Percentile distribution
Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $45k and $188k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $313k, roughly 3.1 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
10th
$19k
25th
$45k
50th · median
$100k
75th
$188k
90th
$313k
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $312,577 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $187,710 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $100,000 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $45,224 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $18,952 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How pay is structured
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 1,239 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (22% of the 5,611 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%.
$238,410
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
85.8% of total
$204,556
Bonus & incentive
4.1% of total
$9,775
Retirement & deferred
4.2% of total
$10,013
Benefits
4.9% of total
$11,682
Other reportable
1.5% of total
$3,576
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.
All figures are median total reported compensation · IRS Form 990, Schedule J
Geography
Pay varies by state.
District of Columbia pays $60,199 more than the median Executive Director compensation in philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking foundations nationally.
Top 10 states · Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations Executive Director median
01
District of Columbia
101 orgs
$160,199
→
02
New York
472 orgs
$129,566
→
03
Louisiana
52 orgs
$129,176
→
04
Massachusetts
180 orgs
$127,348
→
05
California
568 orgs
$122,688
→
06
Washington
142 orgs
$120,798
→
07
Connecticut
92 orgs
$112,646
→
08
New Jersey
89 orgs
$109,800
→
09
Colorado
153 orgs
$107,394
→
10
Illinois
235 orgs
$106,458
→
Top-paying organizations
The ten highest-paid philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking foundations Executive Directors by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Thomas Alva Edison Foundation | Washington, DC | $8,803,592 | 2023 |
| 02 | Led By Truth | Minneapolis, MN | $7,655,497 | 2023 |
| 03 | Mercyhealth Development Foundation Inc | Rockford, IL | $6,756,093 | 2023 |
| 04 | Mercy Health Corporation | Rockford, IL | $6,756,093 | 2023 |
| 05 | Greater Miami Jewish Federation Inc | Miami, FL | $2,393,839 | 2023 |
| 06 | 5c Corporation | New Haven, CT | $2,122,959 | 2023 |
| 07 | Big East Conference Inc | New York, NY | $1,823,954 | 2023 |
| 08 | Community Foundation Of Northwest Indiana Inc | Munster, IN | $1,700,670 | 2023 |
| 09 | Rf Catalytic Capital Inc | New York, NY | $1,598,756 | 2023 |
| 10 | Jefferson Scholars Foundation | Charlottesville, VA | $1,558,827 | 2023 |
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 philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking foundations nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.
Your organization's revenue
~$6M
annual revenue
$0$10M$100M$1B+
Median Executive Director comp · $1M – $10M
$126,506
2,280 organizations in this band
Percentile range for your band
25th percentile$73,373
50th percentile$126,506
75th percentile$187,229
Questions
{sector} {role} pay, answered
- How much does a Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations nonprofit Executive Director make?
- The median total compensation for a Executive Director at a philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking foundations nonprofit is $100,000, based on 5,611 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $45,224 and $187,710.
- What is the salary range for a Executive Director in Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations nonprofits?
- Pay ranges from $45,224 at the 25th percentile to $187,710 at the 75th and $312,577 at the 90th. The spread reflects differences in organization size, budget, and region within the sector.
- Is this Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations compensation data reliable?
- Yes. It comes from IRS Form 990 filings, legal documents filed under penalty of perjury, not self-reported surveys. Figures cover 5,611 philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking foundations nonprofits reporting a Executive Director.
- Why does Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations nonprofit Executive Director pay differ from other sectors?
- Compensation reflects the typical organization size, revenue, and operating complexity of each sector. Larger, better-funded philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking foundations organizations pull the upper percentiles higher, while smaller ones anchor the lower end.
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