What does a nonprofit Senior Vice President do?
A senior vice president is a senior executive who leads a major function such as finance, programs, development or operations, usually reporting to the top executive or an executive vice president. The title is most common at larger nonprofits with several layers of leadership. This page covers the titles Senior Vice President and SVP.
These figures come from the pay each organization most recently reported to the IRS on its annual return, which tax-exempt organizations sign under penalty of perjury. Each organization counts once, using its latest reported pay. Nothing here is modeled, estimated, or projected.
Why nonprofit Senior Vice President pay varies
Organization size explains most of the difference. A Senior Vice President at a small community nonprofit and one at a large health system or university do very different jobs, and their pay differs accordingly. In this data, the median Senior Vice President at a nonprofit with revenue under $1M earns $39k, while at nonprofits with revenue over $1B the median rises to $694k.
Sector and location come next. Hospitals, universities, and national foundations tend to pay more than community nonprofits of similar headcount, and high cost-of-living metros pay more than rural areas. The state, size, and sector breakdowns on this page show the numbers for each. Among states with enough organizations to compare, District of Columbia reports the highest median nonprofit Senior Vice President pay at $305,216.
How does Senior Vice President pay scale with org size?
Median pay by nonprofit annual revenue. The shaded area shows the 25th to 75th percentile for senior vice presidents, and the dashed lines show the other roles charted for comparison. Hover for details.
How does Senior Vice President pay compare to other roles?
Median pay for related nonprofit roles.
Where are nonprofit Senior Vice President positions concentrated?
Cities with the most nonprofits that pay a Senior Vice President.
Senior Vice President Pay by State
States with the highest median pay for nonprofit senior vice presidents.
Senior Vice President Pay by Organization Size
Median Senior Vice President pay at nonprofits grouped by annual revenue.
Senior Vice President Pay by Sector
Median Senior Vice President pay across nonprofit sectors with enough organizations to compare.
Compare Senior Vice President pay
Enter a Senior Vice President pay package to see how it ranks against other nonprofit senior vice presidents nationally. We will also email you a detailed breakdown and set up a free account.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a nonprofit Senior Vice President make?
- The median pay for a nonprofit senior vice president is $223,949, based on 3,859 organizations nationwide. The middle half earn between $121,095 and $368,124, and the best-paid one in ten make $626,278 or more. Every number here is total pay: salary plus bonus and other reportable pay, not base salary alone.
- How does nonprofit Senior Vice President pay change with organization size?
- Pay rises with the size of the organization. At nonprofits with revenue under $1M, the median is $39,017. At nonprofits with revenue over $1B, it is $694,332.
- Why does organization budget matter so much for Senior Vice President 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 Senior Vice President 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.
- Which states pay nonprofit senior vice presidents the most?
- District of Columbia leads with a median of $305,216, followed by Virginia at $285,104 and Arizona at $268,448. Higher-paying states generally have higher costs of living and larger concentrations of well-funded nonprofits.
- How is this data different from pay surveys?
- Most pay data online comes from self-reported surveys or job posting estimates. This data comes from the pay nonprofits report to the IRS on annual returns, which are legal documents filed under penalty of perjury. Every tax-exempt organization that files a full annual return must report pay for its officers, directors, trustees, and key employees, and for its highest-paid employees above a threshold. The result is a more complete and reliable dataset than voluntary survey responses.
- How does Senior Vice President pay compare to other nonprofit roles?
- The median nonprofit Senior Vice President earns $223,949. Related roles: Executive Vice President at $165,857, COO at $141,083, CFO at $87,592. 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 Senior Vice President?
- Compare your total pay to the range. The median nonprofit Senior Vice President earns $223,949, with the middle half between $121,095 and $368,124. If your pay sits below $121,095, you are in the bottom quarter for the role nationally and may be underpaid; if it is above $368,124, 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.