Over the past year, 41 of the UK's top 100 charities by voluntary income raised the salary of their most senior fundraiser by an average of £16,700. Many of those increases came when the post was re-recruited and re-graded. A charity that budgets for a senior vacancy using what it paid last time is likely to be behind the market before the advert goes live.
Those figures come from our 2026 Fundraising Leadership Salary Benchmark. AAW Group (AAW) is a charity executive search and fundraising consultancy. Since 2016, we have placed more than 500 fundraising leaders and made appointments for 80% of the UK's 25 largest charities. The people we have appointed have gone on to raise over £1bn. This is what that experience has taught us about attracting strong candidates to senior charity roles.
Start with the right salary
The average salary for the most senior fundraiser at a top 100 charity is now £122,778, and half of these leaders earn between £108,570 and £139,440. At charities raising more than £100m a year the average is £152,321.
The remit changes the figure too. In 64% of these charities the role also covers marketing and communications, and those combined roles pay 11.9% more than fundraising-only posts. A charity that wants its director to lead brand as well as income should budget for that from the start.
Our benchmark also shows that pay for these roles moves in jumps. Over the year, 37 of the 98 charities in the panel showed no change, while those that re-recruited often reset the salary sharply upwards. The figure that matters is what comparable charities paid at their most recent hire. A salary well below that range narrows the field before the search has begun.
The detail in the candidate pack matters
A senior leader who is not looking for a new job will read the candidate pack before agreeing to a conversation. It is often the first thing they see of the charity, and they read it closely.
We write each pack with the charity. A typical pack for a director-level role includes:
A personal letter from the chief executive explaining why the role matters now.
The charity's strategy and values, in plain language.
An honest picture of the finances, with income and expenditure broken down by source.
Organisation charts showing where the role sits and who it works with.
The responsibilities and person specification, written around what the charity needs the postholder to achieve.
Each part answers a question a strong candidate will ask. A pack that shows the size of the income at stake and the shape of the leadership team tells candidates the charity has thought the role through. We also encourage charities to state the salary. Candidates at this level know the market, and a clear figure shows that the charity does too.
The personal approach
On LinkedIn, people engage with people. A charity's company page reaches those who already follow it, and a post announcing a vacancy rarely reaches the senior leaders who are not looking. A message from the chief executive, in their own words, travels much further.
So every AAW executive search has a digital campaign. We ask the chief executive to record a short piece to camera on why the role matters and what the new leader will do. These videos typically reach more than 5,000 views per campaign. Each search also has its own microsite with voices from across the charity, backed by targeted LinkedIn promotion.
The digital campaign supports a direct search. We approach candidates personally, drawing on more than 33,000 contacts across LinkedIn and our own database. We aim for at least 20% ethnic diversity on every longlist, working with partners including We Are Friday and Charityworks to reach candidates from under-represented groups.
Interim, shortlisting and executive search from one team
A senior vacancy rarely waits for a permanent appointment. We often run more than one service at once, so the work carries on while the right permanent leader is found.
Interim: Cover for fundraising, communications, digital, chief executive, finance and HR roles - shortlist often within 48 hours.
Shortlisting: Permanent heads of function and managers - about six weeks to offer.
Executive search: Permanent chief executive, director and trustee roles - about 10 weeks to offer.
An interim leader from our network can steady the team and keep income on track while we run the permanent search. Because one team handles both, the brief stays consistent and the interim's view of the role can inform the permanent appointment.
Retention starts at the point of hire
In our benchmark, 20 of the 98 senior fundraising posts were benchmarked lower than a year earlier. Some had been restructured or folded into a wider engagement role at a different grade. Senior fundraisers also need clarity about their remit and a route to progress, and that matters most when a role has grown without any change in grade.
The best time to settle these questions is before the role is advertised. A charity that agrees the remit, grade and reporting line at the outset writes a sharper brief and attracts stronger candidates. It also gives the person appointed a clear job from their first day.
Talk to us about a senior appointment
AAW has recruited for charities including Barnardo's, Marie Curie, the NSPCC, Plan International UK and WWF-UK. To discuss a chief executive, director or head of function role, simply fill out the form below.