2024 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report Shows Turnover Down, Salary Increases Up in Wake of Pandemic, Historic Inflation

WASHINGTON - The Council on Foundations today announced the release of the 2024 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report (GSB), an annual analysis of key human resources trends that includes the most comprehensive data on the composition and compensation of U.S. foundations.

Among other key findings, the 2024 GSB Report shows turnover and departure rates normalizing after sharp increases in 2023. The average turnover rate for all staff dropped from 13.1 percent in 2023 to 10.8 percent in 2024, about the same as the 11 percent average in 2022. Similarly, 53 percent of surveyed grantmakers reported staff departures for 2024, a drop from 57 percent in 2023 and closer to the 52 percent reported in 2022.

At the same time, median salary increases are projected to be ahead of inflation overall at 4.3 percent, down from the 5 percent median increase reported in both 2022 and 2023, but still ahead of the 3 percent to 4 percent rate that had been consistent over the past 15 years. However, that general trend does not include everyone: Wages for CEOs and program officers at private foundations, for example, did not keep pace with inflation. The same was true for community foundation staff, who earned 1.5 percent less in 2024 than they did in 2020 after adjusting for inflation. 

In addition, for the first time since the pandemic, no respondents said they received bonuses or perks because of the pandemic or work-from-home needs, and only a handful reported receiving bonuses due to inflation or the cost of living.

Staff diversity continued its upward momentum, with people of color accounting for 33.5 percent of full-time staff, up slightly from 32.7 percent in 2023 and 27 percent back in 2020. And 17.1 percent of foundation CEOs were people of color, up from 14.9 percent in 2023, 13.6 percent in 2022, and 12 percent in 2021.

Meanwhile, 62.6 percent of CEOs/presidents identified as women in 2024, up from 61.0 percent in 2023 and 61.8 percent in 2022. But the gender pay gap increased, with female CEOs making 83.5 percent of the median salary reported for male CEOs in 2024, down from 85.3 percent in 2023.

"The GSB data often reflects broader trends in society, including the adoption of remote work, the impact of inflation, and shifting demographics in leadership," said Kathleen Enright, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations. "However, whether it’s closing the gender pay gap or ensuring foundation leadership fully reflects the communities they serve, philanthropy can go beyond reflecting societal trends to leading them in order to pave a way forward that is better for everyone."

Free for Council members and available for nonmembers to purchase on the Council’s website, the GSB Report has been an essential resource informing grantmaker decision-making on budgets, salaries, and benchmarking personnel policies and practices since 1980. 

Organized by grantmaker type, foundation type, asset size, and geographic location, available GSB data includes: 

• Salary information on 11,380 full-time staff from 1,006 grantmaking organizations;
• Benchmarking data for 38 distinct positions;
• Increase, bonus, and severance eligibility and activity figures; 
• Staff counts for full and part-time staff by grantmaker type and asset size; 
• Gender, race/ethnicity, age, and disability data; 
• Staff tenure, departure, and turnover rates; 
• CEO-specific compensation, benefits, and discretionary grantmaking practices; and 
• Benefits practices and employer costs.

Respondents included community, corporate, operating, public, and private foundations (including family foundations). For more information and to access the report, visit the Council on Foundations website.

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About the Council on Foundations  
The Council on Foundations is a nonprofit membership association that serves as a guide for philanthropies as they advance the greater good. Building on our 75-year history, the Council supports over 900 member organizations in the United States and around the world to build trust in philanthropy, expand pathways to giving, engage broader perspectives, and co-create solutions that will lead to a better future for all. Learn more about the Council and become a member by visiting www.cof.org.