What does a nonprofit Program Officer do?
A program officer works on the program side of a nonprofit, most often at a foundation or other grantmaker, where the job is to find, evaluate and follow the grants in a particular area. At other organizations the title describes a staff member who manages part of a program. This page covers the titles Program Officer and Programs Officer.
This is a modeled range, not a list of reported pay. It is built from what organizations pay this role compared with the rest of their staff, using what nonprofits reported to the IRS, and applied to nonprofits nationwide.
Why nonprofit Program Officer pay varies
Organization size explains most of the difference. A Program Officer at a small community nonprofit and one at a large health system or university do very different jobs, and their pay differs accordingly. Our estimate for Program Officer pay at a nonprofit with revenue $1M to $10M is $68k, and at nonprofits with revenue $10M to $100M it is $113k.
Sector and location matter too, but pay at this level is not reported state by state, so this page shows one national range with a breakdown by organization size.
How does Program Officer pay compare to other roles?
Median pay for related nonprofit roles.
Program Officer Pay by Organization Size
Typical Program Officer pay at nonprofits grouped by annual revenue, modeled nationwide.
Some sizes are left out because there is not enough reported pay to model them.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a nonprofit Program Officer make?
- The typical pay for a nonprofit program officer is $70,031, and the middle half earn between $51,069 and $100,306. The range is built from what 121 organizations pay this role compared with the rest of their staff, nationwide.
- How does nonprofit Program Officer pay change with organization size?
- Pay rises with the size of the organization. Our estimate is $67,680 at nonprofits with revenue $1M to $10M and $112,930 at nonprofits with revenue $10M to $100M.
- Why does organization budget matter so much for Program Officer pay?
- Larger nonprofits handle more complex finances, larger teams, and greater regulatory requirements, so the same role is a bigger job at a large organization. A Program Officer at a large health system or university has a fundamentally different job than one at a small community nonprofit. Reported pay reflects this: it scales with organizational complexity, not just revenue. Geographic cost of living and sector also play significant roles.
- Why is the pay range for a nonprofit Program Officer national?
- Pay at this level is not reported state by state, so the range covers nonprofits nationwide.
- How is this data different from pay surveys?
- Most pay data online comes from self-reported surveys or job posting estimates. This range is built from the pay nonprofits report to the IRS, compared with the rest of their staff, so it rests on legal documents filed under penalty of perjury rather than on voluntary survey responses.
- How does Program Officer pay compare to other nonprofit roles?
- The typical nonprofit Program Officer earns $70,031. Related roles: Program Manager at $71,090, Chief Program Officer at $161,217, Department Director at $96,404. Differences reflect scope of responsibility, market demand, and typical organization size for each role.
- How do I know if I'm underpaid as a nonprofit Program Officer?
- Compare your total pay to the range. The typical nonprofit Program Officer earns $70,031, with the middle half between $51,069 and $100,306. If your pay sits below $51,069, you are in the bottom quarter for the role nationally and may be underpaid; if it is above $100,306, you are in the top quarter. Organization size and location move these numbers a lot, so benchmark against nonprofits of similar budget and region before drawing conclusions.