2012 Nonprofit Compensation Survey Released
May 15th, 2013
For nonprofits as for all organizations, attracting, retaining, developing, and motivating talented staff is essential for accomplishing the organizational mission and maximizing its impact. In any economic environment, nonprofits are challenged to design total compensation packages that enable them to “get the right people on the bus,” as management expert Jim Collins puts it, and to compete for staff with the government and for profit sectors.
In October of 2012, the CNP invited regional nonprofits to participate in a statewide compensation study, designed to collect, analyze, and disseminate useful information about nonprofit salaries and benefits in Tennessee and surrounding counties, noting differences in organizations’ size, field of work, and location. Compiled by the accounting firm Watkins Uiberall in partnership with two other regional nonprofit support centers in Nashville and Memphis, the recently published 2012 Nonprofit Compensation Study provides a detailed look at compensation in the nonprofit sector in Tennessee and surrounding areas, together with comparative national salary data.
In addition to salary information for a wide range of positions, some additional findings include:
- 34.4% of respondents anticipated raises of 3-4% in 2012; 26.7% anticipated raises of 1-2%; and 28.9% did not anticipate offering any raises
- Only 8.2% of organizations reported decreasing salaries since the recession began
- 31.6% of organizations offer a bonus program. Of these organizations, 66.3% offer the program for all employees, while 16.8% reserve it for senior management and 28.4% for the CEO/executive director.
- 76.2% of respondents offer health insurance to employees. Likelihood of offering health insurance increases with organizational budget, with 100% of large organizations, 82.1% of medium-sized organizations, and 30.4% of small organizations offering insurance.
- The majority of organizations offer some type of retirement plan for employees. The most popular are 401(k) plans, offered by 27.3% of respondents, and 403(b) plans, offered by 26.9% of respondents. Likelihood of offering a retirement plan increases with organizational size.
- 22.5% of respondents indicated that they had eliminated or decreased fringe benefits since the recession began.
- For organizations offering a set amount of paid time off (PTO), rather than separate vacation and sick days, the median range of days offered was 11-20 for employees with up to 10 years of service and more than 20 days for employees with more than 10 years of service.
- While 14.6% of respondents have no part-time staff, 61% have between 1 and 10 part-time employees.
- 64.9% of respondents use between 1 and 5 consultants each year, while 16.6% use none and 7.9% use 6 to 10. Consultants are used for a range of functions including bookkeeping (27.7%), marketing (15.9%), fundraising (8.8%), and grant writing (7.3%).
- 61.4% of organizations responding to the survey are led by a female CEO. Among small organizations, 78% have a female CEO, while only 35.3% of large organizations do.
Those who completed the survey received a copy through the mail; the CNP has a limited number of hard copies of the survey that CNP members may request, and a pdf version can be downloaded from our website.
Posted by CNP Staff
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Food for Thought
April 10th, 2013
Every now and then we tune in to what's got the national nonprofit sector buzzing: recently, we've seen a lot of posts, tweets, and blogs mentioning a recent TED talk in which activist, author, and fundraiser Dan Pallotta decries an institutionalized "double standard" that drives the public's relationships with charities. Nonprofits, he claims, are generally rewarded for how little they spend and how frugal they are -- not for what they achieve and the scale of those achievements. He goes on to say that everything the donating public has been taught about giving is dysfunctional and he aims to transform the way society thinks about charity.
View the TED talk here: Dan Pallotta: The Way We Think About Charity Is Dead Wrong
We'd love to hear your thoughts in response to Dan Pallotta's talk. Leave a comment below!
Posted by Sheila Moore
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Volunteering in America
April 3rd, 2013
As we approach National Volunteer Week (April 21- 27), we celebrate people doing extraordinary things through service. Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week focuses national attention on the impact and power of volunteerism and service as an integral aspect of our civic leadership. The week draws the support and endorsement of the president and Congress, governors, mayors and municipal leaders, as well as corporate and community groups across the country.
Just how much of an impact do volunteers make? According to the most recent report from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Volunteering and Civic Life in American 2012, more Americans volunteered in 2011 than they did over the last five years. With 64.3 million volunteering throughout the year (that's 1.5 million more volunteers than in 2010), the volunteering rate nationwide rose to 26.8%..
In 2011, Americans contributed 7.85 billion volunteer hours to “formal organizations,” the equivalent of $171 billion dollars’ worth in time. In terms of tasks, volunteers served most often in the following areas: fundraising or selling items to raise money (26.2%), collecting, preparing, distributing, or serving food (23.6%), engaging in general labor or transportation (20.3%), and tutoring or teaching (18.2%).
