Running the Numbers

• Fundraisers numbered approximately 53,450 and earned median salaries of $91,810 as of May 2010, when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Occupational Employment and Wages report. The BLS didn't provide an exact figure for fund-raising consultant salaries at the 90th percentile of earnings, only noting that the income was more than $166,400. At the 10th percentile fund-raising managers earned median wages of $49,720.
  
  

Raising the Bar

• The east coast had the highest salaries for fundraisers at the time of the BLS salary, with the top five states all paying well into the six-figure level. New York topped the list, with employers paying annual mean wages of $139,550 for the profession. New York was also the second largest employer of fundraisers, behind only California, though California's annual mean wages of $116,020 knocked it off the BLS top five list. Delaware earned second place, with fundraisers averaging salaries of $136,530. The states of Virginia and Rhode Island were close for third and fourth place, with wages of $133,590 and $133,400 respectively. In fifth place was New Jersey, where employers paid annual mean wags of $127,110.
  
  

Where to Raise Funds

• The BLS' category for the highest paying industry for fundraisers was the management, scientific and technical consulting field, where fundraisers earned annual mean wages of $150,930. The telecommunications industry paid the second highest salaries, at $145,740, followed by the computer systems design industry, with wages of $144,120. Fundraisers employed by the federal executive branch of the government also earned significantly higher than average salaries, at $141,930. The BLS largest employer of fundraisers was colleges and universities. Fundraisers employed by these organizations earned slightly higher-than-average salaries of $93,590.
  
  

Fundraising Consultant Preparation

• Employers' requirements for fundraisers vary; some may require a minimum of a bachelor's degree, others may seek fund-raising consultants who have completed postgraduate studies. Employers may request fundraisers have experience in the field they'll be working in, such as fundraisers employed by the telecommunications industry having had experience or a degree in the communications field. Prior experience and post-secondary education are not a guarantee for a higher salary, but may help augment the candidate's starting wages.