Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $45k and $185k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $314k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $314,462 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $184,938 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $98,476 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $45,301 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $18,729 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 1,162 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (25% of the 4,674 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%.
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
Pay varies by state.
District of Columbia pays $60,047 more than the median Executive Director compensation in philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking foundations nationally.
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 | Rf Catalytic Capital Inc | New York, NY | $1,598,756 | 2023 |
| 04 | Jefferson Scholars Foundation | Charlottesville, VA | $1,558,827 | 2023 |
| 05 | Walton Family Foundation Inc | Bentonville, AR | $1,303,952 | 2023 |
| 06 | Casey Family Programs | Seattle, WA | $1,253,500 | 2023 |
| 07 | Jack Joseph & Morton Mandel Foundation | Cleveland, OH | $1,250,000 | 2023 |
| 08 | The Pew Charitable Trusts | Washington, DC | $1,240,172 | 2023 |
| 09 | Silicon Valley Community Foundation | Mountain View, CA | $1,197,190 | 2023 |
| 10 | Hebrew Senior Life Inc | Boston, MA | $1,111,402 | 2023 |
Total includes base, bonus, other reportable, and deferred/retirement compensation per Schedule J.
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.