2023 Salary Data for Southeast Grantmakers Now Available
Each year, Philanthropy Southeast partners with the Council on Foundations (COF) to produce salary benchmarking reports for foundation staff and CEOs in the Southeast. These reports include the average, median, minimum and maximum salaries for a range of 38 staff positions at all levels in foundations based in the 11 Southeast states and U.S. Caribbean territories. Salary tables are organized by both grantmaker type and asset size to provide quick access to benchmarking data for foundations of all shapes and sizes.
Salary information for 2023 is drawn from data on more than 10,000 full-time paid staff at nearly 1,000 grantmaking organizations. The South region accounted for approximately 26 percent of all respondents. We wish to thank all Philanthropy Southeast member organizations that responded to the 2023 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Survey earlier this year, providing the valuable benchmarking data that informs these reports.
The 2023 salary tables for Southeast foundations are available exclusively to Philanthropy Southeast members under the For Members section of our website – or you can click this link to access them directly (login required).
What did this year’s survey reveal? Here are some of the key findings:
- Salaries across all positions rose an average of 5.49 percent in 2023, an increase from 3 percent in 2022 but still well behind peak inflation.
- The mean turnover rate for participating foundations was 13.1 percent, up from 11 percent the previous year. Reported turnover was particularly high for administrative staff at 37.5 percent.
- For the first time, the GSB asked about sabbaticals as a benefit for all staff and not just executives. Nine percent of respondents reported offering sabbaticals to full-time staff.
New for 2023, salary and demographic data was collected for five additional positions: manager of accounting, manager of communications, technology manager, director of administration/operations, and director of grants management. Three positions – chief investment officer, librarian, and receptionist – were dropped after receiving few responses in the past few years. As a result of these changes, the groupings of all positions were revised slightly for this year’s report.
As a reminder, organizations that participated in the 2023 GSB Survey can download the full national report from COF’s Benchmark Central and also access the benchmarking tool to run salary, benefits, and demographics comparisons by asset size, grants, geographic location, and grantmaker type.
In addition to salary figures, the national GSB Report includes data on benefits and incentive compensation for foundation employees, staff tenure and turnover rates, and CEO-specific compensation practices. Learn more about the 2023 GSB Report here.
If your organization is interested in participating in next year’s study, look for the next GSB Survey to open in Q1 2024.
