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Survey results reveal that those who work for environmental groups
with budgets under $500,000 are especially vulnerable. In fact, the
survey shows that these employees are least likely to receive
employer-paid health care benefits, retirement plans (regardless of
whether the employer contributes to the plan), as well as
sabbaticals and family leave.
Not only are benefits linked to budget size, but, not
surprisingly, so are salaries. For example, Executive Directors,
Program Managers, and Development Directors of smaller organizations
consistently make $10,000 to $15,000 less than their colleagues
working in organizations with budgets over $1,000,000.
Similar trends can be found in our regional analysis of the
results. Of the American groups, those located in the Southwest were
the most likely to have laid-off employees or decreased their
benefits in the last year. Similarly, this region had the highest
number of employees without access to employer sponsored health
insurance or retirement plans.
These trends parallel the results of another recent salary study.
The NonProfit Times wrote in their 2004 survey report that “the pain
of a dwindling paycheck will touch nonprofit executives not already
secure in a position as organizations fill open spots at lower
salaries this year than they might have previously paid.”
When compared to the The NonProfit Times report, our results
suggest that salaries for leaders of environmental groups lag behind
those for other types of nonprofits. For instance, the Times survey
indicates that Executive Directors of nonprofits with budgets
between $500,000 and $1,000,000 earn $63,903. In contrast, our
results show that the median salary for those leading groups with
budgets between $500,000 and $1,000,000 is $55,000 and that this
amount decreases as the organization’s budget lessens.
These findings mirror those in our earlier study of Executive
Directors, entitled “Stressed
but Steadfast.” In that 2002 publication we reported that
executive directors of smaller organizations
…have less assistance from other staff, receive lower
salaries, and more often report feeling stressed on the job,
particularly by the organization’s fundraising needs.
Just as in “Stressed but Steadfast,” our 2004 salary data also
show notable differences between salaries of men and women. “We’re
seeing women in all areas, but especially those who serve as key
leaders – Executive Directors, Development Directors, and Program
Managers – making less money than men in similar positions” says
Dyan Oldenburg, Executive Director of TREC.
Our purpose in producing this salary report is to provide those
working in the environmental field with up-to-date and reliable wage
and benefit information. We realize that the survey results raise
important and interesting questions concerning the role of gender in
salaries as well as the extent of lay-offs in the environmental
sector. We intend to explore these and other issues more fully in
two forthcoming papers.
Based upon the results presented in this report, we urge boards
and executive directors to advocate and plan for salary and benefit
enhancements in the coming years. We know that our colleagues are
doing the best they can in these difficult economic times. Only by
establishing and following a long-range plan for salary and benefit
enhancement will environmental organizations be able to secure and
retain the highest quality employees.
2004 Salary
Report (PDF) - the full report
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Environmental
organizations throughout the West still feel the effects of a
struggling economy according to the results of our Salary and
Benefits Survey. In fact, 35 percent of the 127 organizations
completing the survey indicated that they laid-off employees at some
point in 2003. At the same time, nearly 15 percent stated that they
decreased their employees’ benefits-package.
