NHC Compensation and Revenue Surveys Benefit Patient Group Members

By Bob Scott, Associate Director, Membership & Operations 

Each year, the National Health Council (NHC) conducts two important surveys for our Voluntary Health Agency (VHA) members – the Management Compensation Survey and Annual Revenue Survey. With a very diverse membership, the NHC is uniquely situated to gather very specific data in these areas that can be used by our members for assessing themselves in the areas of compensation and revenue trends in comparison with their colleagues in the patient advocacy sector. 

The Management Compensation Report is managed by PRM Consulting Group, which specializes in pay and benefits consulting for the not-for-profit community. Generally, the survey is sponsored in conjunction with the National Human Services Assembly (NHSA), and represents the national offices of health, human, and youth service organizations that are members of the NHC and the NHSA.  

The objective of the survey is to collect and tabulate total cash compensation (base salary plus additional cash) and salary-range data on selected management and professional positions. The survey summarizes the prevalence of benefits and prerequisites provided to positions at various staff levels. In addition, the survey summarizes various compensation practices, including salary adjustments, retirement and savings plans, medical benefits, variable compensation practices, paid time off, and Board compensation practices. The report includes individual position summary tables for more than 80 positions. The tables contain base-salary statistics for each position reported by total respondents, geographical location, organization budget, and total employees.  

Participating member organizations will also have the option to participate in and receive a complimentary copy of a second report that covers the broader nonprofit audience. This second report, Management Compensation Report of Not-for-Profit Organizations, is published annually by PRM (a $650 value). These two resources allow our member organizations to compare and contrast the most up-to-date compensation information for planning their financial future. 

The second survey, the Annual Revenue Survey, is conducted solely with our VHA member organizations. The Revenue Survey report presents consolidated revenue for each of the NHC’s VHA member’s national office and all affiliates and/or chapters over a three-year period. Data such as campaign revenue, planned giving, grants, and online giving are collected. The final report presents the data in three ways: 

  • An aggregate overview of all VHA revenue categories in actual dollars and as a percentage of total revenue; 
  • The percent change from year to year in each revenue category for each VHA group; and, 
  • The revenue for each category as a percentage of total revenue for each VHA group.  

Additionally, each respondent receives a report comparing their organization’s data to both their peer group and to all the respondents combined. 

Both of these surveys and the resulting reports have long been viewed as valuable resources to our VHA members. Members find the reports and supplemental information to be very informative and useful as they plan for and navigate the coming months, as well as serve as a guide to our members’ budgeting process for the next fiscal year.  

The Management Compensation Report will be released later this summer, and the Revenue Survey report will be released in early fall. For more information about either survey, please contact me.