Nonprofit salary benchmark
VP of Development / Advancement pay at California nonprofits
Median reported total compensation. Based on 760 IRS Form 990 filings from California nonprofits, fiscal years 2021–2025. Figure as filed, rounded to the nearest $1,000.
This median spans organizations of every budget size and sector, so it will not match a benchmark for one organization. The Executive benchmark tool adjusts for your budget, sector and location.
Data updated .
How California compares
- Above the national median for this role by $12,000 (6.3%) — the national figure is $189,000.
- Of the 42 states with enough filings to report this role, California ranks 8 by median pay.
- Across those states the median ranges from $134,000 (West Virginia) to $276,000 (Rhode Island).
- Between fiscal years 2024 and 2025 — the two most recent complete filing years — the median for this cell moved from $206,000 to $201,000.
Choosing between pricing against California and against a national market is a peer-group decision; in the filings, geography moves pay less than budget size or mission.
The same role in other states
| State | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | $276,000 | 53 |
| Delaware | $228,000 | 25 |
| New York | $217,000 | 851 |
| Massachusetts | $211,000 | 413 |
| District of Columbia | $208,000 | 373 |
| Connecticut | $203,000 | 170 |
| New Jersey | $202,000 | 127 |
| New Hampshire | $201,000 | 59 |
| Virginia | $200,000 | 261 |
| Washington | $197,000 | 108 |
| Maryland | $194,000 | 201 |
| Illinois | $188,000 | 314 |
Every state shown clears the same 20-filing minimum as this page.
What this page does not tell you
One median is a market read. It is not a matched peer set, and it cannot on its own document a pay decision: the §4958 rebuttable presumption of reasonableness also needs comparable organizations selected on budget, sector and geography, approval by an independent body, and contemporaneous records. We publish the single figure and keep the comparability set behind the paid product — see what comparability data requires beyond a California median.
Benchmarking VP of Development / Advancement pay in California starts from a figure like this one and narrows it by budget and sector.
Sector and budget-band detail is not published at this depth. Narrower cuts are where a median stops being a market read and starts being the answer to a specific board's question, and that is the paid product rather than the free page.
Need the peer set, not just the number? The Executive benchmark tool matches comparable filers on budget size, sector and location and produces a board-ready report with the organizations named. See plans and pricing.
Which best describes you?
Recorded: .
Method: the median of reported total compensation across matching IRS Form 990 Schedule J and Part VII filings, with no cell published below 20 filings. Figures are as filed and are not adjusted or projected — full methodology. Explore other roles from the VP of Development / Advancement national overview or the salary benchmark index.
Documented comparability data supports — but does not by itself establish — a board's rebuttable presumption of reasonableness under IRC §4958 (intermediate sanctions). The presumption also requires advance approval by an independent board body and contemporaneous documentation. CauseComp provides comparability data for informational purposes and does not provide legal or tax advice.