Fundraisers: salary, outlook & degrees
Organize activities to raise funds or otherwise solicit and gather monetary donations or other gifts for an organization. May design and produce promotional materials. May also raise awareness of the organization's work, goals, and financial needs.
Middle half $57,480–$92,180. 111,040 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
94% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $68,216.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 10,000 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Political Science And Government | 7% | Political Science |
| History | 6% | History |
| Communications | 6% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Business Management And Administration | 5% | Business Administration |
| English Language And Literature | 5% | English |
| Psychology | 5% | Psychology |
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 4% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| Sociology | 4% | Sociology |
| General Business | 3% | Business |
| Economics | 3% | Economics |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $80,840 |
| New York | $80,540 |
| Maryland | $79,780 |
| California | $79,710 |
| Massachusetts | $79,060 |
| Washington | $79,000 |
| Connecticut | $77,730 |
| New Jersey | $77,170 |
| Minnesota | $76,910 |
| North Dakota | $76,040 |
| Rhode Island | $75,410 |
| Colorado | $74,440 |
| Virginia | $72,610 |
| Vermont | $72,530 |
| Louisiana | $72,030 |
| Georgia | $72,010 |
| Wyoming | $71,310 |
| Delaware | $71,250 |
| Nevada | $68,530 |
| Kentucky | $68,270 |
| Nebraska | $68,030 |
| South Dakota | $66,800 |
| Maine | $66,790 |
| Illinois | $66,440 |
| New Hampshire | $66,260 |
| Indiana | $66,250 |
| Michigan | $66,130 |
| North Carolina | $66,100 |
| Wisconsin | $65,880 |
| New Mexico | $65,440 |
| Kansas | $64,820 |
| Florida | $64,390 |
| Arizona | $64,180 |
| Ohio | $64,080 |
| Oregon | $64,080 |
| Oklahoma | $63,950 |
| Iowa | $63,930 |
| Missouri | $63,860 |
| Hawaii | $63,750 |
| Pennsylvania | $63,730 |
| Alaska | $62,750 |
| South Carolina | $62,720 |
| Utah | $61,820 |
| Tennessee | $61,370 |
| Montana | $61,280 |
| Idaho | $61,150 |
| Texas | $60,320 |
| Alabama | $60,120 |
| Mississippi | $57,610 |
| West Virginia | $54,760 |
| PR | $52,090 |
| Arkansas | $50,190 |
Florida metro areas
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$64,270
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$63,210
- Jacksonville$72,740
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$69,440
- Tallahassee$59,320
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$73,100
- Gainesville$49,740
- Naples-Marco Island$66,060
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$80,610
- Richmond$68,920
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$64,360
- Charlottesville$78,610
- Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford$78,200
- Roanoke$60,600
- Harrisonburg$75,150
- Lynchburg$62,680
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$77,550
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$82,930
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$76,300
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$106,760
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$76,860
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$74,480
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$57,070
- Fresno$69,170
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
Knowledge used
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Sales and Marketing
- Administration and Management
- Communications and Media
Work styles
- Social Orientation
- Achievement Orientation
- Optimism
- Dependability
- Integrity
People in this job tend to have Enterprising (leading), Social (helping), Conventional (organizing) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Fundraisers: questions
How much do fundraisers make?
Fundraisers earn a U.S. median $72,550 a year; the middle half earn $57,480 to $92,180 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $68,022 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is fundraisers a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 5.5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,000 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a fundraiser?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey, 100% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is political Science And Government (7%).
How much do fundraisers make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $64,390 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $72,550 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 13-1131. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Fundraisers: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/fundraisers.