Want to learn more about how to put the 2023 Canadian Nonprofit Sector Salary & Benefits Report to work at your organization and in your career? Register for our free webinar on September 14!
Editor’s Note: Click here to download the Report’s Executive Summary and Table of Contents.
Curious about how nonprofit salaries and benefits are changing as we begin to emerge from the pandemic while dealing with rising inflation? New data from the 2023 CharityVillage Canadian Nonprofit Sector Salary & Benefits Report suggests that, for most job levels, cash compensation has continued to increase across the sector over the past year, despite the ongoing economic challenges faced by many nonprofit organizations.
To better understand the current compensation trends in Canada’s nonprofit sector, we surveyed more than 1,300 organizations representing close to 18,000 individual employees from nonprofits and charities across Canada. Participation in this year’s survey was record-breaking and the results are gathered in our 2023 salary and benefits report, now available for online purchase.
The findings are helpful for both sides of the hiring equation: Hiring managers can compare their compensation offerings with other organizations of similar size, sector and location, while individuals can research salary and benefits packages by similar criteria to confidently discuss salary expectations with current and potential employers.
Information in the report is broken out across six different job levels:
- Chief Executive
- Senior Executive
- Senior Management
- Management/Supervisory Staff
- Functional & Program Staff
- Support Staff.
Cash compensation is also detailed by geographic region, profession, and organization size, type, and focus. The report also includes extensive information on incentive plans and non-cash benefits programs.
Here are some highlights from the 2023 edition:
Cash compensation continues to grow across most nonprofit job levels
Cash compensation has increased at all levels since the last study was completed in 2022, except for functional and program staff. Whereas functional and program staff saw the biggest increases in the 2022 report, the largest gains reported in the 2023 report were among Chief Executives, followed by senior management (8.6%) and management/supervisory level staff (7.5%).
What does this mean in terms of average salaries for each job level? Our data suggests that the 2023 average cash compensation for each nonprofit job level are as follows:
- Chief Executives – $111,632
- Senior Executives – $111,175
- Senior Management – $92,435
- Management/Supervisory Staff – $68,661
- Functional & Program Staff – $47,803
- Support Staff – $45,185
These averages are based on aggregated national data and may fluctuate significantly depending on organization size, focus, and location. Detailed breakdowns of average cash compensation based on these additional factors can be found within the report.
Average compensation is generally tied to the organization’s focus
Organizational focus refers to the area or sector in which the nonprofit operates. The most common organizational focus among the survey participants was social services (23%), followed by health (11%), children/family (10%) and community benefit (10%), arts and culture (9%), and education (6%).
Cash compensation at all levels except senior executives is highest in organizations with a focus on health, continuing a trend from previous studies. For senior executives (level 2), organizations focused on education offer the highest cash compensation. For non-management positions, health organizations remain amongst those offering highest cash compensation.
GTA and Ottawa fighting for top spot for the highest cash compensation
In our last survey, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) had once again jumped ahead of Ottawa as the market leader with the highest compensation for staff across all levels, with the exception of support staff, where Alberta ranked first. The 2023 report sees a continued back-and-forth between these two major Canadian cities.
The highest pay for Chief Executives (level 1) by a significant margin is found in the GTA. Compensation is also highest in the GTA for support staff, however, at all other levels, the highest pay is found in Ottawa.
Majority of organizations offer some benefits to some staff
Over four in five (85%) participating organizations provide health benefits to at least one level of staff and 58% of participating organizations offer retirement benefits to at least some of their employees. This represents a small increase from 2022 data.
Primary health benefits include prescription drug plans, extended health care/major medical insurance, dental plans, benefit coverage for family & dependents, alternative therapy insurance, life insurance, vision care, employee assistance programs (EAP) and accidental death and dismemberment.
Both employees and organizations invest in education
The vast majority of nonprofit staff have some form of post-secondary education. The level of education continues to increase with seniority – the higher the management level, the higher the likelihood of having post-graduate and Masters-level education. As seen in past studies, higher education generally correlates to higher compensation, particularly if the degree/diploma is relevant to the job. Just over three-quarters (78%) of organizations provide education benefits to at least some staff, and between 77% and 86% of nonprofit management staff receive education benefits.
Gender pay gap continues, especially at the Chief Executive level – but has lessened since the last report
Consistent with past studies, results continue to show that men who work in Chief Executive positions in the nonprofit sector earn more on average than women at the same level. However, this year’s results show a much smaller gap than in previous years. Average compensation at the top position is 9% higher among men in the 2023 study compared to a difference of 17% to 26% in the previous four studies going back to 2017. Future studies will be necessary to determine if this is a true market shift. The gap at other management levels ranges from 8% to 14%, while at the non-management levels it is 6% to 9%.
We know that accurate salary information specific to the nonprofit sector is vital to workforce planning in your organization and in your career. In a constantly evolving labour market, such data is more critical than ever, and we hope you find this year’s report useful.
Purchase your copy of the 2023 Canadian Nonprofit Sector Salary & Benefits Study today!
