August 2002

Compensation at health-care organizations and higher education institutions was higher than that in the rest of the charitable sector. According to the May 2002 IRS Business Master File, 179 of the 200 largest tax-exempt organizations (measured by revenue) fall into one of these two categories.

Median CEO Compensation for Various Organization Types

Organization Type	Greater Than $5,000,000	$1,000,000 - $5,000,000	$500,000 - $1,000,000	Less Than $500,000
Community Health Systems	$271,379	$120,523	$83,015	$57,751
University or Technological Institute	$189,990	$86,139	N/A	N/A
Art Museums	$188,621	$91,080	$62,000	$35,303
General Hospitals	$184,702	$80,126	N/A	N/A
Symphony Orchestras	$175,491	$70,035	$47,222	$28,841
Undergraduate Colleges (4-year)	$156,159	$77,004	N/A	N/A
Natural Resources, Conservation, Protection	$153,796	$82,707	$60,425	$40,217
Fundraising Organizations	$137,543	$71,115	$46,000	$31,235
Animal Protection, Welfare	$128,116	$64,460	$44,618	$28,886
Community Mental Health Centers	$106,972	$75,764	$66,100	$49,063
Senior Continuing Care Communities	$103,419	$66,150	$46,597	$33,946
Children's, Youth Services	$101,834	$69,528	$56,632	$37,500
YMCA/YWCA/YMHA/YWHA	$98,278	$73,954	$51,701	$36,156
Community, Neighborhood Development, Improvement	$89,540	$70,000	$60,953	$40,130
Human Services—Multipurpose	$87,796	$62,191	$48,967	$35,807
Child Day Care	$79,732	$60,210	$44,477	$28,801
Food Banks, Food Pantries	$66,375	$52,077	$46,789	$32,896

Source: 2002 GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report

Median compensation was comparatively low in most human services organizations, ranking in the bottom 20 percent for each budget category. Housing and shelter organizations also ranked low.