More than a quarter of charity chief executive officers (CEOs) have had their pay frozen in the past year according to a new pay survey by the Association of Charity Chief Executives (ACEVO).

The survey released today reveals that 28% of charity chief executives have experienced a remuneration freeze in response to economic conditions over the last year.

The pay of smaller charity CEOs fell by an average 9.1%. This contrasts with a 10% average rise in the salaries of the CEOs of the FTSE 100 companies over the same period1.

Charities have also experienced a 17% rise demand for their services over the last year.

Stephen Bubb, CEO of ACEVO, said:“It is not surprising that our members have shown such restraint in response to the prevailing economic conditions. We would always expect charity CEOs to act in the best interests of the organisations’ and the vulnerable people they serve and commend them for their actions.

“What is interesting is the contrasting approach of the private and voluntary sectors. While the CEO’s of the sector left to mop up the affects of recession have taken a responsible path it seems it is they and the organisations they represent are shouldering much the financial burden of recession.

"As we learnt last month – the top 100 plc CEOs whose company fortunes have presumably also dropped, have been awarded 10% pay rises over the past year.

“While it is important that charity heads behave responsibly in the face of the challenging economic conditions, we must not allow the current situation to become the norm. It is important that we continue to make the case for paying charity chief executives fairly for the demanding and crucial professional role they continue to play.”