Charity chief exec pay fell in 2014 - survey

Charity chief executive pay fell in real and nominal terms last year, according to Acevo’s annual survey of sector leaders.

The research, sponsored by Peridot Partners and carried out in partnership with Charities Aid Foundation, also revealed a persistent lack of gender and ethnic diversity across charities’ boards and management.

Median CEO pay fell from £60,000 in 2013 to £55,000 last year, a real-terms decrease of 5.9 per cent accounting for RPI inflation of 1.9 per cent.

Some of the decline can be attributed to this year’s sample including more charities than the previous survey. There were 572 responses from CEOs and 64 from chairs, and the survey ran from late September to late October.

Chief executives in Wales reported the lowest median salary, at £37,849. Salaries were highest in London, at £68,000, followed by Northern Ireland at £64,400.

Acevo chief executive Sir Stephen Bubb said the fact pay has fallen shows charities are taking a responsible position on remuneration in difficult economic times.

“But we must not be afraid of setting professional pay levels, and arguing the case for salaries that recruit and retain the best people – as well as offering value for money.”

Female CEOs on average earned £9,570 less than their male counterparts. The gender pay gap across all charities fell slightly, with median female pay 16.3 per cent lower than median male pay compared with 18.6 per cent lower in 2013.

More than 91 per cent of CEO respondents stated their ethnicity as white, while 100 per cent of chairs sampled said the same. Over 97 per cent of trustees stated their ethnicity as white.

“This year’s Pay Survey shows the scale of the challenge for the third sector in its continuing drive to be more representative of the communities it serves,” Sir Stephen said.

Acevo director of leadership and director of Acevo North Jenny Berry said the umbrella body takes widening participation in the sector very seriously.

“We’re partnering with leading recruiters and with other umbrella bodies to identify and address the systemic barriers to wider participation. We’re working hard to diversify our own membership and looking to offer bursaries for leadership development. Our Annual Women CEOs Summit, in September, will focus strongly on these issues, and aim to influence the next government’s agenda.”

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