Almost 30% of nonprofit CEOs had 2009 pay cuts

Survey found despite cuts the median nonprofit top exec salary increase was 7%

According to a Chronicle of Philanthropy survey, almost three in 10 of the leaders of the nation's biggest charities and foundations took pay cuts in the past year as donations dropped and endowments shrank.

Some 57 charities and foundations – 29 percent of the 195 groups that responded to the question – told The Chronicle that their top executive had taken a pay cut this year due to the recession, declined raises or bonuses, or had his or her pay frozen. The median pay cut was 10 percent.

The Chronicle's study of compensation at 325 large nonprofit organizations found the cuts came as earnings of nonprofit leaders still grew a median of 7 percent last year. That means half of the people in the survey got bigger raises while half got smaller or had a cut.

“The increases that nonprofit leaders received in 2008 are especially noteworthy considering the sharp drop in pay earned by for-profit executives,” the publication reported. Another survey conducted for The New York Times studied for-profit executive pay at the 200 largest companies and found total compensation dropped by a median of 9 percent in the 2008 fiscal year.

However, the Chronicle noted, increasing reliance by boards on salary surveys produced by compensation experts may curb raises in 2009 and future years. Click here to read the complete article on the compensation survey: http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v21/i22/22000107.htm.