Full-time staff compensation rose 2.1% last year, to a median of $72,000, according to the Council on Foundations’ 2012 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Report.
Foundations in the Mid-Atlantic states reported the highest median salary ($82,200), followed by the Pacific states ($78,000).
Chief executives at U.S. foundations received a median salary of $145,000 last year, according to the report.
It noted that independent and family foundations paid higher median CEO salaries ($190,000 and $163,000, respectively), while public and community foundations had lower median salaries ($143,000 and $113,000).
Ninety-six percent of respondents offered voluntary benefits to full-time staffers, and 89% of these provided medical benefits.
Researchers based their findings on an online survey with 893 grant makers, which reported salaries for 7,614 full-time employees. The respondents represented a total of $196 billion in assets and $12 billion in giving in 2012.
Women made up 76% of the 7,465 full-time positions for which respondents reported gender, with 72% of professional staff positions filled by women. The percentage of women on staff was fairly consistent across grantmaker asset sizes, the report said.