Fundraiser Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 1,619 US job postings by 1,017 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for fundraisers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 1,619 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for fundraisers in US job postings is $90,000 a year (452 postings from 302 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $72,000 to $120,000.
- The skills that most set fundraiser postings apart are fundraising, interpersonal skills.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 4 years of experience.
Fundraiser job postings in the US, October 2026
- $90,000
- Median advertised pay (452 postings)
- $72,000–$120,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 1,619
- US job postings from 1,017 employers
- 4 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a fundraiser make?
The median advertised pay is $90,000 a year, from 452 US job postings by 302 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $151,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 452 US fundraiser job postings: median $90,000 a year, middle half $72,000 to $120,000.
- Median: $90,000
- 25th percentile: $72,000
- 75th percentile: $120,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 0.2% |
| $30K–$40K | 0.2% |
| $40K–$50K | 3.4% |
| $50K–$60K | 6.8% |
| $60K–$70K | 10.6% |
| $70K–$80K | 14.9% |
| $80K–$90K | 12.4% |
| $90K–$100K | 9.5% |
| $100K–$110K | 9.0% |
| $110K–$120K | 7.9% |
| $120K–$130K | 4.8% |
| $130K–$140K | 4.1% |
| $140K–$150K | 5.0% |
| $150K–$160K | 1.8% |
| $160K–$170K | 0.9% |
| $170K–$180K | 1.8% |
| $180K–$190K | 0.7% |
| $190K–$200K | 0.7% |
| $200K–$210K | 0.9% |
| $210K–$220K | 1.1% |
| $220K–$230K | 0.4% |
| $240K–$250K | 0.7% |
| $250K–$260K | 0.2% |
| $260K–$270K | 0.7% |
| $270K–$280K | 0.4% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $95,000 | $75K–$125K | 400 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $90,000 | $72K–$120K | 452 |
What is the starting salary for a fundraiser?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Skills employers ask for in fundraiser job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 49% |
| Interpersonal skills | 37% |
| Organizational skills | 34% |
| Microsoft Office | 25% |
| Attention to detail | 23% |
| Excel | 20% |
| Work independently | 18% |
| Fundraising | 17% |
| Word | 14% |
| Analytical skills | 12% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set fundraisers apart
- Fundraising516.9× as often as in all postings · 17%
- Interpersonal skills3× as often as in all postings · 37%
- Fundraising experience817× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Project management skills11× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Salesforce11× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Discretion11.5× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Editing32.9× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Writing10.4× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Relationship-building23.3× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Powerpoint3.2× as often as in all postings · 12%
- Crm systems14.7× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Relationship-building skills9× as often as in all postings · 6%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a fundraiser job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a fundraiser do?
Employers post these jobs as Director of Development, Major Gifts Officer, Grant Writer, Grants Manager, Development Coordinator and other titles. The largest specializations are Major Gifts Officer (22%), Development Manager (26%), Director of Philanthropy (23%), Grants Manager (9%), Director of Advancement (9%), Development Coordinator (7%), Alumni Coordinator (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Fundraisers (13-1131.00). Its most important tasks:
- Identify and build relationships with potential donors.
- Secure commitments of participation or donation from individuals or corporate donors.
- Write and send letters of thanks to donors.
- Solicit cash or in-kind donations or sponsorships from individual, business, or government donors.
- Create or update donor databases.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a fundraiser?
Among 871 postings that state a minimum, the median is 4 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 11% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 871 US fundraiser job postings: median 4 years, and 11% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | under 1% |
| 1 yr | 11% |
| 2 yrs | 14% |
| 3-4 yrs | 29% |
| 5-7 yrs | 34% |
| 8-9 yrs | 4% |
| 10+ yrs | 7% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 89%, Part-time 11% of the 351 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a fundraiser: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Director of Development | 87 (8.6%) |
| Major Gifts Officer | 75 (7.4%) |
| Grant Writer | 54 (5.3%) |
| Grants Manager | 41 (4.0%) |
| Development Coordinator | 41 (4.0%) |
| Senior Director of Development | 41 (4.0%) |
| Director of Advancement | 36 (3.5%) |
| Chief Development Officer | 35 (3.4%) |
| Development Director | 31 (3.0%) |
| Director of Philanthropy | 25 (2.5%) |
| Development Officer | 24 (2.4%) |
| Philanthropy Officer | 24 (2.4%) |
| Major Gift Officer | 22 (2.2%) |
| Director of Annual Giving | 20 (2.0%) |
| Associate Director of Development | 19 (1.9%) |
| Development Assistant | 17 (1.7%) |
| Director of Major Gifts | 16 (1.6%) |
| Advancement Coordinator | 16 (1.6%) |
| Donor Engagement Manager | 15 (1.5%) |
| Assistant Director of Development | 13 (1.3%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Fundraiser compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fundraiser | $90K | 4 years | 1,619 | – |
| Event Coordinator | $62K | 2 years | 2,526 | 19 |
| Admissions Counselor | – | 2 years | 755 | 18 |
| Community Outreach Specialist | $22.96/hr | 2 years | 1,797 | 15 |
| Communications Manager | $110K | 5 years | 2,372 | 17 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Event Coordinator | 19 | $62K |
| Admissions Counselor | 18 | – |
| Community Outreach Specialist | 15 | $22.96/hr |
| Communications Manager | 17 | $110K |
| Sales Manager | 16 | $120K |
| Academic Advisor | 18 | – |
Applying for fundraiser jobs?
- Fundraiser resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find fundraiser jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a fundraiser make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 82 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 76 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.