Reality of salaries in fundraising

Re: Six-figure pay at charities the cost of giving and getting, June 23. Kelly Egan’s recent column on fundraising salaries is somewhat misleading.

First, the headline talks about fundraising, but there’s no indication from the column that the top salaries at the spotlighted organizations are in fact fundraisers.

Second, the author would have us look at roughly five large organizations and conclude that all charities pay their fundraisers extravagantly.

The reality is quite different. The Association of Fundraising Professionals’ most recent salary survey found that the median fundraising salary in Canada was $72,000. And like you’d expect, salaries for senior professionals and for fundraisers at larger and more complex organizations — like those that were spotlighted in the column — were higher. Good? Yes. Extravagant? Hardly.

Fundraising is a critical part of any charity — just like program management, administration and technology.

It’s handled by skilled professionals who are paid a salary and help the charity achieve its mission and create impact in the community.

That impact comes through the philanthropic gifts that professional fundraisers bring into an organization.

If you want to learn more about costs of fundraising and how to make your gifts go further, I recommend AFP’s wise giving tips and other information. Daniel P. Brunette, president, AFP Ottawa Chapter