Development

Development is still number 1 in total survey respondents and in average salary across all disciplines. But look out, development: Advancement services salaries are catching up. Since the last survey, average salaries in development have risen about 8 percent, while advancement services' salaries grew about 12 percent.

Top areas of responsibility in development have changed since the last survey. Only two "top area" categories appear in both 2005 and 2008 data: major gifts and annual giving. Added to the list in 2008: donor relations/donor stewardship; prospect management; and volunteer relations. Dropped from the list since 2005: overall development management; campaign management; planned giving; and corporate and foundation relations. Those whose top area of responsibility is identified as major gifts are now at the top of the average salary rankings; those working in annual giving remain at the bottom (fig. 25). However, the average salary for those in annual giving rose a generous 22 percent over the last survey; average salaries for those in major gifts rose 10 percent.

Development managers who head a major department and report directly to the CEO or board also enjoyed an average salary increase of a little less than 22 percent since 2005, the largest increase reported among development managers. Those at the top ("I head an institutionally related foundation"; see fig. 26) saw an average salary increase of about 4 percent; salaries in the other categories increased by about 7 or 8 percent.

Longevity in the field pays off for development managers, as shown in figure 27.