Based on this report, Americans in rural settings (27.7%) are slightly more likely to volunteer compared with urban (23.4%) or suburban (27.5%) residents, and more Americans volunteered for religious (34.4%) and educational (26.6%) organizations than all other sectors combined.
Nonprofits in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama have a great opportunity to engage more volunteers. These states ranked 43rd, 34th, and 41st in the nation in terms of overall volunteer rates. You can find more information about your state’s rankings – including demographic data – by exploring this interactive map.
We have a resource to help your organization with volunteer engagement: ihelpchattanooga.org! CNP member organizations receive free training and access to this online volunteer engagement and management service. Check out the site and contact Brooke Arnold to learn more about how you can use this tool to supercharge your volunteer program.
Posted by CNP Staff
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Feel like you haven’t quite conquered the giant of social media? Could you use some step-by-step help in truly implementing a social media strategy?
March 27th, 2013
Local public accountant firm, Hazlett, Lewis & Bieter, PLLC covered the topic of social media in the current edition of Muse, their publication dedicated to providing ideas and education to tax-exempt organizations. In the recent Muse article, “Six steps in search of a solution: How to tackle social media in six easy steps,” Suzanne Northington affirms that nonprofits who have “not fully explored social media as a marketing tool . . . are probably missing something.” She goes on to note that “even if your organization has some experience in social media – say, you have a Facebook page, and do sporadic blogging – you still have not tapped into the full potential of the medium if it’s not in the context of an overall plan.”
Most nonprofits are probably aware of the importance of using social media but may get stymied when it comes time for practical application. At times, the use of social media may simply be tacked on as an additional marketing responsibility, when – like most other elements of marketing – success depends upon a careful and thorough strategy.
If your organization is having difficulty getting up to speed with social media, consider Northington’s six-step approach:
- Take inventory: Evaluate where you’re at – take a look at the channels you are currently using, the strategy (if any) you have in place, and what resources – people and funds – you have available to invest.
- Develop a social media steering committee: Bring together personnel from across your organization, include some members from outside the organization, and focus only on social media.
- Develop a strategic plan: Survey your constituencies, look at what similar organizations are doing, decide on the appropriate channels for your organization, and assign personnel.
- Implement the plan – Designate a leader who can manage the plan’s execution.
- Monitor, measure, adjust: Set up processes to evaluate your implementation and document procedures and adjustments.
- Learn: Stay in the loop of what’s new in social media!
Read more! This article is part two of a four-part series addressing emerging technologies in the nonprofit sector featured in Muse over the last few months. You can access current and past publications of Muse on Hazlett, Lewis & Bieter PLLC’s website.
Posted by CNP Staff
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Nonprofit HR
March 12th, 2013
Beyond filling so many demanding roles for clients and the community, nonprofit organizations also function as employers. For an organization to be able to operate on its highest level of serving others, a skilled and dedicated staff is crucial. But managing and retaining a high-quality staff can be a complicated responsibility, especially when many organizations do not have a staff member dedicated to overseeing human resources.
The Nonprofit Employment Trends Survey, produced annually by Nonprofit HR Solutions, delivers insight to nonprofit employers regarding staff-related trends they may be faced with in the upcoming years. Based on key findings of the survey, many nonprofits will need to prioritize planning and institute preventative measures to address the following challenges:
- Employee Turnover – Overall, turnover rates are expected to remain steady this year at 17%.
- Leadership Succession – 69% of organizations reported not having a plan to replace senior leadership.
- Employee Retention – Only 10% of the organizations surveyed indicated they have formal retention strategies in place.
- Workforce Diversity and Inclusion – Only 37% of organizations surveyed have a formal workforce diversity plan.
- Employee Burnout – Half of the nonprofit employees surveyed in a 2011 study admitted to being “burned out.” This trend may be lessening, however, as the nonprofits surveyed here showed a greater tendency to hire new staff to share the workload and shoulder new initiatives.
In general, the survey concluded, “it will be particularly important for nonprofit organizations to invest adequate resources in appropriate levels of HR talent, recruitment efforts, and to develop strategies to retain diverse, high performing employees that may increasingly face appealing offers both within and outside of the nonprofit sector.”
To read more about the 2013 Nonprofit Employment Trends Survey or to download the full report, click here.
Don’t miss your opportunity to discuss the latest trends and issues in nonprofit employment with employment law attorney, Maury Nicely, during the session, Employment Law Update, on Thursday, March 14. Bring your questions and examples and stay on top of all you need to know on this important topic.
Posted by CNP Staff
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