

Based on 1,399 organizations from 2021 – 2024. Each org counted once at its most recent filing. Sourced directly from IRS Form 990, Schedule J.

Median total compensation
$95,785
The median civil rights, social action & advocacy executive director earns $95,785 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$50k
75th pct
$159k
90th pct
$257k
1,399 organizations · 2021 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $50k and $159k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $257k, roughly 2.7 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$256,810Top 10% of earners
75th$159,34925% earn more than this
50th · median$95,785The typical executive
25th$50,00025% earn less than this
10th$20,47110% of executives earn less than this
How pay is structured

How the package is built.

The typical pay structure across 431 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (31% of the 1,399 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%.

$207,661
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.
87%
Base salary
87.4% of total
$181,496
Bonus & incentive
2.3% of total
$4,776
Retirement & deferred
2.5% of total
$5,192
Benefits
4.4% of total
$9,137
Other reportable
1.0% of total
$2,077
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.

Executive DirectorThis page
$95,785
CFO
$112,905
COO
$119,996
Development Director
$137,218

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

Geography

Pay varies by state.

District of Columbia pays $58,715 more than the median Executive Director compensation in civil rights, social action & advocacy nationally.

Top-paying organizations

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

#OrganizationLocationTotal compensationFiling year
01AarpWashington, DC$2,871,8202024
02Oneten Coalition IncMontclair, NJ$1,038,7342023
03Naacp Empowerment Programs IncBaltimore, MD$890,9182024
04National Rifle Association Of AmericaFairfax, VA$860,2532023
05American Jewish CommitteeNew York, NY$856,1572023
06Lambda Legal Defense & Education FundNew York, NY$831,6022024
07Institute For JusticeArlington, VA$812,4592023
08Institute For Healthcare ImprovementBoston, MA$757,3302023
09Human Rights Campaign IncWashington, DC$743,1722023
10Trevor Project IncWest Hollywood, CA$743,0662023

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 Executive Director compensation for civil rights, social action & advocacy nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.

Your organization's revenue
$1M or less
annual revenue
$0$10M$100M$1B+
Median Executive Director comp · Under $1M
$63,026
748 organizations in this band
Percentile range for your band
25th percentile$36,555
50th percentile$63,026
75th percentile$93,278